I’ve just finished revamping my primary blog. The task presented quite the opportunity to skip down memory lane. I found the earliest posts particularly rough — I had a lot to learn about writing recipes. During Our Lady of Second Helpings’s first November I was so excited to share my own version of Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies. They were stuffed full of autumnal goodies. I proudly presented them at the Will Bake for Food blogger bake sale. Now looking back at the text of the recipe I see a bullet list of giggle-worthy novice mistakes.
When I came across the poorly written recipe I happened to be in the mood for a treat that epitomizes fall in a single bite. I took a red pen to the original recipe. On the first pass I removed a number of superfluous ingredients. On the second look I amped up the spices and retained the tart cranberries and earthy pecans. Before long I had a batch of cookies better than I remembered. These cookies hit the spot so much I made a second batch the very next day to share with friends and family.
Though Thanksgiving has passed we are still very much in the midst of fall. Grab some of those turkey day baking leftovers and try a batch of these hearty treats. I hope you find the cookies and the blog are worthy of the term ‘new and improved.’
Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
Prep Time: 20 Min Cook Time:16 Min
Yields 50 Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 c. butter, unsalted – room temperature
- 3/4 c. packed brown sugar
- 3/4 c. sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 c. canned pumpkin
- 2 tsp fresh orange zest
- 1 1/2 c. old fashioned oats
- 1/2 c. pecan halves, chopped
- 3/4 c. dried cranberries, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, spices &salt then set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl (or stand mixer bowl), beat butter with sugars until light &fluffy. Whisk in egg, pumpkin &zest. Work until the batter is uniform in color.
- Add prepared dry ingredients 1/2 at a time. Stir just enough to mostly blend the flour into the batter. Fold in oats then cranberries and pecans, turn just enough to incorporate all the bits into the batter.
- Drop by the tablespoonful onto lined pans and bake 14-16 minutes until tops are lightly browned and edges are slightly crisp.
- Let sit for 1 minute and then cool completely on a wire rack.
Notes
- Be generous with the spices – make sure to add the full amount or a smidge more.
- As tempting as it is to sample a cookie minutes out of the oven, these are best at room temperature.
- Cookies will keep for several days in an airtight container.
Approximate nutrition information: 100 calories, 4 g fat, 15 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 2 g protein, PP = 3
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