Pumpkin and White Chocolate Cookies

This recipe comes from my latest feature for Crumbs magazine (check it out here), but I thought I should also share it with you dear readers. Mostly because I'm feeling guilty for not blogging in a very long time. 

Now pumpkins are a pain in the ass. I know that. So in my kitchen, the only thing that will lure me into wrestling with these orange beasts is the promise of a batch of puree that will taste miles better than anything you can buy in a can, and that I can keep in the freezer to later turn into warm pumpkin and walnut bread; a batch of spiced pumpkin muffins; a classic pumpkin pie; or these soft and chewy pumpkin and white chocolate cookies. 

So, once you have done battle with your almighty vegetable – or should that be fruit, technically speaking? - place the pumpkin flesh into a large saucepan with a cup of water (use as little as possible to avoid a finished puree that is too soft). Bring to the boil, and then reduce to a simmer for around 20 minutes. If you only want to use your puree for sweet recipes, then I like to throw in a cinnamon stick during the process, for added flavour. It also makes your house smell wonderfully wholesome and Autumnal. 

Then whizz with a hand-held blender and separate into batches. From two medium-sized pumpkins, I’m usually able to get around 750ml of puree, which I separate into three 250ml batches – each of these being equal to one American cup sized measurement, which is rather handy seeing as many pumpkin recipes seem to be American.

Now you have your puree, here's the simple recipe for my cookies. What else will you make?

Makes 12-15 large cookies

250g plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon nutmeg

100g unsalted butter, softened

150g caster sugar

50g soft brown sugar

250ml (one cup) pumpkin puree

1 whole egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

150g bar of white chocolate, broken into small chunks

Preheat your oven to180°C.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars. Add the pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla and combine thoroughly.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to this, and stir in the chocolate chunks.

Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto two baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until golden.

Cool for a couple minutes on the baking sheet.