Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Sweet Sunday's Yummy Lit Review:

Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I opted to bring in the Fall baking season a few days early this year with the leaves already turning red and the return of Vancouver's rainy season. What better way to do that than bring out the pumpkin?

Pumpkin. Some may call it a large, round, thick skinned, and dry fruit. But, put into baking terms, I think I prefer to describe it as bright orange, spicy, and moist (it definitely made some strange noises when I spooned it out of the can)... oh and yummy.

This week I have used a recipe from another blogger - bakerella.com. Loaded with baking tips, recipes, and delicious imagery this site is certainly worth a visit!



Bakerella says I will need:

2 1/4 cup self-rising flour
3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks

Whisk together flour and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream butter.
Add both sugars and beat until light and fluffy.
Add vanilla.
Add eggs one at a time and beat until combined.
Add flour/spice mixture to sugar mixture in three additions. Alternate with pumpkin in two additions, ending with flour mixture.
Stir in chopped pecans and chocolate chunks.
Drop on cookie tray lined with parchment paper.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Makes about four dozen cookies.
Let cool.

I should note that Bakerella tops these cookies off with Maple Brown Butter Frosting. I opted to avoid this addition.


I'm going to admit that I am a bit torn about these cookies. The pumpkin and added spices make the cookie truly unforgettable - in a very good way at that. But the cookie felt too moist. I'm not sure if it wasn't in the oven long enough (I don't think is the case though - I even did the "insert toothpick - pull out dry" test to make sure). Maybe there wasn't enough flour? Too much pumpkin? Or is it just supposed to be this moist?

Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chunk cookies are good but may need some added help. Have fun experimenting!

2 Months and Counting

1 coffee addict and compulsive baker.
2 blogging awards.
3 favourite quotes.
8 yummy cookie recipe analyzes.
14 literary reviews.
40 posts.
56 following readers.
60 days of writing.
Countless cups of hot, steaming caffeine.

Happy 2 months, Coffee Tale Reviews!


I have been rather neglectful of this site since the start of September. Though I love reading, writing, and creating new posts I also have a strong and steadfast loyalty to my schooling... and volunteering... and making my new car look extra spiffy. Sometime over the next month I swear I'll establish a good balance of blog vs. student life.

For starters, I have 6 non-academic books in my to-be-read pile, a stack of recipes I can't wait to try, and a visitor from halfway across the world who will be with me in less than 24 hours. I think he may even be featured in one of the upcoming Sweet Sundays!

But, what I really want to say, is thanks for reading, for following, and for leaving me wonderful and lovely comments. This blog wouldn't be half as fun without you.

Thank YOU for two great months :)

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sweet Sunday Yummy Lit Review:

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

This week I would like to introduce, for those who have not yet had the good fortune of encountering, the Banana Chocolate Chip Cookie. This cookie is truly divine... a combination of the moist texture and delicious flavour of banana bread all rolled into a bite-size cookie!

Okay, I admit that is a grand statement... but these cookies are truly that. They are really good.

I found the recipe at Taste and Tell who, in turn, found the recipe from The Field Guide to Cookies.


Taste and Tell says I will need:

1 1/2 cup flour
1 3/4 cup rolled old-fashioned oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup mashed ripe banana
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. In a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined. Add half the flour mixture, mix, and then add the banana and mix. Add the rest of the flour mixture and mix until combined. Mix in chocolate chips.

Drop tablespoon sized balls onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 14 minutes, rotating halfway through.

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies.


I'll start by saying that I will definitely be visiting Taste and Tell again. It is an awesome blog - very easy to navigate, a good selection of recipes, and entertaining to boot. The recipe for Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies is perfect. I didn't have to change anything from the ingredients list or have to adjust the baking time. I even ended up having exactly three and a half dozen cookies.

The downside to these cookies turning out so downright perfect... and being eaten up so quickly by passersby... is that I don't have any kind of critique to give them.

They are good. That's just it.
If you feel like something banana-ish and chocolate-y, give it a shot. You won't be disappointed.



Hope you all have a sweet Sunday!



P.S. Jack Johnson's Banana Pancakes is the perfect song to accompany this baking adventure. I swear these cookies could have inspired the lyrics... if only they were pancakes.

Favourite Posts to Hop

Well, I've been contemplating my participation in this week's Book Blogger Hop by Jennifer from Crazy-For-Books. After being rather neglectful of my blog over the last week I figured a Hop may be just what I need to get back into the groove.

This week we have been asked to post a link to our favourite post or book review that we have written in the past three months.

Seeing as Coffee Tale Reviews is allllllmost 2 months old, my entire archive is being exposed in this question.

Problem is I can't chose just one. My favourite post would be An American Fugitive - which discusses my intense real-life adventure in Washington a few weeks ago. On the book review front, I would have to chose Hitler's Private Library - this review created some pretty philosophical questions for book lovers such as ourselves.

Happy Hopping!

Sarah's Key

Is it important to remember the past?

Should horrific details of our heritage be submerged under notions of an idealized present?

Is it better to know or to forget the most gruesome aspects of our lives... and of our nation?


Tatiana De Rosnay, author of Sarah's Key, grapples with these questions. Sarah's Key describes the story of a young French Jewish girl who was detained by French Forces during the Vel' d' Hiv' roundup but was able to escape before being sent to Auschwitz in the 1940s.

De Rosnay creates a story centered on the notion of remembrance. After her escape, Sarah must live the rest of her life with memories of the roundup, losing her Mother and Father upon arrival at the detainment camp, and the dire consequences of hiding her brother in a small cupboard before leaving for Vel' d' Hiv'. De Rosnay expertly links Sarah's story to that of Julia Jarmond, a contemporary journalist researching the French state during the Holocaust.

De Rosnay shows how countries try to avoid discussions on negative aspects of their past, how a family's history impacts one's self-identity, and that repercussions of the Holocaust remain prominent even in the 21st century.

I found it very interesting to see a portrayal of France's remembrance of the Holocaust due to my own extensive university studies on Germany's remembrance of World War II from the 1940s to present day. Books alike to Sarah's Key attest to the symbolic importance of having historical events formally recognized by the state. Recognition creates the ability to further establish one's own identity and to once again feel a sense of community.

Thank You

I would like to thank Laura Ashlee, the creator of Ramblings of a (Future) Librarian, for kindly awarding me with the One Lovely Blog award. She has a great eclectic book review blog of her own - definitely worth a check out!