When walking through the beer aisle at the store, there is no mistaking what time of year it is. The over abundance of pumpkin beers on the shelves are impossible to miss. Personally, I have never been a pumpkin beer fan, sorry guys! To me, they are fun to try, taste, compare, but not drink a whole pint of. I am in the minority on that, clearly, as their popularity keeps advancing and the list of breweries that make a pumpkin beer grows every year. Pumpkin beers sell better than any other category of seasonal beers and they are not going away anytime soon. So, I figured it was time I jump on the pumpkin bandwagon and find a way to love them. Thankfully they are excellent beers to cook and bake with, given the lovely cinnamon, nutmeg, and malty pumpkin characteristics many of the brews have.
These pumpkin beer cookies are soft, fluffy, and not overly sweet. Without the chocolate on top, they are more like pumpkin bread than a traditional cookie. The chocolate adds just the right amount of sweetness and the beer works alongside the pumpkin puree to keep them moist and flavorful. When choosing a pumpkin beer to use, I wanted one that had a moderate ABV, low IBUs, and a good amount of spice flavor. I went with Smutty Nose Pumpkin Ale, which fit the bill perfectly. I would stay away from any sort of pumpkin IPA or imperial style ale for these, but a pumpkin stout could also be fun to try.
While these came out great, the application of the chocolate on top was a bit of an issue. It was sad how utterly stumped I was about the best way to make that happen and have them look pretty. First I tried to fill a zip top bag with the melted chocolate and the corner cut off for drizzling on top; it did not turn out well. After staring at the cookies for a while I decided to just dunk the tops into a bowl of melted chocolate and spread it around with the back of a spoon. It was also messy, but achieved the goal (kind of- they still aren’t super pretty). Feel free to get creative with your chocolate application and good luck!
Baking these cookies made my house smell like fall, which was awesome, but the best part about it was they paired great with the pumpkin beer, turning it into something I actually enjoyed drinking a glass of while having some cookies. Move over milk and cookies, beer and cookies are taking over.
What you need
- 2.5 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cups dark brown sugar
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- ½ cup pumpkin beer
What you do
Preheat your over to 350.
Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt in a bowl. Set aside. Next, beat the sugars with the butter on medium-high speed until well combined. Add in the egg, pumpkin and vanilla. Mix again until combined, and then add in the beer. Mix again. Once all the wet ingredients are well combined, slowly add in the dry mixture in 4 – 5 intervals, allowing the flour to completely mix in before adding more.
Once the cookie batter comes together, spoon tablespoons of it onto a prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 – 17 minutes, or until just brown around the edges. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before adding the chocolate.
When the cookies are cool, heat a small saucepan with water in it over medium heat. Place a glass bowl filled with the chocolate chips over the water and stir until the chocolate is smooth and melted. The bowl should not be touching the water, but rather hovering over it. When the chocolate is melted, dip the top of each cookie into the chocolate and smooth it over the cookie with the back of a spoon. Put the cookies in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to allow the chocolate to harden, and then enjoy. Store the cookies at room temperature in an airtight container.
