It’s almost that time of the year again. The Fall decor is starting to pop up at Homegoods, Marshalls, Michael’s and Hobby Lobby; just to name a few! While I LOVE all the fall decor I love something even more. But what’s even better than fall decor you might ask? Fall flavors. The cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin, oh the pumpkin!! I am so excited about the pumpkin! Yesterday I went out with one of my best girlfriends and we were happily surprised to learn that Dunkin has their pumpkin spice flavor back. Drop everything now and go to your nearest Dunkin to get yourself a pumpkin spice coffee. I can’t explain it but when you drink it you just feel happy.
With Fall right around the corner I thought it was the perfect time to start testing out some pumpkin flavored recipes. Today I am sharing a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe. I wanted to take the original recipe, which I am obsessed with, and make it a little more figure friendly. I had high expectations for these cookies because the original recipe is so addictive and full of flavor that you literally cannot just eat one of them. You can find the original recipe here. I started brainstorming how I was going to replace certain elements of the recipe but still keep the integrity of the cookie. There were three ingredients that I knew had to go; white flour, sugar, and canola oil. There were a few different options I wanted to try, but I picked the ones that I knew would work well for these cookies.
The Flour
White flour is like dating someone who is all wrong for you. You feel great when you’re with them but then later on you feel really bad about yourself. White flour is just like this. It gives you bread, pasta, muffins, cookies, did I mention bread? So yes, it is hard to break up with white flour. But what if I told you I have a good replacement. Something that will leave you happy in the moment and won't leave you feeling bad about yourself about an hour after you eat. What is this magical flour?! Cue coconut flour. Coconut flour isn’t something you can just use without doing some research on it, lucky for you I’ve already done the legwork. I talked a little bit about coconut flour in this post but I’ll tell you how I used it differently for these cookies. The ratio for white flour and coconut flour is not 1:1, it’s more like ¼:1. When I used this ratio for my zucchini brownies I noticed that the they were very moist and while that is great for a brownie or cake, I didn't want that for a cookie. I decided to use ½ cup of coconut flour and an additional egg to help bind the cookies. I am so happy I decided to do this because the cookies are firm but not dry.
The Sugar
Sugar is similar to white flour. The only difference is, you don’t know you should break up with sugar while you’re eating it. You're happy and giddy, and even crave the sugar if you’ve been without it for a while. But then something happens. You realize that if you resist the cravings, even for just one week you realize that you don’t need sugar to make you happy. You can live a relatively sugar free life and still enjoy the food you eat! There are some healthier alternatives, and I promise you they are just as good! For this recipe I wanted to use honey but similar to coconut flour it is not a 1:1 ratio to sugar. I used ½ cup honey to replace the 1 cup of sugar. I did this because honey is much sweeter than sugar so you need less and it contains some traces of nutrients and vitamins. I read this great article on honey vs. sugar and I found it very interesting. Basically honey is higher in calories than sugar but sugar can cause weight gain and is much harder to digest than honey. So both have their pros and cons but personally, I’d rather use honey.
The Oil
This recipe called for canola oil. While canola oil has a lot of health benefits already, I am partial to coconut oil. I find that this oil is great to bake with and it too has lots of health benefits which you can read about here. Basically it can help with digestion, killing harmful microorganisms that can cause infections and can reduce hunger. I replaced the canola oil with ¼ cup of coconut oil and added an additional ¼ cup of unsweetened applesauce.
The Results
I had high expectations for these cookies and they didn't disappoint. These cookies are so good but I always like my recipes so I feel like I am biased. I gave these cookies to about five different people and they all agreed that these cookies are delicious! They’re soft but they don’t crumble when you pick them up. They’re sweet and satisfying without ruining your diet. Who doesn’t want a cookie like this?!
Let me know if you try them. I’d love to hear from you! Happy Eating!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Healthier version of a delicious favorite
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup pumpkin
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tsp coconut milk
- 1/4 cup coconut oil (melted and cooled)
- 2 tsps baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsps cinnamon
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 2. Combine all wet ingredients. Add the dry ingredients and whisk together until well incorporated.3. Fold in chocolate chips.4. Using a cookie scoop (or small ice cream scoop) place onto a greased pan (or use parchment paper). Do not squish them flat because that is the shape they will hold. 4. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the cookies are firm to the touch.5. Let cool, than enjoy!
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 2 dozen
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