Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies are a great way to celebrate fall! Over the weekend I made these and wasn't quite fast enough to get a photo! Sorry!

 Though they are not a sweet cookie, the chocolate chips perk it up and a secret ingredient adds a third dimension. What?? you ask, secret ingredient? Yes! Orange Peel! It is such a great combination. At first I thought it sounded like too much bother to grate orange peel for cookies, but they tasted like they were missing something. So I found a tangerine to use. Then I wished I had put it in all the cookies! Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

2 cups sugar

2 cups canned pumpkin

1 cup shortening

2 tablespoons grated orange peel

4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375.  Mix sugar, pumpkin, orange peel and shortening together. Combine all dry ingredients, stir into pumpkin mixture. Add chocolate chips. The dough will still be sticky. Drop by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. Flour fingers lightly and smooth dough into balls. (You can just leave them, but they will look very craggy. These cookies don't do anything in the oven, just bake!) Bake 8-10 mins. Until nicely brown on outside.