When I was little, I have very fond memories of making cookies with my Mom. Well, she made them and we pressed the forks into them to make a cross-hatch – and they were always peanut butter. But at my friend Lynette’s house, they made all kinds of things! And it seemed like they were always making something. But I really remember the Pumpkin Drop Cookies.

Pumpkin Drop Cookies – add raisins or chocolate chips.

So when I got a bug this year and out of the blue I just HAD to have Pumpkin Drop Cookies, I went looking for a recipe that I thought might be like the one Lynette made with her family. I didn’t want something new and improved and glorified. I wanted the simple, mix with a spoon Old-Fashioned Pumpkin Drop Cookies that I remembered.

About Pumpkin Drop Cookies:

I think I found just what I was looking for at Betty Crocker. Good ol’ Betty! I do admit to tinkering just a bit – I divided the batter and made roughly half with raisins and half with chocolate chips. Because why not have both? I mean they’re both classic flavors, although I’m pretty sure way back when we only had plain Pumpkin Drop Cookies. Which would you prefer, plain, raisin or chocolate pumpkin cookies? Well, the chocolate ones went first, that’s for sure!

Regardless of how you make them, I think you’re going to fall for the old fashioned flavor. These really are a classic. They travel well, too, since they’re sturdy (soft but sturdy) and there’s no icing. These were always a big seller at our school bake-sales and concession stands. As a matter of fact, that brought back a lot of memories as I remember we’d take turns manning those stands during basketball games and other activities.

Pumpkin Drop Cookies – add raisins or chocolate chips.

Making Pumpkin Drop Cookies:

This really is a super easy recipe, mix all in the bowl and no mixer needed. There’s no need to mix up the dry and the wet ingredients separately and thereby dirty another bowl. It’s just a simple dump and mix. Ya gotta love that and it’s perfect for little helpers in the kitchen – or for budding cooks to make on their own. And there is a minimum of cleanup.

I did find that dropping by the tablespoon as directed in the recipe gave about 60 small cookies instead of 48, as the recipe stated, so I think there’s a bit of a discrepancy.  It wasn’t a biggie, but I did have to bake a whole ‘nuther sheet tray full of cookies because they didn’t all fit.

Maybe next time, I’ll use a two-tablespoon scoop – it will make fewer cookies and probably increase the baking time just a tiny bit but with one tablespoon the cookies were a bit petite.

There is one specific twist I like and I added it in the recipe. If using chocolate chips, I like to stir in the cup of chips as directed, but use the rest of the chips in the package to add just a few chocolate chips right on the top of each cookie. Just lightly press in. It makes them seem so much more chocolate-y. You won’t want to do that with the raisins as they’ll pick up just a bit of an overcooked flavor.

Saving Money on Pumpkin Drop Cookies:

I make most of my own spice blends, especially if they’re made from items I usually have in my spice cupboard. My rule of thumb is if the blend at the store is more than the most expensive ingredient in it, then you’re better off making it yourself. So of course, I was going to choose one of my own blends of Pumpkin Pie Spice. I have a Trio of Pumpkin Spices to choose from. So instead of mixing up the specific spices in the recipe, I just sub in one and a half teaspoons of one of my pumpkin pie spices. Mixing up a batch to last through the season means it will always be fresh and at the ready, saving me time and money.

When shopping for baking goods, do watch the sales closely. Before any holiday, especially, you’ll likely find many baking items deeply discounted and there will likely be coupons, too. It’s a great time of year to look for items like chocolate chips and cans of pumpkin. Stock up.

Pumpkin is often one of those items you’ll find on sale before a holiday but might find deeply discounted AFTER a holiday. Make sure to check the sales and/or discount bins or shelves at your store. Not only will canned pumpkin be perfectly good until next year’s season, but it will also actually taste better. As it sits in the can, it mellows and when I serve something made with “old” canned pumpkin, people almost always ask about my recipe. They think I’ve done something special. That’s a trick I learned from my sister in law and now I always make sure to have extra pumpkin on hand.

Pumpkin Drop Cookies – the Old Fashioned kind