Gourmet Cookie Gifts

Gourmet Cookie Gifts make wonderful gifts any time of year, and during the fall, our fresh-baked chewy cookies taste particularly great!  And when the cool weather sets in, I find myself dreaming about more cookie varieties, and all of the great fall flavors bakers can incorporate into delicious treats.  Farm-fresh ingredients, hand-picked at New England farms are a terrific inspiration for yummy baked sweets.  From apple crisp to pumpkin muffins, there are thousands of great recipes to try.  Here is one recipe that I think everyone will love:  Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies  (Recipe and Photograph from http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/)

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola or corn oil
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup butterscotch chips

Position a rack in the middle of the oven . Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and butter the paper.

Stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together in a medium bowl and set aside.  In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs and sugar until smooth and lightened in color, about 1 minute.  Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing.  On low speed, mix the oil, pumpkin, and vanilla until blended.  Mix in the flour mixture to incorporate it.  Mix in the chips.

Using an ice cream scoop with a 1/4-cup capacity, scoop mounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies at least 2 1/2-inches apart. Bake the  cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, about 16 minutes.  Cool them on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.  Dust the cooled cookies lightly with powdered sugar.  The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days.