If you read my onion pie post last week, I told you about Dr. Allen Hirsch, the neurological director of the Smell and Taste Research and Treatment Foundation. He has studied for years how and why men and women respond to specific scents and tastes. In one of his most publicized studies, he found that men respond most strongly to a mix of two scents – lavender and pumpkin, strange don’t you think? It may not suprise you that men also responded strongly to the scent of doughnuts, pizza, and buttered popcorn. Oh, could that why Mr. Right hasn’t shown up on my doorstep? Here I am splurging on my favorite perfume while Mr. Right is somewhere sniffing out pizza, popcorn, and Krispy Kremes.

There was a major catastrophe in my kitchen this weekend and my only saving grace was that the only witness on hand was the pup. It all started a week ago when I was going through my pantry and saw two lonely cans of pumpkin that I had forgotten to use this fall. Several important choices later, I was in the midst of disaster. When it was all over and the evidence was out of sight, I realized that the kitchen is just a microcosm of life. Here’s what life in the kitchen taught me this weekend:

Lesson #1 – Your first instinct is usually the best. I found a recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies that looked pretty easy and yummy. However, as the week went on, I started having grander ideas and found the ultimate pumpkin recipe (or so I envisioned) – pumpkin muffins with cream cheese icing hidden inside and sinful streusel on top. I spent the rest of the week daydreaming about those muffins. 

Lesson #2 Keep your expectations in check. When it was time to make these muffins, I had grand expectations. (My lord, they’re only muffins!)

Lesson #3 Make the best of what life cooks up for you. The scene was horrific. I have never in my life seen muffins that looked this hideous. I got up the nerve to taste one, knowing that sometimes looks are deceiving… not this time. It tasted as bad as it looked. The only part that had any appeal was the streusel topping. So, as the dog watched curiously, I proceded to pick off and enjoy every single bit of streusel off of those muffins. I didn’t get what I hoped for, but found the good in the situation.

Lesson #4 – The simple things in life are usually the best. The next day I made a batch of the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. They were simple and didn’t use a lot of dishes (always a bonus). These are like little muffin tops – cakey and delicious! If you find a lonely can of pumpkin hiding in your pantry, learn from my mistakes, keep it simple, and make up a batch of these!

Pumpkin Cookies (Recipe from Joy the Baker, adapted from Big, Fat Cookies)

2 cups all-purpose flour *

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup canola or corn oil

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chocolate chips, or any chip you like

Position a rack in the middle of the oven . Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and butter the paper.

Stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices together in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs and sugar until smooth and lightened in color, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. On low speed, mix the oil, pumpkin, and vanilla until blended. Mix in the flour mixture to incorporate it. Mix in the chips.

Using an ice cream scoop with a 1/4-cup capacity, scoop mounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies at least 2 1/2-inches apart. You could also simply use a 1/4-cup measuring cup if you don’t have a scoop. Use a thin metal spatula to smooth and flatten the rounds.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, about 16 minutes. Cool them on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Dust the cooled cookies lightly with powdered sugar. The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

*The only change I made was to add about ½ cup more flour to the dough. It didn’t seem firm enough to keep its shape.