I warned y’all that I was on a fall kick. May I introduce you to my latest creation? Presenting Pumpkin Spiced Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies! All the savory goodness of pumpkin spice and the flavors of fall, but with the perfect sweetness of a chocolate chip cookie. Also, for all you vegan bakers out there did you know that you can swap canned pumpkin for eggs or fat in a recipe? The ratio is 1/4 of a cup of pumpkin for every egg the recipe calls for, or to swap the fat (the butter or oil), simply use an equal amount of canned pumpkin.

Either way, these cookies are like a warm hug.

Ingredients:

-2 sticks (or 1 cup!) of butter (softened)

-1 cup brown sugar

-1 cup of sugar

-2 eggs

-1 T. vanilla

-2 1/2 cups of oats

-2 cups of flour

-1/2 t. salt

-1 t. baking powder

-1 t. baking soda

-1/3 cup of canned pure pumpkin

-1 T. pumpkin pie spice

-1/4 t. ground cinnamon

-12 oz chocolate (dealer’s choice of wafers, morsels, chips, or chopped chunks!) **This recipe used dark chocolate morsels

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a stand mixer, cream together sugars and butter, add in eggs one at a time until well combined, and then add vanilla and pumpkin. Combine.

3. In a food processor combine oats, flour, salt, baking soda and powder, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon, pulse until oats are powdery and well combined.

4. Turn the stand mixer back on a gentle stir and slowly add in the dry ingredients. Once combined, add in the chocolate of your choice and mix in!

5. Shape into golf ball size dough balls and place onto baking sheet.

6. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until done to your liking. I found that the 15-17 minute mark ensures the gooey center and crunchy top—also known as the perfect cookie.