Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies & A B-day

There is just nothing like home baked cookies!  My family asks for these in particular fairly often.  And I love to make them because there is no rolling, cutting or thick dough to deal with.  Easy peasy.

This batch was made to send off to my sister in college for her birthday so I did not sub out any ingredients for healthier versions.  BUT, I did my usual undercooking and knew if I tried to send them they'd be a sticky mess.  So, they didn't make the cut for the goodie box but I did so enjoy eating them (all of them)!  You MUST try these cookies.  I did send her two other baked goodies though and will post those recipes shortly.  Apparently her care package was a big hit at the dorm.  Nearly 20 years later and I'm finally popular in school!  haha

1 cup pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp milk
1 tbsp vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips (or more!)

Heat oven to 350.  Combine the pumpkin, sugar, oil and egg.  In a separate bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  Dissolve the baking soda in the milk and stir in.  Add flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and mix well.

Add vanilla and chocolate chips.  Stir to combine.

Drop onto baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes or to desired doneness.

Cool (or not) and enjoy!  These are chewy and gooey and super easy to make.  So good.

Happy belated 20th to my little baby sister!

Who made an awesome best "man" at our brother's wedding.

It seems like only yesterday the four of us were horsing around at mom's kitchen table trying to get you to smash those marshmallow peeps to a pulp.  You were the only one with good hair!

It's always been a blast hanging out with you. 

Although I don't think I ever got that shirt back.  :)

Even my puppy wuvs you.

 Cheers chica!  We love you!

Iced Oatmeal Applesauce Cookies

First, a warning - you will want to eat the ENTIRE batch of these as soon as you put the icing on, if not before.  This recipe was discovered on the lovely Robyn's blog, Robyn's Nest (love her blog name).  Seems a group of bloggers participate in something called Martha Mondays which I've deduced as cooking, baking or creating something from the Martha Stewart magazine or website.  Since I was feeling crappy and my antibiotics are not agreeing with me, I thought the Iced Oatmeal Applesauce cookies would make me feel better.  Not entirely on my "diet", but eh, we all need a little cheat now and again, and these are not AS bad as regular cookies after some ingredient substitutions.  Check it out:

4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup evaporated cane juice (this was my modification to replace white sugar)
1 large egg
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 cup rolled oats
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
3 tbsp maple syrup
3 tbsp water

Heat oven to 350.  Combine the butter and sugars in a bowl with hand mixer.  Add egg and applesauce and blend well.  Mix in the oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Mix well (may want to use a spoon as the oats will just cake up on the mixer).

Scoop dough onto parchment lined baking sheets and cook until just golden brown, about 12 to 14 minutes.  Let cool.

For the icing (I think this is where we really start to deviate from my clean eating plan, but oh well), whisk together the powdered sugar, maple syrup and water until smooth.  Drizzle over cookies.  Eat!!

Yeah, these were good.  I ate five within about 20 minutes!!  Don't even get me started on how many my husband ate.  My son is eating them too and likes them.  The princess won't touch 'em because the oats "look like nuts" but that's ok.  More for me!

Thank you Robyn for letting me borrow your blog post.  :)

Cookies Too!!

Bit of a theme this week.  My kids have been asking where all the snacks have gone so I was on the hunt to find some new goodies that I can feel good about giving to them.  And hey, mom likes cookies too!

Today's experiment came from my old favorite, Clean Living magazine.  I did not modify this recipe and it can be found in the March/April 2010 issue.  Almond Butter Chocolate Chip cookies - now doesn't that sound yummy.  Here's how we do it:

1 cup unsalted almond butter (LOVE the grinders at Whole Foods for this)
3/4 cup sucanat (dehydrated cane juice - looks like brown sugar)
1 egg
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
dark chocolate (in chip or chunk form, whatever you like best)

Heat oven to 350.  Stir together the almond butter, sucanat, egg, baking soda and salt until well combined.  Add your chocolate and spoon onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Bake for about 10 - 12 minutes and cool on a wire rack.

Do be careful moving these around.  They lack the fat that typically holds cookies together.  They are quite crumbly but OH, SO GOOD!  Yup, good enough to warrant all caps.  Definitely try these (but don't dunk in milk, studies show that the milk may negate any benefit you are getting from the dark chocolate).

Kid review - my extremely picky daughter only took one bite.  I think they were a little dry for her.  My son will eat them when he realizes all our usual crap is gone (that is if my husband hasn't finished them off by now).  :)

Nutritional info (per cookie): 110 calories; 8g total fat; 1.5g sat fat; 10g carbs; 1g fiber; 2g protein; 10mg cholesterol; 3g sugars