Pumpkin Chocolate Cookies

From the Kitchen of: Emily balling

Ingredients:

1 cup pumpkin (canned or cooked and pureed from a pumpkin)

1 cup honey (I would use 2/3 cup sugar if you don’t have honey.)

½ cup butter or oil

1 egg

1 tsp. baking soda

3 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. cloves

½ tsp. nutmeg

½ tsp. salt

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup nuts (optional)

Directions:

1.     Beat pumpkin, honey, butter, egg and baking soda together.

2.    In a separate bowl, mix flour, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt.  Then add to the wet ingredients.

3.    Stir in chocolate chips and nuts

4.    Bake on greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes (I would check these at 9 minutes which is perfect in Minnesota cookie time.  When the centers are not high gloss anymore, they are done.  Don’t wait for browning on edges or they will turn from a gooey soft cookie to a cakey cookie.)

** For a healthy, from scratch recipe, this one can’t be beat.  It’s not as cakey and puffy as some recipes so if that’s your favorite kind, this one isn’t for you.  It’s a soft, moist cookie.  However, I’ve used this spice combination for pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread and pumpkin pies in place of whatever they call for because I think they are spiced so perfectly.