Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies - Adapted, Vegan-Friendly

On Saturday, I had a handful of friends over for what I like to call a "Baking Party". My friends came over and brought an ingredient or two (chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, graham crackers, butter) and a recipe they wanted to try. I provided all the basics, the oven, and the cooking pans and utensils, and we talked and baked together. It was a lot of fun, and I look forward to hosting more in the future (or what if we got together once a month and did it at a different person's house each time?! *squeal*).

My new friend Nicole made Czechosolovakian Cocoa Oatmeal Cookies, adapting the recipe by adding in peanut butter chips and make it a cookie bar instead of individual cookies. My other new friend Melissa, made butter-saturated graham cracker cookies dipped in chocolate. It sounds simple, but I cannot emphasize how delicious they really were! My dear friend Katie came over later and made moan-worthy Peppermint Patty Brownies - so good they literally made me weak in the knees. I believe she adapted the recipe from here.

But today I'm going to share with you what I made: Vegan Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are much more moist and tasty than one would think by the title alone. I adapted my recipe from the Giving Up On Perfect blog. Their recipe - for the omnivorous - can be found here.

Here's a picture of one of my cookies. If it looks like I couldn't resist taking a bite before I took this picture, it's because I couldn't resist taking a bite of the cookie before I took this picture!

Vegan-Friendly Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread*
1 cup White, Granulated Sugar
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 heaping tsp Orgran No Egg Natural Egg Replacer* mixed with 1 tsp water, per box
1 cup Plain, Pumpkin Puree
1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
2 cups All-Purpose Unbleached Flour*
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 cups Oats*
1 cup Enjoy Life Dairy, Nut and Soy Free chocolate chips*

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the butter and sugars. Add in egg, pumpkin and vanilla. 
2. Mix together dry ingredients. Add dry mixture to sugar mixture. 
3. Fold in oats and chocolate chips. 
4. Scoop onto greased baking sheet (I used a serving spoon and tablespoon) and bake for about 12 minutes.

NOTES:

* I've heard Earth Balance makes baking sticks, but the buttery spread is what I had on hand!

*Any egg or egg substitute will do; again, No Egg is what I had on hand.

*Using white whole wheat flour makes these even healthier. Alternatively, you could add wheat germ to boost the protein, fiber and vitamin content of these cookies.

*I used old-fashioned oats; I imagine using quick-cooking oats could shorten the bake time

*It would be worth your time to experiment with different additives: peanut butter chips and chocolate chips; raisins and dried cranberries; chopped walnuts, raisins and chocolate chips; M&Ms and Reese's Pieces. These are all acceptable combinations!

 

Look at how the sunlight hits these cookies. This picture doesn't do them justice!

I like that these cookies can be made any time of year. Of course, they can be added to the long list of pumpkin-centered recipes, but I often get a craving for anything with pumpkin (and a longing for fall) in the late Spring and Early Summer.

If you make these, let me know what you think!