Pumpkin Cranberry Cookies

Listen, if there is one thing I have learned from the past year … it’s that when it’s over, you just need to accept it’s over and move on.  There are some things you just can’t change, just don’t fight it. Clearly, I’m talking about the end of summer. It’s over people. Put away the Sperrys and shorts, and bring on the fall coats and pumpkin coffee.I’m not a summer hater, it’s my favorite season and I loved every minute of this summer. Hands down it was a million times better than last summer. But I also love fall in New England, so rather than wasting the first few weeks of September crying about the end of summer, I’m going to jump right in and embrace the beginnings of fall.

It was a cool weekend down the Cape. Adios humidity. Good riddance sweating when I walk to my car. My friend and I did a nice little 25 mile bike ride into Chatham yesterday. When we were biking through Harwich, we passed a Cranberry bog and it inspired these delicious fall treats. The original recipe for these cookies comes from Jones Tree Farm back in my hood in Shelton, CT where we used to go Pumpkin picking every fall. Wiffle Balls and Jones Tree Farm, it’s what Shelton does.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups softened butter
• 2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups canned pumpkin
• 4 cups flour
• 2 cups oatmeal, uncooked
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 cup Crasins

Step 1: Cream together butter and sugars. Add in egg and vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, oats, baking soda, and pumpkin spice.

Step 2: Alternate adding the pumpkin and the dry ingredients into the mixer, stopping each time to make sure everything is well incorporated. Add in the cranberries.

Step 3: Scoop oversized balls of dough onto a sil-pat or parchment lined baking sheet. Leave enough room in between the cookies because they spread out.

Step 4: Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-18 minutes. Keep an eye on them and when the tops start turning light brown you can take them out to cool.

This makes a huge batch. I think I made about 6 trays of cookies, so plenty for coworker cookie Tuesday and enough to send back to my Grandpa in CT. One bite of these cookies and you will forget about your summer blues. Don’t worry, this will not be the last pumpkin cookie you will see from me this fall.