Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know I have found a good recipe when it disappears quickly and everybody asks me for the recipe.  This is one of those recipes and a couple of people have reminded me they would like the recipe so I better post it.
These cookies are soft, lovely and moist.  I love the spice combination in them, I always add extra spice to cookies.  Please note that this recipe has the increased spice values in it so if you want a more subtle spice to the cookies I suggest you reduce the amount of spices you use. These cookies freeze well, but the trick is keeping them in there.  I hope you enjoy this twist on chocolate chip cookies.
*Note these cookies are chilled for 3 hours before they are baked so don't start by preheating the oven.

Pumpkin Chocolat Chip Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar, plus 1/3 cup for coating

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 tbsp molasses

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, plus 3/4 tsp for coating

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground ginger

Pinch of salt

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Cream together the butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup white sugar.  
2. Beat in the egg and vanilla until they are light and fluffy.
3. Beat in the pumpkin and molasses.
4. Combine the remaining dry ingredients (sans the cinnamon and sugar needed for the coating) in a separate bowl.  I suggest giving this a smell to see if you want to alter the spices.
5. Gradually start adding the mixture to the wet and make sure it incorporates completely.  
6. Stir in the chocolate chips.
7. Form the dough into balls about the size of two table spoons and place them on a plate.  I suggest having some wax paper between the layers on the plate.  Chill for 3 hours,
8. Preheat the oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
9. Combine the remaining cinnamon and sugar.  Roll the dough in the coating before placing them on the cookie sheets and lightly press them down with a fork.  Make sure there is good spacing between the cookies.
10. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges and tops have started to set.  The cookies firm up as they cool.

Apple Cheddar Biscuits

I like to have some bread or a biscuit to enjoy soup with, especially when the soup is so tasty I want to mop up every last drop of it to be sure that none is wasted.  I don't have time to make a nice french loaf very often and getting all of us out of the house to go pick up a loaf from the local baker is sometimes a little daunting.  Especially on rainy days when every one is tired.
I have had a bunch of old magazines with recipes I have wanted to try piling up in my house over the years.  Recently I have decided to look through them and tear out the recipes I think I will actually try and then recycle the rest.  After I try the recipe, if I like it I will post it so I don't have to keep the loose recipe around and I know I will always be able to find it when I want it.  The other day I found this wonderful biscuit recipe in Canadian Living.  It is a perfect biscuit to enjoy with fall soups.  They were a hit in our house and one of my little ones kept sliding a chair to the counter so she could help herself to them.  The batch didn't even last 24 hours.  I am sure I will be making these again soon.

 Apple Cheddar Biscuits

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

4 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp granulated sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cold butter cubed

1 cup shredded extra-old Cheddar cheese

1 cup grated, cored and peeled baking apple

2 tbsp minced chives or green onions

3/4 cup milk

1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.
2. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse oatmeal with a few large pieces.
3. Stir in the cheddar, apple and chives.
4. Using a fork, stir in the milk to form a ragged dough.
5. Drop into roughly 1/3 cup mounds on a parchment lined baking sheet.
6. Bake at 425 for 13-15 minutes or until they are lightly browned.

Coconut Curry Pumpkin Soup

I know it has been a while my friends but life has been very busy with two little ones and lots more.  I have tried lots of recipes and I need to get better at posting my favourites.  Our garden was wonderful this year and I have been trying lots of new ways to use up the various squash and pumpkins we grew this year.  I have also found my new favourite type of pumpkin.  It's colour is amazing, I love it's shape, I love how easy it is to prepare for baking and most importantly it has a wonderful flavour!  For those of you who garden as well I got the seeds from Renee's Garden and they are called Cinderella's Carriage Antique French Pumpkins.

I had some leftover pumpkin puree from making some other delicious pumpkin recipes (I will try to post them soon) and needed to make dinner so I decided on a curried pumpkin soup I came across a while back.  This soup turned out amazing.  Everybody loved it. My husband even said he was sorry he didn't have to take lunch in to work tomorrow because he loves it when his coworkers comment on how wonderful his lunches smell when he heats them up in the office kitchen.

 Coconut Curry Pumpkin Soup

1/4 cup butter

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

3 cups chicken stock

1 tbsp curry powder

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 cups pumpkin puree

1 can coconut milk

1. In a heavy bottomed stock pan, melt the butter and sauté the onions until they begin to brown.  
2. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant.
3. Add the stock, salt and spices and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and allow this to simmer covered for 20 minutes to deepen the flavour of the broth.
4. Add the pumpkin and coconut milk and blend using an immersion blender or in batches in a regular blender.
5. Allow the soup to reach desired temperate before serving.

This soup goes well with a biscuit to help clean the bowl with.  I found a great Apple Cheddar biscuit recipe I made along with it.