The food of fall is as particular to the season as its sights and smells: Apple Betty, my favorite childhood dessert; pots of chili; grilled cheese dunked into steaming mugs of tomato soup. Pumpkin is a key fall player in my kitchen, not just in the traditional Thanksgiving pie, but in quick bread, soup, pancakes. And this year, in cookies.

A month or so ago, I came across a low-fat recipe for pumpkin cookies. I was excited, imagining a moist, chewy cookie sweet with spices, flecked with dark chocolate, the perfect companion to a cup of coffee or chai. I baked a batch. They were okay, but I wouldn’t have called them Barefoot Contessa worthy. I added some fat and sugar, trying to keep them on the low-fat side of things, but again, I was disappointed. On the third attempt, I gave up and switched out the low-fat elements (yogurt and applesauce) for butter. While I was at it, I increased the sugar content. At the same time, I stuck with my standard mix of white and whole wheat flours, determined to maintain the fiber content. I was rewarded.

These cookies are everything I imagined: moist, chewy, fall-spice-y. They are on the heavier side, like a farmhouse oatmeal cookie rather than a chocolate chip, and might even make the breakfast-on-the-run cut. You can decide.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

Add to mixture, beating until fully incorporated:

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Stir in:

15 ounces canned pureed pumpkin

In a separate bowl, whisk together:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup white flour

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/8 teaspoon ginger

Add dry mixture to wet a cupful at a time, blending thoroughly after each addition, until fully combined. Stir in 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet, and bake 10-12 minutes.