Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

I've seen some great pumpkin recipes lately and I started baking some of them this past weekend.  First up was pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.  I've never heard or tried pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, but it sounded delicious.

I saw quite a few recipes, and I decided to try one on allrecipes.com submitted by Jennifer.  While the recipe got really good reviews, I had trouble with the recipe as written.  The cookies ended up tasting good, but I had to make some changes.

Here are some things I learned from this recipe.  First, if you are expecting a more "autumn" spice type flavor, this recipe is not it.  I enjoyed this recipe, but its definitely a more pure pumpkin taste.

Another thing is I felt that the amount of chocolate chips the recipe called for completely overwhelmed the pumpkin flavor.  My first batch tasted just like regular cakey chocolate chip cookies and I couldn't taste the pumpkin at all.  So on my second batch, I only used half the amount of chocolate chips.

Finally, the cookies didn't spread much during baking.  So my first batch came out quite ugly.  The cookies were dropped onto the baking sheet just like the directions called for, and they finished cooking looking the same way.  So afterward, I ended up flattening and smoothing the cookie dough to look how I wanted the finish cookie to look.  The original recipe calls for the baking soda to be dissolved in milk.  I think that also caused the cookie batter not to spread as much.

Here is the recipe with my modifications (adapted from allrecipes)

Ingredients

• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
•  
  1cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Combine
   pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir
   together flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and salt. Add flour mixture to pumpkin
   mixture and mix well.
2. 
   Add vanilla, chocolate chips.
   
3. 
   Shape and flatten dough on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175
   degrees C) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and
   firm. The cookie dough should be almost the same size and shape as the finished cookies as the batter does not spread much.

Normally, I like the taste of cookies best when they first come out of the oven.  However, the pumpkin cookies tasted better the next day after the cookies had cooled and the pumpkin flavor had time to set in.

The cookies are soft, cakey, with a mild pumpkin cake/bread taste.

Fish shaped ice cream sandwich

The other day Ranch 99 had these cute fish shaped ice cream waffle sandwiches on sale.  I've never seen them before, and had to try them out.  I love eating cutesy foods.  The outside is a fish-shaped waffle shell.  The inside has a layer of vanilla ice cream and a layer of red bean.

The Melona brand is a Korean brand. I usually buy their melon bars, but this is the first time I've seen these cute fish shaped ice cream sandwiches.  They were pretty tasty.  Not too sweet.

I got these at the Ranch 99 in San Diego, but there are other Ranch 99 locations, so you can look for them there.  Also if you have any Korean markets near you, you might be able to find them there as well. They are definitely a cute treat.

Ranch 99 Supermarket
7330 Clairemont Mesa Blvd, #112
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 565-7799
www.99ranch.com

Diddy Riese Cookies

Diddy Riese Cookies
926 Broxton Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90024
(310) 208-0448

www.diddyriese.com