Preparation

1. Place the rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat a conventional oven to 190°C (375°F) or a convection oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dried apricots, walnuts and white chocolate chips. Set aside.
3. In a mixer, cream the butter and gradually add the brown sugar and blend to a light consistency. Add the pumpkin purée, egg, vanilla and orange zest. Mix well. Fold in the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon.
4. Drop spoonfuls of the batter onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Repeat with the rest of the batter.

*Pumpkin purée

1. You will need 500 g of whole pumpkin to get 250 ml of purée, so for this recipe, you will need a pumpkin that weighs at least 360 g.

To make the purée:

1. Cut the pumpkin in half and remove the seeds and fibrous interior.
2. Cook in the oven, with the cut side laying on a cookie sheet, at 190°C (375°F), until the flesh is tender when you poke it through the skin with a knife (approximately 30 to 40 minutes).
3. Let it cool, scrape off the flesh and run it through a food processer.

For more information (in French only):
Sous le charme des courges et des citrouilles, by Louise Gagnon (Éditions de l’Homme).
This book is available at Librairie Gourmande – Jean-Talon Market