Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Cookies
I can’t believe it’s almost Halloween. Time is flying by. We finally got around to putting up our spooky decorations for the kids and decorating our pumpkins. Hopefully, they will have as much fun as last year when the big day arrives. In the meantime, we are enjoying these Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Cookies. They are chock full of Pumpkin Spice M&Ms, pumpkin puree, pretzels, and Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa. They are decadently good.
I love chocolate and pretzels together, so why not add a little pumpkin and pumpkin spice to liven things up a bit.
It’s okay if you eat a few Pumpkin Spice M&Ms as you are mixing everything together. You deserve it.
Once they are baked, you will probably think to yourself that these are just about the ugliest cookies you have ever seen. And you would be right. Unfortunately, Pumpkin Spice M&M’s tend to bleed out their colors when baked. If you sit then on top, like I did for my Maple Pumpkin M&M Cookies, it’s not so bad. Once mixed into the cookie, they kind make a mess. Have no fear, because we are going to pretty these up with a heavenly dark chocolate glaze.
I kept the glaze on the thick side, more of a frosting to cover any M&Ms that lost color. I just poured it on with a spoon and spread it around a little.
Since the pretzels inside the cookies became soft during baking, I wanted to add more to the top for some crunch factor. I also sprinkled the glaze with a bit of sea salt before adding the pretzel bits.
Not only did the dark chocolate glaze cover the ugly parts, but it added a new level of decadence to the whole cookie. The cookies themselves were a soft, cake-like consistency and full of pumpkin spice flavor. The thick dark chocolate glaze made them richer and enhanced the chocolate flavors while the pretzel bits on the top added a little saltiness and crunch.
Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Cookies
by The Sweet Chick
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10-12 minutes
Yields: 36 Cookies
Keywords: bake dessert pumpkin pumpkin spice Pumpkin Spice M&Ms pretzels Halloween cookie American fall
Ingredients:
For the cookies
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chopped pretzel pieces
- 1 cup Pumpkin Spice M&Ms
For the glaze
- 2 cup powdered sugar
- 6 tablespoons Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa
- 5-6 tablespoons milk
- 2 teaspoon vegetable shortening
Optional toppings
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 cup chopped pretzel pieces
Instructions
For the cookies
Preheat oven to 350° F.
In a stand mixer, add pumpkin puree, sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla. Mix on low until well blended.
In a medium bowl mix together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, spice, and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture while mixer is on low speed. Mix until smooth.
Next add in the pretzel pieces, mixing until full incorporated.
Then mix in the M&M’s by hand.
With a cookie scoop, place cookie dough mounds on a parchment lined or greased baking sheet, 2 inches apart.
Bake for 10- 12 minutes at 350° F , or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out dry. ( I baked mine for 12 minutes.)
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack with some wax paper underneath. Then let them cool completely before adding the glaze.
For the glaze
In a small bowl whisk together powdered sugar, cocoa, milk, and vegetable shortening until smooth. You want the glaze to be on the thick side.
Using a spoon, pour a bit of the glaze over each cookie and spread it around a bit to cover any M&Ms that have lost their color.
Optional toppings
If you are adding sea salt and/or pretzel bits, add them before the glaze sets. (The glaze will not be completely hard, but will become thicker.) Just sprinkle a bit of sea salt on each cookie per preference and then sprinkle the pretzel bits.
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Chicken Cordon Bleu Wonton Cups
I hear there is a big football game coming up. We are not big football fans, but we are always up for a good party. And with good parties comes good food. I like to change up my party menu every once in a while, so we are not always eating the same foods. This time around, I decided to make our favorite family dinner into a cute appetizer. My family loves Chicken Cordon Bleu, so I thought, why not make it in a wonton? Chicken Cordon Bleu Wonton Cups are perfect for any party or just as a snack.
For these wonton cups, you are going to need some cooked chicken. I just cooked up a package of chicken tenders, but you can probably use some pre-cooked, packaged chicken also.
I found it easier to roll up the ham and cut it in eight strips, then add a strip to eat wonton cup. For the cheese, I cut each slice into small squares and added about 2 squares to each cup. I do recommend getting some good quality deli ham and cheese. I bought Boar’s Head Black Forest Ham and Boar’s Head Baby Swiss Cheese.
For the maple mustard sauce, I just mixed together some brown mustard, mayonnaise, and pure maple syrup. I drizzled on the sauce after the completed wontons were baked, but you can also add it before the final baking process. If you prefer dijon mustard, you can swap that out too. You can also adjust the ratios of mustard and maple syrup to your liking. My daughter and husband love this sauce with their Chicken Cordon Bleu.
You can dress them up with some fresh parsley if you like, or add some chopped tomato. I had my daughter and husband test these out and they agreed that Chicken Cordon Bleu Wonton Cups were a winner. My daughter ate some for lunch the other day and hubby had some as a mid afternoon snack. I did store the extras in the fridge and just reheated them in the microwave for about 10-20 seconds when needed. The wonton wrappers still stayed super crunchy.
These wonton cups have all the flavors of a Chicken Cordon Bleu dinner wrapped in a neat little package. I like the bit of crunch the wonton wrappers give to flavor experience. They will definitely go on the appetizer rotation list. Hope you guys all have a fun Super Bowl day!!
For more fun appetizers, check out the links below.
Chicken Quesadilla Wonton Cups
Chicken Cordon Bleu Wonton Cups
by The Sweet Chick
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15-20 minutes
Keywords: bake appetizer snack chicken ham cheese wonton wraps Super Bowl American French
Ingredients (36 wonton cups)
For the wonton cups
- 36 wonton wrappers
- 2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
- 5 slices Boar’s Head Black Forest deli ham
- 4 slices Boar’s Head Baby Swiss deli cheese
- 1/2 cup seasoned panko bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
For the sauce
- 1/3 cup mayonaise
- 1/4 cup brown mustard
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
Optional toppings
- chopped fresh parsley
- chopped tomatoes
Instructions
For the wonton cups
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line greased mini muffin tins with the wonton wraps, pressing down gently to mold the shape.
Place wraps in the oven and bake for 7 minutes, then remove.
Evenly distribute the chopped chicken pieces into the bottoms of the wonton cups.
Chop up ham and cheese slices. For the ham, I found it better to roll it them slice it into ribbons (about 8 cuts per roll) and add a ribbon to each wonton cup. For the cheese I cut the slices into small squares and placed about two squares to each wonton cup over the ham and chicken.
Next mix together the melted butter and panko bread crumbs and sprinkle about a 1/2 teaspoon of the mixture to the tops of each wonton cups over the cheese.
Place the wonton cups in the oven and bake at 350°F for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and bread crumbs are slightly golden.
Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before carefully removing from muffin tin. Serve warm drizzled with a maple mustard sauce.
For the sauce
Whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, and maple syrup until smooth. Then drizzle it over the wonton cups. Enjoy!
Optional toppings
Feel free to add extra toppings if you like, such as chopped fresh parsley or chopped tomatoes.
Notes
Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container and reheated for 10-20 seconds in the microwave.
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