Soft Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies!

Soft Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Frosting/Icing.
There's something about these cookies that just seem to be the essence of Autumn in one little treat - and for me, they are an absolute must-have during those days when the leaves turn a fiery red and begin to fall - but I absolutely adore baking them all year round! The warm spiciness from the nutmeg and cinnamon is sure to make you feel nice and cozy, even on the coldest days! And while these little cookies are amazing just by themselves, the brown butter frosting makes them pure deliciousness. (You might even want to make a little extra frosting so that you can use graham crackers or other things to dip in the leftover icing!) Now, let's get baking!
For the Pumpkin Cookies:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 cup pure, pureed pumpkin. (You can use anything, Libby’s, a canned pumpkin brand, is pretty easy to find at stores.)
• 1 egg.
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 2 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
• ½ teaspoons nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoons ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup milk chocolate chips. (Optional, but I recommend. Yes, milk chocolate. I love dark chocolate, but milk chocolate is a little more mellow and goes hand and hand with the pumpkin, instead of overpowering it like dark chocolate.)

• Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or grease.
• Sift together all the spices, baking soda, baking powder, and flour in a medium bowl.
• Cream butter and both sugars with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer until well blended. Add egg and pumpkin and mix until just combined. You don’t want the butter to over soften. (Note: The mixture will look terrible, all curdled looking. Don’t worry, this is normal.)
• Add the dry mixture to the pumpkin mixture and mix until combined. If you would like to add chocolate chips, stir in gently. Now you can form the cookies with a spoon or scoop. Please note: These cookies aren’t meant to be perfect in shape and neat looking – they’re meant to be yummy! You’ll have trouble making them look perfect, so don’t bother.
• Bake in preheated oven for 10-13 minutes. The cookies are done when the center springs back from your touch. Don’t bake them at all after that! Completely cool on cookie racks prior to icing. (Don’t leave them on the baking sheets, they’ll continue to cook if you do!)

• For the Brown Butter Frosting/Icing:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sifted confectioners sugar.
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons whole milk
• ¾ teaspoons vanilla extract.

• Brown your butter: Melt butter over medium-low heat in a small, thick-bottomed pot/saucepan. Swirl (Not stir!) the butter every minute or so to ensure even cooking. Watch it like a chicken searching for bugs! Patience is crucial to browning butter. The butter will “un-cloud” and become clear, then it’ll start to bubble. Keep swirling every once-and-a-while. Occasionally give the butter a sniff. Once it has a nice nutty aroma and your butter is golden brown, pull it from the stove and pour it over your confectioner's sugar. Make sure you get every bit of the butter from the pot – including the little brown bits on the bottom of the pan. That’s yummy.
• Add the remaining ingredients and vigorously beat with a spatula to mix. The consistency should be smooth and creamy. Not runny. If it’s too thick, you can add a little more milk at a time, until the right consistency. (See picture )
• Ice those yummy, soft cookies you’ve probably been dying to try this whole time with a small spatula and then sprinkle with just a touch of cinnamon for fun.
• Now give all of those cookies away and never try a single bite…just kidding! Enjoy!

The Cookie Dough:


Shaping the Cookies:


The cookies after baking:



Browning the butter for the icing:



Making the icing/frosting:



The cookies are complete!



I hope this recipe was easy to understand, and that you might try your hand at baking some of these yummy cookies! Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions, and let me know if you made them! Thank you for reading this, and have a wonderful day!