Scary Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Preheat your oven to 350°. Seriously, this recipe is so easy if you don't to it now you will surely need to wait for the oven to achieve temperature after preparing all of the ingredients.

Some people don't like to use mixes to bake, preferring to bake from scratch. I however, always have cake mixes on hand for when a late night hankerin' comes on. Plus, like Carl Sagen said, "If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe."

So these little homemade gems might use a mix, but they are so easy that if you can open a can and operate an oven, you're in business. Go to the next page for a ridiculously short list of ingredients.

Step 1: Ingredients

You preheated the oven to 350°, right? No? Well go do it now, seriously, we'll wait.

Ingredients:

(1) 15oz Can of Pumpkin
(1) Cake Mix (any brand, any flavor)

Optional Ingredients:
(1) 12oz bag of Chocolate Chips*

*Note: This is completely optional and can be substituted with anything you fancy. Peanut Butter Chips, Craisens, Nuts... Try some options out and post your favorite combos in the comments section.


That's it. Seriously. No eggs, no oil, no water, no nothing. Just those 2 simple shelf safe ingredients can have you ready to make some awesome cookies in a moments notice. OK, 3 if you count the chocolate chips I'm using.

Step 2: Mix

In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin and the cake mix . This can be done with a mixer or a spoon. So long as all of the cake mix powder is incorporated*, you should be fine.

Once you've achieved a fairly uniform consistency you can begin to add your additional ingredients, in our case (1 bag) 12oz of Chocolate Chips and stir until evenly distributed. Vary amounts to taste.






*WARNING: Once the cake mix is incorporated do not answer the door until the baking process is over. There may be a crowd of people assembling on your sidewalk or porch to protest that you are not making use of 99% of available ingredients.

Step 3: Drop and Bake

OK, all that's left to do now is drop your cookies on a cookie tray. You can use a Teflon coated tray or parchment paper if you like. I usually go for cookies that are about the size of a 1 1/2" ball cut in half, about 2 Tablespoons per cookie. I didn't scare you with that measuring talk, did I?

Unlike many cookies that spread as they bake, these, for the most part, retain their shape. Could be another opportunity to get creative.

See, aren't you glad you preheated that oven.

Bake at 350° for 20 - 25 minutes . Bigger cookies may take longer

I know, you cookie bakers are saying, "25 minutes? For cookies? That's way too long!" Well for these it isn't. The nice thing about these cookies besides the simplicity of ingredients is that they are easy to bake. Unlike a typical chocolate chip cookie, for example, where the window for taking them out perfect is very slim, the window for pulling these and them still being perfect is a good 5 minutes or more.

Step 4: Cool and Enjoy

These cookies should rest for a couple of minutes after being removed before eating, if for no other reason to ensure 350° chocolate doesn't destroy your mouth. You'll notice these cookies have a cakey consistency which, given our ingredients, stands to reason. These cookies are a great fall treat, but with a variation on your flavor of cake mix and or your ingredients, they could be customized for any time of year.

Thanks and Enjoy!


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