Enough of the savory posts, right? Here’s something sweet. These cookies took me 15 minutes to make and bake. Homemade. I carved the pumpkin myself. But I’m a cheater. I admit it.
I talked about my freezer overflowing with pumpkin in February. That was actually after I truly made these cookies, and only now am I posting about it. Freezers are the answer to storing out of season ingredients. Technically, I mixed up these ingredients back in November, making a double recipe, then froze most of it in spoonfuls. After frozen, I transferred the frozen dough balls into large doubled Ziploc freezer bags. Over the course of the out-of-season pumpkin winter and spring mingled with cravings of pumpkin spice, I’ve been pulling these out of the freezer on occasion. It’s a fast way to have homemade freshly-baked cookies at a moment’s notice. This also works well for impatient three-year-olds named Peach in my household.
I liked this recipe initially because of the amount of oatmeal and pumpkin ratio compared to the flour. Flour often has a protagonist’s role in many cookie recipes, and I find it, well, boring. Here, the chewiness of the oatmeal is appreciated in each bite and the golden orange color of the pumpkin looks beautiful and homey.
- 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
- 1⅓ cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 cup roasted pumpkin puree (or use canned)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup chopped almonds
- ¾ cup dried cranberries
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease baking sheets (or prepare parchment or silicon mat).
- Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in medium bowl.
- Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until light and fluffy.
- Add pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract; mix well. Add flour mixture; mix well.
- Stir in almonds and cranberries. Drop by rounded tablespoons* onto prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned and set in centers. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. When baking from frozen, I bake for 15 minutes with consistently perfect results. You may need to adjust your time, depending on the oven and the thickness of your baking pans. Makes 40-48 cookies.
