Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love cookies, but these are my all-time favorite.  When we were living in Southern California, we frequently shopped at the nearby Ralph's grocery store.  It's on the spendier side - especially compared to the commissary on base - but everything in there seems so colorful and fresh and awesome, so shopping there seemed like a special treat.  Plus, I really like shopping in grocery stores with "ambiance" - it's something about the lighting - and Ralph's was chock full of it.

Our favorites there were the freshly baked daily croissants - my husband had their baking schedule memorized and would get there just in time to bring home fresh, piping hot croissants - and their pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.  The pumpkin chocolate chip cookies were available year round - even in the heat of summer I could satisfy my pumpkin obsession and if I went home and sat in front of a fan while indulging in the cookies, I could pretend it was fall.

We were so sad to leave Ralph's territory and leave these delicious, soft and flavorful cookies behind.  In fact, I was so attached to these cookies that when we passed through California en route from Texas to Okinawa, I made sure to pit stop at Ralph's and bought a couple dozen of them to bring with us.  For the first week in Okinawa, my husband and I carefully rationed the cookies out to each other, savoring every bite.

Then, one day I got a phone call from a friend in hysterics.  She claimed that she knew how to make the Ralph's cookies!  Impossible!

She was right, though, and the cookies are amazingly easy.  And incredibly satisfying.


Pumpkin Chip Cookies
Ingredients:

• 2 boxes spice cake mix
• 1 large can pumpkin pie mix
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-2 cups chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer.
3. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto cookie sheets about 2"apart.  I line the sheets with parchment paper and use a cookie dough scoop.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes in the preheated oven.
5. Allow to cool several minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Yep, that's IT!  Pretty cool, right?  These are a must try for the season, trust me.  Be prepared to share, though!  When we made these yesterday morning, I ended up with a grand total of 82 cookies.  That's a lot, even for me!  ;)

I shared this post at MySweetCreations for Sweet Sunday.