butterfly bakery blog

This spiced brown butter pumpkin cookie is soft, chewy and packed with pools of melty dark chocolate. This is the official cookie of autumn. It’s flavoured perfectly with cinnamon, nutmeg and a little mixed spice, because we don’t buy pumpkin spice, we make it!

Also, these are completely plant-based, require no chilling, and are made in just 1 bowl. Oh, and don’t worry, the pumpkin doesn’t make them cakey. If you’re looking for a quick but insanely tasty recipe to fill that autumn craving, or use up some leftover pumpkin, this is the recipe for you.

JUMP TO:
• What you’ll need
• FAQ’s
• History of Cookies
• Recipe

What you’ll need

• Plant butter | It’s important to use vegan block butter (not the spreadable tub kind) as this will give your cookies more structure and less water content. I prefer to use the Naturli or Flora block.

• Sugar | We are using two kinds, brown and white. I use light-brown sugar for flavour and chew, granulated sugar provides a slight crisp. It’s important to use both.

• Flax eggs | Don’t be intimidated! This is simply a mixture of ground flax seeds and water. To make a flax egg, combine 1tbsp ground flax either 2tbsp water, stir and let sit for 5 minutes. It turns into a gel which acts as an egg replacement. You could also use a chia egg or aquafaba.

• Vanilla extract | I always find that a good quality vanilla makes a big difference. Splurge for that expensive vanilla!

• Pumpkin purée | It’s kind of hard to find this in the UK, but I recently discovered that Sainsbury’s has pure canned pumpkin puree – the brand is Baking Buddy. Before using this in the dough, it’s vital to draw out some of the liquid. You can use a cheese cloth, kitchen roll, or even a coffee filter.

• Flour | Use plain flour (all-purpose), otherwise your cookie will no longer be a cookie.

• Baking soda | This will help the cookie spread.

• Salt | Obviously we need salt! A pinch of fine sea salt goes into the dough, and a healthy sprinkle of flaky salt goes on the top 🙂

• Cinnamon | I always find that recipes call for just a bit of cinnamon, but

• Chocolate | I like to use semi-dark chocolate chunks, around 40% dark.

FAQ’s

• Why do you strain the pumpkin? – It’s important to drain the pumpkin in either a cheesecloth or paper towels to get most of the liquid out of the pumpkin puree. This makes sure the cookies are chewy rather than cakey!

• How do I know when the butter is browned? – A lot of vegan butters don’t actually brown, but Violife works! If you can’t get your hands on that, use any vegan block butter and melt it until transparent. You want to eliminate some of the water from the butter.

• What happens if I overmix the dough? – If you overmix the dough, you could create a flat and greasy cookie. Just briefly mix the dough to avoid this.

The history of cookies

Cookies place of origin is in Persia where they date back as early as the 7th century AD. Persia was one of the first countries ever to grow and harvest sugar cane. Cookies are thought to have started off being an oven temperature tester. So many bakers would bake what are now known as ‘cookies’ to test if the oven temperature was right, before putting their baked good into the oven. 

By the 14th century, cookies had spread through out the whole of Europe and were enjoyed by all levels of society, from royal cuisine to street venders. 

Cookies were first introduced to America by the English in the 1600s. At this time, cookies went by many names like small cakes, seed biscuits, and tea cakes. Cookies got their name as we know it today in America.

Spiced pumpkin chocolate chunk cookies
prep time: 20mins / serves: 12 / cook time: 12mins

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown sugar, packed (207g)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)
• 1 cup vegan butter, browned (222g)
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3 tbsp aquafaba*
• 2/3 cups pumpkin puree (175g)
• 2 cups plain flour (265g)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup vegan chocolate chunks (180g)
• Flaky sea salt for topping

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Method:

• Pre-heat oven to 180c / 160c fan oven. Line two cookie sheets with baking paper and set aside.

• In a cheesecloth or a fine-mesh strainer lined with two paper towels, add the pumpkin puree. Let it drain and lightly squeeze out the extra water. If needed, you can also use a coffee filter. Get out as much water as you can.

• To a saucepan add the vegan butter and melt until transparent – you want some of the water to evaporate, so pour the melted butter back into the measuring cup once its fully melted. It should have reduced by about a 1/2 inch. Let cool before using.

• In a large bowl add the browned butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Whisk to combine.

• Add in the aquafaba, vanilla and strained pumpkin. Whisk to combine.

• Add the flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Briefly mix with a spatula – flour streaks will still remain at this point.

• Add in the chocolate chunks and fold carefully until just combined.

• Scoop into 12 balls and place on lined baking sheets. Leave enough room for them to spread out. Add some extra chocolate chunks to the top.

• Place in the oven for around 12 minutes until slightly golden on the edges.

• Let cool completely and sprinkle with flaky salt. Enjoy!

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NOTE – aquafaba is the liquid residue from canned legumes such as chickpeas, lentils, butter beans…

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