Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Preparing the Pumpkin Purée

1. To make pumpkin purée, cut the pumpkin (or butternut squash) in half, and carve out the seeds.
2. Place them on a parchment paper lined sheet pan, and toss with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Bake at 200° C (395° F) for 30-40 minutes, or until fork-tender.
3. When the pumpkin is cooked, let it cool down until you can touch it without burning yourself, remove the skin, and then purée the flesh using a food processor.
4. Bring the pumpkin purée to room temperature before using it in this recipe. Whatever you don't need can be kept refrigerated in an airtight container for up to a week, or frozen for up to 3 months.

Preparing the Cookie Dough

1. Place the melted butter, cream cheese, brown sugar, and caster sugar in a large bowl, and whisk for a couple of minutes, until smooth and fluffy. You can use a handheld mixer or stand mixer for this step.
2. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl using a rubber spatula, and whisk it for another 30 seconds before adding the vanilla paste, pumpkin purée, and egg yolks. 
3. Whisk the mixture for another minute or so, until they all blended nicely and the mixture is soft and fluffy.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the gluten-free flour together with the cinnamon, xanthan gum, baking soda, and salt.
5. Add the dry ingredients along with the chocolate chips/pieces to the wet mixture, and combine gently on low speed. You can make this step by hand using a rubber spatula.
6. Let the cookie mixture cool for 30 minutes in the fridge before shaping them.

Shaping the Cookies and Baking

1. While the cookie dough is cooling in the fridge, preheat the oven to 175° C (350° F) and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Once the pumpkin cookie dough is chilled and firm, scoop out 1 ½ tablespoon of dough ball onto the baking sheet with the help of a cookie scoop.
3. Repeat the same with the remaining cookie dough, and line them in a single layer on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Make sure to leave at least 5 cm (2") between each ball.
4. Bake the cookies for 13 -15 minutes, until the middle is slightly soft and the edges are very lightly browned.
5. Remove them from the oven and let the cookies cool down on the tray for 10 minutes before removing them to a wire rack.
6. Let them completely cool down for a couple of hours before eating them. They are even chewier and tastier after a day or two!