Pumpkin Cookies

I read this article in the food and wine section of our local paper today. Suddenly I was in the mood to make cookies. That may not seem like such a big deal to you, but trust me- in my house it's a rarity. To put it mildly- I am not a baker. It's not that I can't bake, and there was a time (before I had three kids) when I even enjoyed baking. But now it's gotten to the point where my kids think these qualify as baking from scratch.

It's a sad state of affairs indeed.

So when I started baking today, my kids were understandably confused. The following exchange occurred while Teenage Daughter was tasting one of the finished pumpkin cookies-

T.D. "So who are these for?"

Me "Who do you think they're for?"

T.D. "Missionaries"

That shows you how often I actually bake for my own family! Anyway, they turned out pretty good. I tinkered with a recipe I found on QuakerOats.com adding whole wheat flour and replacing 1/2 the butter with applesauce. Here's what I ended up with...

Pumpkin Cookies

1 cup flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/3 cup rolled oats
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick butter
1/2 cup thickened apple sauce (see below)
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
3/4 cup raisins

1. Heat oven to 350
2. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well and set aside.
3. In a large bowl cream butter and sugars. Add applesauce, egg, and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy.
4. Add dry ingredients. Mix well.
5. Add raisins and walnuts

Drop batter onto greased cookie sheet (for easier dropping, and consistent cookie size I used this scoop). Bake at 350 Fahrenheit for approximately 16 minutes (14 if you make smaller cookies). Cool on pan for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Thickened apple sauce- put a fine sieve over a bowl (or line a colander with cheesecloth). Put 12 oz applesauce in and allow to drain for 1/2 hour. Yield 1/2 cup.