Well, hello there!

It’s pumpkin spice season and people are losing their damn minds. I don’t know if it’s the sudden change in weather, the anticipation of the holidays or the dread that “winter is coming” but everyone seems to be vibrating on a different frequency. I feel like the Starbucks PSL was the beginning of this love/hate for pumpkin spice everything but cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger have been around for a bajillion years (approx) so let’s all relax a bit. (I hate it when people tell me to relax, but maybe it’s nicer in blog form? Probably not.)

I signed up for a food delivery service called “Imperfect Foods” that sends me fruits, veggies and other fun stuff at a slightly discounted price. The idea is, they take foods that aren’t/can’t be sold in grocery stores due to abnormal sizes, imperfections or surplus and sell them to the customer for less, thus helping chip away at the enormous food waste problem. I like it because A) I get food sent to my door every 2 weeks and B) because it makes me eat more vegetables. If you’re interested in trying it, you can use this code! You’ll get $10 toward your first box 🙂

http://imprfct.us/v/julia_1198

You can customize your box (that’s what she said) but I like when I get produce or products that I wouldn’t normally buy in my own grocery haul. My last box came with a tiny pumpkin. At first I was just using it as a decorative fall table piece but last night as I had a violent urge for cookies, I decided to put my pumpkin to good use.

This urge for cookies was almost squashed (or pumpkined) when I realized I didn’t have any flour or butter or milk. So I got creative and made a healthy cookie. Yes you heard me.  A HEALTHY COOKIE. They are low sugar. They are gluten, dairy and oil free.  They are full or fibre. They can even be made egg free.* But don’t worry, I added a bit of chocolate because I’m not a complete monster. The best part? You can made these in under 30 min. LET’S DO IT.

Julia’s Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

Ingredients

1.5 cups Gluten Free Oats (I used Bob’s Redmill. You can use any rolled oats. But not steel cut or instant)
1/4 cup chia seeds
2 TBSP Pumpkin spice
(or: 1 tbsp cinnamon, and half tsp each nutmeg, clove and ginger)
1/4 cup hemp hearts
2 TSP baking powder
1/2 TSP salt
1 TBSP brown sugar (optional for a slightly sweeter cookie)
3/4 pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)
1/2 cup oat milk (or any milk you like)
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 eggs (or 2 TBS ground flax w/ 6 TBS water)*
1/4 cup chopped dark chocolate covered candied ginger (or chocolate chips)
1/4 cup chopped pecans (or other nuts)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Peel, seed and dice your little pumpkin. Boil in a few inches of water until very tender. Drain and mash/purée. OR you can just use canned pumpkin. Normally I would but I didn’t want little baby pumpkin to go to waste. You could even use squash here if that’s what you have!
3. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Oats to salt.
4. In a separate bowl, (I just used the pot I made the pumpkin in) whisk all of the wet ingredients. Pumpkin to eggs.
5. Slowly pour wet ingredients into dry, stirring as you go. Add the chocolate and nuts so they’re evenly distributed.
6. The mixture will probably seem a little bit wet. Let it sit for at least 5 minutes. The chia seeds will start to thicken it.
7. Grease a large cookie sheet. Ok, I know I said this is oil/butter free BUT I did use a bit of butter for the cookie sheet. You can also use oil, non stick cooking spray or one of those silicone liners if you have them.
8. Scoop heaping tablespoons of the mixture onto the cookie sheet. Should make 12 large cookies. If they look like gross blobs, shape them a little bit with your hands to make tidy mounds.
9. Bake for 13-17 minutes. Check them after 13 because everyones oven is slightly different. They should still feel bit squishy when you poke them because they definitely firm up once cool. And it’s better to have them slightly under than over because a dry breakfast cookie is no fun.
10. Transfer to a rack, and let cool complete before storing them in an airtight container. (or at least let them cool 10 min before jamming them into your face.)
11. Jam slightly warm cookies in face and enjoy!

OK. SO. If you’re hoping for a crazy decadent, sweet, rich, buttery cookie then these are not the cookies for you. If you’re looking for something that you can have with tea while you binge watch Living With Yourself without feeling like garbage, because how does Paul Rudd look so good I bet her doesn’t eat cookies before bed, then these are perfect!

They are moist, chewy and have a pop of texture from the chia seeds and pecans. Also, the gooey ginger chocolate morsels are a game changer. Regular chocolate chips will be good too but candied ginger AND chocolate add a scrumptious amount of sweet and spice. And ginger chocolates were my late grandad’s favourite so it’s all sorts of nostalgia for me!

Make these today and you won’t regret it. They’re also excellent as a morning snack because it’s basically like eating a bowl of delicious oatmeal, in cookie form.

So what are you waiting for? Eat this and shut up! xoxo

Julia