Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

When the weather starts to get cooler, and the leaves begin to turn colors, the first thing I want to do is bake something with pumpkin! I know - it's a weird thing, but I can't help myself! Try to get me to use pumpkin in the spring and summer, and you'll find that it just won't happen.

Since it's a very busy weekend, and the fact that I've been experimenting with recipes that start with chocolate chip cookie mixes, I varied from my normal Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookie recipe. To simplify my life, I started with a Sisters' Gourmet chocolate chip cookie mix to make these yummy cookies. Any cookie mix may work, but I've only tried this one, so far.

Here's the recipe:
1 jar of Sisters' Gourmet chocolate chip cookie mix
2 eggs
1 1/2 sticks (12 tbsp) softened butter
1/2 tsp each of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves
1 tsp vanilla
1 15 oz can of pumpkin

Just put everything in a large bowl and mix! How easy is that! I used my KitchenAid mixer.

Scoop about 1 1/2 inch balls onto baking sheets and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, or until you can gently press on the cookie, and it doesn't make a dent (bounces back).

Cool on pan, then frost if desired. My good friend and master cookie baker, Julie Chambers, taught me that Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies should always have a little bit of frosting on top. I'm not sure why this is so, but you can't go wrong with frosting! And, you can't go wrong with any cookie that Julie makes! :)

It's just a simple frosting of:
1 stick (8 tbsp) butter
4 cups powdered sugar
4 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla

Enjoy!!

Triple Layer Chocolate Chip Bars with Peanut Butter Filling

Sisters' Gourmet is in full swing this time of the year, getting our cookie mixes produced and shipped out for fall baking. With production comes the "reject table"! You may think of this as a bad thing, but it's really not. Pam, our Quality Control Manager, is very good at what she does! Among many other things she is watching for, she makes sure our layered cookie mixes always LOOK good in the jar. If the layers are in disarray, or it otherwise just doesn't look nice, she rejects the jar. Hence the reject table.

Each of us takes home cookies from the reject table to bake for friends, neighbors, family (of course), and we give some away to anyone else who deserves cookies that day (i.e. truck drivers, vendors, etc.). Now, don't take this wrong, but sometimes I get tired of baking the same cookies. It's not that I won't EAT the same cookie day after day, but I like to be creative when I'm baking them.

Long story short.....I'm going to be exploring other recipes that use basic chocolate chip cookie dough, since that's what is on the reject table this week. Today's recipe uses about 3 cups of prepared chocolate cookie dough, but it can easily be adjusted to use more or less. I will just list the cookie dough as an ingredient. Of course, you can substitute your favorite recipe, some refrigerated dough, or mix up a Sisters' Gourmet cookie mix!

Super easy.......You will need:
about 3 cups of chocolate chip cookie dough
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Prepare a 9x9 baking pan with vegetable oil spray. Preheat oven to 350. Spread about 1/2 of the cookie dough in the bottom of the prepared pan. Mix the remaining ingredients (will be thick) and spread over the cookie dough. Now, crumble (or spread, depending on the consistency of your dough) the other 1/2 of dough over the peanut butter mixture. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until golden on top. Cool completely before cutting unless you enjoy a peanut butter and chocolately mess!

I've got a crowd over tonight, and everyone is loving these bars! The best way to describe them is that they are something like a peanut butter bon bon surrounded by chocolate chip cookie. Enjoy!!

Welcome!

We have a lot to say, and (until now) clearly not enough people listening.   So, welcome to the SistersGourmetBlog where you never know what we'll post!


In the meantime, we want you to know a little more about us....

The Story of Sisters’ Gourmet

Sisters Gourmet, a premier manufacturer of gourmet desserts, began like many other gourmet foods companies- in a home kitchen. President, Lisa Sorensen, tells of a visit from her sister, Suzy, back in 1995.

“We had been selling homemade gift baskets at local craft shows for a while when we had a great idea. We both loved baking, and remembered how as children, we spent hours in the kitchen with our mother, baking for family and friends.

“Our goal was to make baking fun, a way to still enjoy an indulgent, homemade taste, yet in a convenient one-bowl recipe. We decided to package some of our favorite recipes layered in Mason jars, covered with whimsical fabrics. As we worked together that night in my kitchen, spending hours poring over recipes, Sisters Gourmet was born.”

  

Now, sixteen years later, Sisters Gourmet’s one-bowl recipes continue to make baking fun for all. Along the way, the company has grown from offering two varieties in Mason jars to offering a wide array of decadent gourmet desserts across several different product lines in numerous packaging options.  Today, the company caters to its thousands of customers around the world.

Yet despite the growth, much pride is taken in knowing each mix is still layered by hand, offering each customer a unique and individual way to conveniently enjoy a gourmet taste from the comfort of their home. As the sisters often like to say, “We make it easy for you to make it homemade.”