Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

We're having a simple Thanksgiving this year. It's just the two of us and I'm not making a bunch of food.  I bought a frozen turkey breast and we'll have mashed potatoes and a salad. I did buy cranberry sauce as it is necessary for the sandwiches over the coming days.

I decided I needed to make some pumpkin cookies in lieu of having candied sweet potatoes or pumpkin pie.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 teaspoons milk

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cloves (optional. I wouldn't buy it just for 1/8 teaspoon!)

1 3/4 teaspoons salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

2 cups (one package) chocolate chips. I splurged with the Ghirardelli Chocolate Chips

Preheat the oven to 375°.  Place precut parchment paper on a couple of baking sheets.  

Mix sugar and oil in a large bowl.  Add the eggs, milk, pumpkin, and vanilla and stir to combine.  

In a medium bowl stir together the flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  

Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture. Stir to combine.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

I wanted to use my largest cookie scoop to make big puffy cookies.  It looks like an ice cream scoop. Place the cookies about 2 inches apart,  Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the tops are no longer glossy.  Mine took 14 minutes.

Remove the pan and allow the cookies to rest for about 5 minutes.  Remove to a cooling rack.

If you looks closely you can see the flecks of spices in the cookies.  They add a nice touch but you can just add the cinnamon if you wish.

When the cookies are completely cool they can be stored in an air tight container.

These cookies are moist and will become  even more moist when kept in storage.  I found that cookies the next day were better when placed in a toaster oven at 300° for 2 minutes.  

Oatmeal Bread

I've been enjoying making bread but got tired of the same thing. I thought oatmeal bread would be a fun and different thing to try.  This time I just made a single loaf. I have been having to freeze the second loaf to keep it from going bad. After all, homemade bread doesn't have any preservatives.

Oatmeal Bread

1 cup oatmeal

1 cup scalded milk

1 envelope yeast or 2 1/4 teaspoons

1/2 cup warm water

2 Tablespoons molasses

2 1/2 cups flour plus 1/4 cup as necessary

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons butter cut in small pieces

oil for greasing the bowl

Pam for spraying the loaf pan

Heat 1 cup of milk to just when it starts to bubble and before it boils. 

Pour the milk over 1 cup of oatmeal in a medium bowl. Stir to moisten and set aside.

Put the molasses and the very warm, but not hot, water in a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on top, give it a brief stir and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer place the 2 1/2 cups flour, brown sugar and salt.  Use the paddle to mix slowly.  

Remove the paddle and add the oatmeal, butter and yeast mixture.  Use the dough hook to mix. Stop frequently to scrape down the sides. 

My dough needed a bit more flour.  It was too sticky to form a ball.  I added about 1/8 cup more of flour and then used the rest of the 1/4 cup to sprinkle on the counter.

 

Then I hand kneaded for about a minute until it was smooth and elastic and had absorbed the flour.  

Pour about 1Tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large bowl and spread up the sides.  Place the ball of dough in the bowl and flip it a few times to oil the whole ball. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and set aside to rise for about an hour or until it doubles in size.

Lightly flour the counter.  Punch the dough down and knead it to get rid of bubbles.  

Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a rectangle slightly wider than the bread pan. Roll it up tightly and then fold the ends in so it is slightly shorter than the loaf pan. Pinch the ends to try to make a seamless tube.

Spray the loaf pan with Pam.  Place the dough in it with the seam side down. Cover with whatever you used to cover the bowl. Let it rise until it has doubled, about an hour.

Adjust the rack in the oven so the bread can cook in the middle of it. Preheat the oven to 375°. Bake about 30-40 minutes.  Mine was done at 30 minutes. 

Set the loaf pan on a rack to cool.  

While it is cooling brush the top with butter.  After about 5 minutes turn the bread out onto the rack to finish cooling.

After it had cooled completely, I cut it and had a bite.  It was great.  

Then I buttered the slice.  It was even better.

I served it toasted with eggs.  Who doesn't love breakfast for dinner? It was great toasted, too.