Fall is coming! So what do we need? A celebratory cookie, obviously. What kind of cookie? One that includes both chocolate and pumpkin, clearly. AND, bonus, one that also includes a little extra zing. Spicy zing. (Cool weather calls for something warming, after all.)
Before coming up with this recipe, I had used browned butter before (love browned butter, I use it whenever possible), but what I HADN’T ever done before was cook something IN the butter as it browns to give it additional flavor. Here, I was trying to figure out a way to add a little extra oomph, and I came across a forgotten Serrano pepper in my fridge. And I thought, aha! What if I cook the pepper in the butter as it browns? What would happen then? I’ll tell you what happens – deliciousness.
The butter, with essence of Serrano, adds a touch of slow, subtle heat to the cookies that isn’t overpowering, but certainly adds an interesting element. But we aren’t stopping there. No – on top of that, we’re also going to add just a touch of cayenne. Now you might be thinking ‘hmm Amanda, that kind of sounds like a lot.’ And I would say, ‘I know it does, but not to worry – remember about the pumpkin.’
And that, friends, is the key. Because after all, this is still, at its heart, a chocolate chip cookie, which means that we don’t 
want the spiciness to get too crazy. The pumpkin not only adds a lovely, festively fall flavor, it also helps counterbalance the spice, to just the right degree. And voila! You’ve got a comforting, warming, gooey, chocolaty thing of goodness. All wrapped up in one little cookie. (And it doesn’t hurt that adding the pumpkin helps keep these cookies extra moist, either.)
So slip into your favorite cozy sweater and socks, whip up a batch of these, and give a warm welcome to fall!
Pumpkin-Chili Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 Serrano pepper
- 2 sticks unsalted butter
- 1 1/4 cup dark brown sugar (packed)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 tbsp pureed pumpkin
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
Instructions
Brown the Butter
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Wash the Serrano and slice the top off. Leave it otherwise intact.
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Place the Serrano and the two sticks of butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until the Serrano begins to blister (and be careful - it also might pop and try to splash hot butter on you - don't let that happen.)
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Once the Serrano has begun to blister, remove it (but don't discard!) and continue cooking the butter until it's browned. Once you've removed the butter from heat, place the Serrano back into the pan until you're ready to add the butter into the other ingredients.
Prep the Dry Ingredients
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In a medium size bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda and the salt. Stir to combine and then set aside.
Create the Batter
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Place the brown sugar and the granulated sugar into a large bowl. Remove the Serrano pepper from the butter and discard. Add the butter to the sugars. Mix with an electric mixer until well combined.
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Add the egg, the egg yolk, the vanilla and the pumpkin to the sugar/butter mixture. Mix until combined.
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Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing well after each addition.
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Stir in the chocolate chips with a spoon (I like to use the spoon that I used to stir the butter while it was browning, because then less batter sticks to it.)
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Once everything is all mixed up, form it into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill it in the fridge for at least an hour.
Bake Them!
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
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Form the chilled batter into 1-inch balls. (This is approximate - I'm not really the best with exactly measuring out cookie size, so I would strongly urge you not to spend too much time making sure each pre-baked cookie is EXACTLY 1 inch. Who has time?)
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Pop 'em in the oven and bake for 9-11 minutes. (I usually do 10, just FYI.)
