(Vegan) Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

My roommates walked into the kitchen as I was preparing the dough for these cookies, and one asked me what I was making. When I responded with “pumpkin oatmeal cookies from Isa!”, she paused to think, and replied, “You just made these cookies a few weeks ago! What are you doing?!”. My first thought was something along the lines of “Oh no! There are so many things I have yet to try and I’m repeating recipes again?!”, and my roommates are probably sick to death of hearing about all the wonderful recipes I collect and read. It bothered me, until I thought about why I chose to make these particular cookies tonight. Firstly, I wanted to make something vegan, and turned to Vegan with a Vengeance, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, and stopped at these cookies. Stopped cold; I didn’t turn another page. There must be something about these cookies that makes me stop at them, and make them, without giving a thought to how many times I’ve made them before, or what would please people around me. That something is lurve, I believe. It’s the kind of love that makes you selfish, because you can only concentrate on your desires related to the object of affection. I might just be confusing love and lust. In any case, this love has definitely caught me by surprise, because I never really pegged myself for having a “favorite cookie”. You learn something new about yourself every day. Truth.

Last time I made them, I had to omit the walnuts and raisins due to a tighter budget, and therefore was only able to add the craisins I happened to have lying around the pantry. This time, I went a little crazy, adding both the walnuts and the raisins. I’m a walnut fiend, so the finely chopped nuts in these cookies adds a fantastic depth and makes them seem… more structurally sound? Scientifically, it probably doesn’t make much sense, but that’s exactly how it seems to me. For those who don’t prefer nuts in their cookies, since the nuts are finely chopped their presence isn’t overwhelming at all. I also added a half teaspoon of birch beer extract to see what that would do to the taste. It

wasn’t until a day after making them did I notice the birch beer extract in the cookie. My co-workers didn’t recognize the cookie, even after having it such a short time ago, so maybe that’s because of the extract? Part of me thinks that, and the other part can’t help thinking they didn’t recognize them because they are so yummy. That must be it.

Because I can’t avoid repeating it, I have to profess my love for Isa. You need to bake and cook from her recipes. Truth.

 

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

(Adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance)

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/3 cup traditional oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

1 2/3 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cups canola oil

2 tablespoons molasses

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used ½ teaspoon vanilla and ½ teaspoon birch beer extract)

(I tablespoon ground flaxseeds, optional)

1 cup chopped walnuts

½ cup raisins

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and prepare your cookie sheets either by greasing them or using parchment paper.

2. Mix together the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and spices.

3. In another bowl, mix the sugar, oil, molasses, pumpkin, and vanilla (also add the flaxseeds at this point, if you decide to use them) until well combined.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in three batches, and fold to combine.

5. Fold in the raisins and the walnuts.

6. Drop the cookies onto the prepared cookie sheets, with about an inch between the cookies. Make sure you mold the cookies to look how you want them to turn out, before putting them in the oven. You can do so with a spoon, or get a lil’ messy and use your fingers.

7. Bake for 15-16 minutes, rotating the cookie sheets in the oven if you are baking two sheets at a time.

8. When you remove the cookies from the oven, cool them for two minutes on the sheet before moving them to a cooling rack.

The cookies taste great right out of the oven, but if you let them set, and cool off a bit, the cookie acquires a kind of hearty, more chewy texture. Right out of the oven the cookies are more cake-y, but still delectable.