Pumpkin Curry Cookies

December 14, 2009

While we were visiting Vegas before Thanksgiving we once again stopped in my favorite chocolate shop, Vosges Haut-Chocolate. I have to stifle giggles of glee when I walk into this place. It is full of the most amazing chocolate combinations I’ve experienced. Just the smell gives you that feeling of comfort only a smooth, rich piece of chocolate can bring.

The concept of the company is based on the phrase Travel the World through Chocolate. The company’s mission is to:

Create a sustainable luxury chocolate experience, to bring about awareness of indigenous cultures through the exploration of spices, herbs, roots, flowers, fruits, nuts and the obscure.

We stocked up well this time and I’ll do more reviewing once we break into the bars we purchased. Today, though, I want to tell you a little about something else that caught my eye while in the store.

My favorite chocolate infusion is the Naga Bar, a chocolate of 45% cacao which is mixed with sweet Indian curry powder and coconut flakes. The combination is amazing – a quality chocolate that melts in your mouth, tiny bits of coconut to add a crunchy texture and a curry flavor that lingers in the back of your throat long after the last bite.

As I was walking around the store this time, I noticed cookies. I checked out the label and was both intrigued and excited by the fact that they turned the Naga Bar into a cookie. The ingredient list looked something like this:


Pumpkin, coconut, curry and chocolate chips. My first thought – I can do that.

So here you have my new creation for the cookie exchange I co-hosted last weekend. I stuck with my minimally processed ingredients as much as possible adding in plenty of pumpkin, coconut, curry powder and chocolate.

Personally, I was thrilled with the results. Pumpkin and chocolate chips are always a great combo, but a few seconds after you take a bite the curry gently hits your taste buds intensifying the flavor experience. The only thing I would like to change is the cakey texture of the cookies. Although, I’ve made pumpkin cookies before and this seems to be the influence the addition of fresh pumpkin has. If you have a tip for making them less cakey, please share.

My husband liked them too, although I will admit that only a select few really enjoyed them at the exchange. They were a hit, but only a mild hit. I’m judging by how many were left over. I even set out samples for people to try knowing it would be a different combination for some. I’m not sure if it was that perhaps people didn’t like one of the ingredients in them or the cookies as a whole.

I didn’t let it get me down though. I loved the combination and will be making them again soon. If you have a bit of a diverse flavor palate, give them a try. Maybe you can even help me improve the recipe.

Pumpkin Curry Cookies

2 ½ cups whole white wheat pastry flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 tsp curry powder
1 cup butter, softened
¾ cup demerara sugar (unrefined cane sugar)
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup pumpkin, pureed (mine was a thin consistency as it was fresh that had been frozen & thawed)
¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate, chopped or chips
¾ cup unsweetened flaked coconut

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a small bowl combine the flour, baking soda, salt and curry powder, set aside. With a mixer, cream the butter, sugar and maple syrup. Add the eggs one at a time and incorporate well. Next mix in vanilla and the pumpkin.

Gradually incorporate the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate and coconut. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls (or use a cookie scoop) onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, allow to rest for 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 4 dozen.

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  • OysterCulture December 14, 2009 at 6:48 am

    I love the creativity! Awesome adaptation of Vosges – and I think their creator is brilliant!

  • VeggieGirl December 14, 2009 at 6:57 am

    Spicy cookies!! Love it.

  • Sagan December 14, 2009 at 8:08 am

    Mmm I love spice.

  • kat December 14, 2009 at 8:19 am

    They certainly sound good to me but I guess curry isn’t up everyone alley

  • Andrea (Off Her Cork) December 14, 2009 at 9:34 am

    Oh my gosh seriously these sound fantastic! Wow what a great combo and the chocolate bar version sounds fantastic too.

    Sometimes people are afraid to step out of the norm and try something new. My guess is that people assume negative things about curry powder and then therefore, won’t try something with it.

  • Erica December 14, 2009 at 9:39 am

    Sounds really interesting! I’d love to give them a try. I’m a fan of a good spice combined with chocolate so I bet I would love them

  • Daily Spud December 14, 2009 at 3:59 pm

    It’s definitely an intriguing combination. I do like a bit of spice and heat in cookies – I’m thinking cayenne and ginger – so using curry spices is really not such a big stretch for me. I would probably use individual spices, like coriander and cardamom, though, rather than a curry powder, because individual curry powders can be so variable and I’ve gotten out of the habit of using them.

  • 5 Star Foodie December 14, 2009 at 6:57 pm

    Oh, what a fabulous combination with pumpkin curry and chocolate! I would definitely love to try these!

  • Fresh Local and Best December 14, 2009 at 8:26 pm

    I love the exotic flavor combination!

  • Cinnamon-Girl Reeni♥ December 15, 2009 at 8:35 am

    If I was there I would of gobbled these up! I love the flavors!

  • Zach Pennington September 21, 2010 at 10:33 pm

    I’m actually trying to re-create these after having on in the Vosges shop in Vegas. We want to include them in our holiday baskets.

    As I recall, they had a texture similar to a peanut butter cookie–they were quite large, a little like shortbread.

    I’m starting with a base whole wheat cookie (from Good to the Grain) and adding the pumpkin and spices from there. The first attempt did not have enough flavor, and the texture was not what I remembered, although it was better than most of the pumpkin cookie recipes I’ve come across.

  • margolove February 8, 2011 at 10:50 pm

    I made these and they were ridiculously delicious… used normal curry powder and they still came out great 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!

  • Lori February 13, 2011 at 11:15 am

    margolove – Thanks so much for stopping by to let me know you tried them. Glad they turned out well!

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