October 3, 2012
Sherri Meyer, MG Registered Dietitian,
Ahh, fall is upon us & I couldn’t be happier to welcome my favorite season. While I enjoyed all of the fresh summer produce, my taste buds are now ready for crisp apples, fresh sautéed greens, sweet butternut squash and of course pumpkin. This weekend, we visited a pumpkin farm and while technically the pumpkins were for decoration rather than eating, it put me in the mood to prepare something pumpkin. My son Oliver suggested “pumpkin cookies” and though we didn’t use our pumpkin purchases (they were just too pretty to cut open) we still got a taste of fall in every bite.
Pumpkin Hermits
Pumpkins are loaded with Vitamin A & fiber & low in calories.
- 2 cups half all-purpose, half whole wheat
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ¾ cup canned pure pumpkin (preferably organic pumpkin or use fresh if you dare)
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup dark molasses
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, pumpkin, egg, molasses and vanilla until smooth. Add flour mixture and stir by hand until almost combined; add chocolate chips, stir just until blended.
Drop large, rounded spoonfuls of dough 2” apart on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake for 12–14 minutes, until just set — springy to the touch around the edges, but you still leave a slight dent if you touch them in the middle. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Makes 2 dozen cookies.
Source: Adapted from One Smart Cookie by Julie Van Rosendaal
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