Pumpkin Curry Cookies

While we were visiting Vegas before Thanksgiving we once again stopped in my favorite chocolate shop, Vosges Haut-Chocolate. I have to stifle giggles of glee when I walk into this place. It is full of the most amazing chocolate combinations I’ve experienced. Just the smell gives you that feeling of comfort only a smooth, rich piece of chocolate can bring.

The concept of the company is based on the phrase Travel the World through Chocolate. The company’s mission is to:

Create a sustainable luxury chocolate experience, to bring about awareness of indigenous cultures through the exploration of spices, herbs, roots, flowers, fruits, nuts and the obscure.

We stocked up well this time and I’ll do more reviewing once we break into the bars we purchased. Today, though, I want to tell you a little about something else that caught my eye while in the store.

My favorite chocolate infusion is the Naga Bar, a chocolate of 45% cacao which is mixed with sweet Indian curry powder and coconut flakes. The combination is amazing – a quality chocolate that melts in your mouth, tiny bits of coconut to add a crunchy texture and a curry flavor that lingers in the back of your throat long after the last bite.

As I was walking around the store this time, I noticed cookies. I checked out the label and was both intrigued and excited by the fact that they turned the Naga Bar into a cookie. The ingredient list looked something like this:

Pumpkin, coconut, curry and chocolate chips. My first thought – I can do that.

So here you have my new creation for the cookie exchange I co-hosted last weekend. I stuck with my minimally processed ingredients as much as possible adding in plenty of pumpkin, coconut, curry powder and chocolate.

Personally, I was thrilled with the results. Pumpkin and chocolate chips are always a great combo, but a few seconds after you take a bite the curry gently hits your taste buds intensifying the flavor experience. The only thing I would like to change is the cakey texture of the cookies. Although, I’ve made pumpkin cookies before and this seems to be the influence the addition of fresh pumpkin has. If you have a tip for making them less cakey, please share.

My husband liked them too, although I will admit that only a select few really enjoyed them at the exchange. They were a hit, but only a mild hit. I’m judging by how many were left over. I even set out samples for people to try knowing it would be a different combination for some. I’m not sure if it was that perhaps people didn’t like one of the ingredients in them or the cookies as a whole.

I didn’t let it get me down though. I loved the combination and will be making them again soon. If you have a bit of a diverse flavor palate, give them a try. Maybe you can even help me improve the recipe.

Pumpkin Curry Cookies

2 ½ cups whole white wheat pastry flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 tsp curry powder
1 cup butter, softened
¾ cup demerara sugar (unrefined cane sugar)
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup pumpkin, pureed (mine was a thin consistency as it was fresh that had been frozen & thawed)
¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate, chopped or chips
¾ cup unsweetened flaked coconut

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a small bowl combine the flour, baking soda, salt and curry powder, set aside. With a mixer, cream the butter, sugar and maple syrup. Add the eggs one at a time and incorporate well. Next mix in vanilla and the pumpkin.

Gradually incorporate the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate and coconut. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls (or use a cookie scoop) onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, allow to rest for 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 4 dozen.