Pumpkin Time

Its fall and that means that its time to enjoy pumpkin again.  I found a sugar pie pumpkin and decided to give fresh pumpkin a try.  First I made an attempt at making raw pumpkin cookies but the pumpkin was a little bit bitter and the cookies were too squishy so I ended up baking them in the toaster oven for a few minutes to firm them up.  Hopefully there is a dehydrator in my future so that I can make raw "baked goods" a bit easier.  With the second half of my pumpkin I decided to stay in my comfort zone and bake the cookies.  Since my friend Sarah, who is allergic to wheat,  is coming over to baby sit tonight I made these gluten free.

 

Gluten Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Cookies

2 cups oat flour*

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 egg

1/4 sup light olive oil

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup fresh sugar pie pumpkin (bake at 350 for about 15 minutes)

1/2 cup palm sugar

3 squares Lindt 85% dark chocolate chopped into small chunks

Combine first four ingredients.  In another bowl combine egg through palm sugar.  Then pour into the dry into the wet and mix, then fold in chocolate chunks.  Bake on 350 for 20 minutes. 

*I put rolled oats in my grain grinder to make the oat flour but you can also make oat flour in an electric coffee grinder (wipe out the coffee) or a food processor.

I have developed a love of parchment paper.  No more cookies ripped apart during pan removal, and no need to scrub my cheap rusty cookie sheets.  And you can use it multiple times or even flip it over.

I decided to make some tamari pumpkin seeds with the seeds from my pie pumpkin.  I just tossed the seeds in enough tamari to lightly cover them and baked in my toaster over for about 20 minutes.

They were pretty yummy but after they cooled I thought that they could be a wee bit crunchier so I put them back in the toaster oven.  Then the dreaded "whats that burning" smell hit me.

Blerg.  Maybe next time.