Brown Butter Pumpkin Cookies with Milk Chocolate Chunks

Hey all!  Oh my gosh, long time no chat.  I feel badly about that.  The hours, the days, they are so jam packed lately, it's honestly hard to find time to hang out here.  I hope you understand.  The gigs that pay the money - like my regular food columns and recipes development often come first, because, well, I like to eat good things and I have to pay the mortgage.  And buy cat food!  And save for a new bathroom, because I hate mine so much every time I have a shower.  Speaking of bathrooms, if you follow along with me on social media, you know how I visited Toronto last month for a Food Bloggers of Canada Conference, thanks to the kind and generous sponsorship of Canadian Lentils. My suite was on the 29th floor, next to the CN tower, and it had the most magnificent bathroom that ever was.  Floor to ceiling windows.  Soaker tub, big enough for me to stretch out my long legs, amazing views of the harbour and CN tower.  I felt like the luckiest girl alive.  I would call my handsome farmer back in Sask, and talk to him all the while in the loo.  Sweet soul, he just laughed at me.  I probably spent too much time hanging out in this great bathroom, but who knows when such opportunities will surface again for me.  Seriously, if you find yourself in Toronto, book room 2914 in the new Delta.  It's so good!

So, the book has also been keeping me very busy and it's been some time since I gave a cookbook update.  We're progressing nicely.  I just worked through the first pass of page proofs, and golly me, I found a few mistakes.  So glad I was able to nip them in the bud!  I also got choked up the first time I scrolled through the proofs.  My words.  My photos.  It's all really happening.  I can't wait for you to see the book.  It's going to be amazing.  We're working hard on the all-important cover, and to be honest, this has been one of the hardest parts...having the designer to build something that meshes with your vision of how you want it to look.  But, we're close, and I know it's going to be beautiful.
Making a cookbook is definitely a team endeavor and I'm so lucky to have the pros at TouchWood behind me.  Go team go!  

Now, lets get to these cookies.  They're pretty great.  I found a little time to bake for fun last week, plus I used up leftover Halloween candy and pumpkin purée.  Two birds!  One stone!  They are built on brown butter, like most good things, and have the healthy addition of sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds.  And milk chocolate chunks.  Lots of chunks, because why not.  They are more of a cakey cookie, thanks to the pumpkin, but that's okay by me.  I also just took some out of the freezer, and am happy to report they freeze super nicely.  I love having cookies in the freezer - it's like all is right with the world when that happens.

Wanna know what I'm drinking in those mugs?  Golden Milk!  It's basically 1 Tbsp of coconut oil melted in a saucepan along with 1 tsp turmeric powder, 2 cups of milk simmered together for 5-10 minutes.  Stir in raw honey to taste, as well as a grinding of fresh black pepper.  I'm hoping it kicks this nasty cold in the arse.  Being sick is not on my list of things to do!

Oh, before I forget.  If you want to see the work I do for Canadian Lentils, download the latest Lentils for Every Season magazine.  It's full of delicious and slow cooker meals.  I'm in love with the Butter Chicken and lentils!  

Happy November, my friends.  I hope you're all warm and cozy and keeping well.  I'll pop back again sometime soon.  Christmas is coming, after all!

Brown Butter Pumpkin Cookies with Milk Chocolate Chunks

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup pumpkin purée (not pie filling)
1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat, rye flour or all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 1/2 cups milk chocolate chunks (or dark chocolate, if you like)
1/3 cup EACH pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds

Preheat the oven to 375F.  Place racks in upper and lower thirds of the oven.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  It will bubble and froth, and turn golden and nutty.  Be sure it doesn't burn.  Remove the butter from the heat. Pour it into a large bowl.  and let it cool to room temp.  Once it's cool, beat in the pumpkin purée, oil, sugars, eggs and vanilla.  In another large bowl, stir together the flours and the spices, baking powder and soda, and salt.  Stir in the chocolate chunks and seeds.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well.  Place the cookie dough in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.  Use an ice cream scoop to drop the dough onto the baking sheets, leaving about 2-inches between the cookies.  Bake for about 10-11 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through.  The cookies should be lightly browned around the edges and nicely puffed.  Remove the baking sheets to wire racks to cool.  Makes about 2 dozen cookies.  They freeze great!