Indulgence Moment: Pumpkin Spice Cookies

I sure hope nobody's tired of my pumpkin spice obsession quite yet, because I'm not done (almost, but not quite!) I just can't move onto the next season's ingredient (watch out cranberries, here I come!) before I leave you with one more amazing bit of pumpkin spice goodness. Funny thing about these is they are all about the pumpkin spice - no pumpkin at all, just the spice. Which, I'll admit, is fine by me. I mean, I like pumpkin cookies just as much as the next pumpkin-lover, but adding pumpkin to cookies does end up making them into little pumpkin cakes that are fluffy and cake-like rather than chewy and cookie-like. These little guys are great, because by leaving out the pumpkin and being very generous with the pumpkin spice, you get a fantastic cookie-like cookie packed with all that spicy pumpkin flavor that it's really all about anyway.

I made these smaller than the traditional cookie - kind of like little two-bite cookies. This made them very shareable (and I like how eating small things makes them feel like they go that much further!) But, they would make perfectly lovely cookies of "typical" size as well. However you bake them up, I know you'll love this final (I think) salute to pumpkin!

Pumpkin Spice Cookies
3 1/2-4 dozen bite-size cookies (or about 1 1/2 dozen regular sized cookies)  
PREP: 15 minutes (+3 hours to refrigerate dough)     COOK: 8 minutes            READY IN: 3 1/2 hours (with chilling dough)

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

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• 1/2 cup butter, softened (I use salted - if using unsalted you may want to add a pinch of salt to taste)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice (you could reduce the spice slightly if you prefer less, but I went all the way and it was heavenly!)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons corn starch
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

DIRECTIONS

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1. In a medium-sized bowl, cream together butter, sugar, and egg until the dough is light and fluffy (5-7 minutes with an electric or hand mixer).
2. Add the honey, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla. Mix, scraping the sides of the bowl, until smooth.
3. Add flour, cornstarch, and baking soda. Mix until just combined.
4. Cover and refrigerate dough for at least 3 hours (or up to 5 days). 
5. Once the dough is chilled, form heaping teaspoons of dough into balls and place on a baking sheet, spacing them 2 inches apart and flattening each ball just slightly. Place into an oven preheated to 350ºF and bake for 8-10 minutes. 
6. Let cookies cool 5 minutes, then remove from baking sheet. 

NUTRITION FACTS

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    2 mini cookies   106 calories   4.2 g fat   16 g carbs    1.4 g protein    7.4 g sugar   

Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Averie Cooks.

Simple Sweet Potato Pudding

Happy Halloween! In honor of Halloween, we're giving you an alternative treat to all the sugary stuff that will soon be invading your household. And it's even still festively orange!...

It may sound childish, but every once in a while I get this craving for one of those over-processed pudding cups that my mom used to put in my lunches when I was a kid. I never liked the tapioca version, but the smooth creaminess of chocolate or vanilla pudding still sometimes calls to me from the grocery store shelves. Recently, I had some leftover sweet potato puree from some baby food I was making, and I realized that its smooth texture was quite a bit like a pudding cup. So I started experimenting (and, of course, my recent obsession with pumpkin spice got pulled into play), and hit upon my new favorite healthy snack!

First, I have to confess that this isn't a true "pudding" in the sense of multiple steps involving milk, eggs, baking, chilling, etc. I really don't know how to make true pudding (unless you count instant pudding), but I know it's kind of complicated and often ends up in a disappointing result unless you have perfected it. This, on the other hand, is super simple (as in you can have it in your mouth in a matter of minutes!), super healthy (remember how we keep hearing how sweet potatoes are a "good carb"?!), and each bite delivers a sweet, smooth spoonful of pudding-cup delight!

Simple Sweet Potato Pudding
1 SERVING
PREP: 5-7 minutes           COOK: 25-30 minutes            READY IN: 35-40 minutes
(If you already have sweet potato puree on hand, the total time is about 3 minutes!)

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup sweet potato puree (see directions below for cooking and mashing)
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• splash of vanilla
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar (or honey)
• 1 tablespoon milk (I use vanilla soy milk)
• 2 tablespoons pumpkin spice quinoa granola (recipe link here)

DIRECTIONS

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1. For sweet potato puree: Wash 3-4 medium/large sweet potatoes, and cut off ends. Cut into pieces (about 1-inch cubed works well). Steam for about 25-30 minutes. Remove from steamer into a large bowl or blender and add back in about 1/2-3/4 cup of water (you can use the water leftover in the bottom of the steamer). Using the blender or an immersion blender, puree the sweet potatoes into a smooth puree. This can be frozen in small amounts (such as in an ice cube tray), or refrigerated for several days.
2. Place approximately 1 cup of sweet potato puree (can be cold or warm, however you prefer) in a serving bowl. Mix in pumpkin spice, cinnamon, brown sugar, vanilla, and milk. Sprinkle with granola and enjoy!

NUTRITION FACTS

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    3/4 cup serving (without granola)    193 calories   .5 g fat   48.8 g carbs    4.3 g protein    14.1 g sugar   

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice Quinoa Granola

This fall, I've become obsessed with pumpkin spice. It might have started with a recent trip to Trader Joe's when I came across - and of course had to have - pumpkin spice granola. It was amazing, and may have been my pumpkin spice downfall this year which has been leading me to put pumpkin spice in just about everything I can think of. To curb the temptation to go back and buy a cart-load of the seasonal granola at Trader Joe's, I of course had to see if I could replicate the stuff myself (as well as make it healthier in the process). I discovered a great recipe, which I tweaked only slightly by including raisins as TJ's did, and using beautiful red quinoa (mostly for the color enhancement - it is such a gorgeous contrast to the oats and gives it such a nice fall look... sorry, sneak peek into my brain there!) The granola is fantastic, and is great for snacking, with milk, or as the perfect topping to other fall-flavored treats that I've been concocting. (I can't wait to share my super-healthy sweet potato pudding that I've been pairing it with lately!)

Pumpkin Spice Quinoa Granola 

 Makes 3 2/3 cups 
PREP: 10 minutes           COOK: 25-30 minutes        READY IN: 40 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

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• 1/4 cup uncooked quinoa (I used red), rinsed and lightly dried over a paper towel
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/4 cup ground flaxmeal
• 1/4 cup pepitas (or other seed - I used half pepitas, half sunflower seeds)
• 1/4 cup pecan pieces
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS

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1. In a medium-large bowl combine the oats and rinsed quinoa in a bowl and mix. Spread them onto a rimmed baking sheet and toast for 10 minutes in the oven at 325ºF.
2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine honey, pumpkin puree, oil, and spices.
3. Turn down the oven temperature to 300ºF, remove the oats and quinoa from the oven, and combine with the seeds, nuts, and raisins in the larger bowl. Pour the wet mixture over these and combine well. 
4. Spread everything onto the baking sheet again, and place in the oven for another 25-30 minutes. Halfway through, use a spatula to turn over the granola, allowing it to bake more consistently.
5. When the granola appears slightly golden, remove from the oven and let cool. Store in an airtight container for several days.

NUTRITION FACTS

    1/3 cup serving    151 calories   5.5 g fat   23.7 g carbs    3.8 g protein    10.6 g sugar   

Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Skinny Taste.
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