White Chocolate Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 Tablespoons pumpkin puree (use the rest of the can in any
of these recipes)
1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup white chocolate chips or chunks
Directions:
Melt the butter in the microwave. In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar together until no brown sugar lumps remain. Whisk in the vanilla and pumpkin until smooth. Set aside.
In a large bowl, toss together the flour, salt, baking
powder, baking soda, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Pour
the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a large
spoon or rubber spatula. The dough will be very soft. Fold in white chocolate
chips. They may not stick to the dough because of the melted butter, but do
your best to have them evenly dispersed in the dough. Cover the dough and chill
for 30 minutes, or up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory.
Take the dough out of the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to
350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone
baking mats.
Roll the dough into balls, about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough
each. Mix together the remaining 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and 1/2 teaspoon
of cinnamon. Roll each of the dough balls generously in the cinnamon-sugar
mixture and arrange on 2 baking sheets. Slightly flatten the dough balls
because the cookies will only slightly spread in the oven.
Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. The cookies will look
very soft and underbaked. Keeping them in the oven for longer may dry them
out. Remove from the oven and press a
few more white chocolate chips onto the tops, if desired. If you find that your
cookies didn't spread much at all, flatten them out when you take them out of
the oven.
Allow the cookies to cool for at least 10 minutes on the
cookie sheets before transferring to a wire rack. The longer the cookies cool,
the chewier they will be. I let them sit out for at least 1 hour before
enjoying. This maybe hard to do.
From Rewriting Rita
Candles
lit the path leading to Ginny’s beach-style bungalow. Tiny lanterns scattered
throughout the bushes and flowers shone in the fading twilight. The warm spring
air carried the strains of soft jazz and the smell of pastries. This was not
how Addison had imagined her book launch, but it was, she decided, perfect. She
had published a book she loved—even if she hadn’t written it—and she was
surrounded by friends she loved and who loved her back.
From
inside the house, a man laughed, and for a wild, brief moment, she thought it
was Paul. She had to remind herself that he was gone and that he had left her
emotionally long before his death. Bracing her shoulders, she walked the path
to the front porch alone.
A
scripture floated to her mind. It’s not
good for man to be alone. Where had that come from? Adam and Eve, the book
of Genesis. But that centuries-old wisdom surely didn’t apply to her. Rita had
proven that she didn’t need a man—or a book contract with a traditional
publisher—to make a happy, successful life. She could make one on her own.
Inside,
towering stacks of Rescuing Rita, the
novel, were scattered throughout the room—on the end tables, along the mantel,
on the piano. It seemed like the only space free of books was the dining room
table and that was covered with food. Addison’s heart swelled with appreciation
for Ginny.
Addison
slipped into the room and shrugged out of her coat. Someone had lit a fire.
“Hello? Ginny?”
An
apron-wearing Ginny bustled into the room carrying a large tray of artfully
arranged sugar cookies decorated to look like books. “Help me find a space on
the table for these,” she said.
“Who
is going to eat all this food?” Addison asked as she rearranged the platters
and bowls to make room for the cookies.
After
Ginny set down the tray, she grabbed both of Addison’s hands. “I’ve invited
everyone we know. Publishing a book is a big deal. We need to celebrate.”
“But
it’s not even our book.”
“I
don’t care. We still need to celebrate. You’ve been too sad for too long.” She
shook Addison’s hands. “This is the beginning for you. I can feel it. Once
you’re successful with Rita, you can move on to your own books.”
“I
don’t know, Gin… There’s a lot more to writing a book than just putting it
online.”
“Sweetie,
I don’t want to hear your excuses. You’ve got this.”
Over
the next hour, friends and family trickled in. Margaret, Babbs, and Nick
arrived. Maureen trailed in behind them carrying a large floral bouquet.
Lauren, wearing a flowy dress and large silver pendent, and her new boyfriend
soon followed. The room filled with dozens of conversations, laughter, but the
one person Addison wanted to see didn’t arrive until she was seated in a chair
of honor near the fireplace.
A
hush fell over the room as she began to read the first chapter. When she
stopped at the moonlight kiss, applause exploded. Everyone was smiling and
clapping, except for Landon.
She couldn’t read his
expression. His eyes wore the same blank and yet calculated look he’d had
during their poker game, except the humor had disappeared. Beside him stood a
little old lady with a wrinkly face puckered as if she’d bitten into a sour
lemon. A memory whispered in her ear: My
sister Erma, no one likes her.
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