Oatmeal-Chocolate Crisps from "The Pumpkin Cookbook"

I love fall and PUMPKIN season!  This year I wasn't able to grow any pumpkins myself but I did make it to a great local farm with be near our place with beautiful pie pumpkins.  We got 3 little guys so my husband could have his yearly pumpkin pie fix but after that I still had some leftover pumpkin... such a problem!  
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My pumpkin inspiration was lacking so I wandered the local library and this cute little book jumped out at me.  Of course I headed to the dessert chapters and found an excellent solution to use up the rest of my pumpkin. 

The recipe calls for canned pumpkin but fresh roasted pumpkin worked well.  This had some kind of nutty taste that boggled the mind as there are no nuts in here.  These will definitely be in the seasonal rotation; easy to make but so good!

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Oatmeal-Chocolate Crisps
"The Pumpkin Cookbook" by Deedee Stovel

1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

​1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Beat the sugars and butters together with a hand mixer until well blended and fluffy.  Add the pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla and beat until smooth.

3. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon into the mixture and continue beating at low speed until well blended.  Stir in the oats and chocolate chips.

4. Drop by tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets.  Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.

5. Cool each baking sheet on a wire rack for a few minutes before removing the cookies.  Cool them completely on wire racks and store in an airtight container.  Enjoy!

Yield: 8 dozen

Notes: Variation:  If available, substitute some of the flour with whole-wheat pastry flour. This is a low-gluten flour that adds nutrition but not the heaviness of whole-wheat bread flour.  It is a wonderful product to use in pastries and baked goods where you want the nutrition of whole wheat, but not the heaviness.

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