Brown Butter and Hazelnut Pumpkin Cookies

Roasted pumpkin with brown butter is a legendary combination, and here we paired them with roasted hazelnuts and semisweet chocolate. The pumpkin in the cookie dough makes the cookies dense and decadent, while still being fluffy and light enough to go back for a second. Or a third...

 Makes 16–20 cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½  teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground star anise
½ grated nutmeg
½ cup butter plus 4 tablespoons
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup pumpkin puree (homemade or from a can)
1 egg
¾ cup chocolate chips
¾ cup toasted and chopped hazelnuts 

Preheat oven to 375°F . In a small sauté pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, turn the heat up so that it begins to brown. Stir with a whisk on the bottom of the pan, making sure that the milk solids don’t stick and burn. Once the butter is a rich golden, brown color remove from the pan and set in the fridge to cool. 

Toast the hazelnuts in the oven for about 10 minutes, and chop or smash them into small pieces. 

Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices together in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, combine the egg, sugars, vanilla and cooled butter. Whisk until the egg and butter have creamed together slightly and the sugars are incorporated evenly. Add the pumpkin purée and continue whisking. Once fully mixed, add the dry ingredients and mix until almost fully incorporated. Add the nuts and chocolate chips and mix fully, keeping the batter lumpy. 

Drop the cookies onto sheet trays lightly greased with butter. Two tablespoons per cookie, two inches apart from each other. Bake on middle racks in the oven, for 14–16 minutes depending on desired doneness. Remove from the oven once cooked and lay on wire racks to cool.

This recipe appeared as an online exclusive in November 2019 as part of a larger story on Pumpkins.