Low fat, nutritious and delicious Spiced Pumpkin Molasses Cookies with Raisins

A cookie recipe??? Yes! 

I love pumpkin, and this time of year all the tempting treats led me to search for a pumpkin recipe that I could be happy about giving to the kids, and not feel bad about indulging in one for myself! It took a surprising amount of searching online to find a recipe that is - as cookies go - relatively healthy and totally delicious. This is modified from a couple recipes found online - I had to change the proportion of flour, up the spice content and the amount of pumpkin but in the end these are just right. They are low in fat and sugar, but so yummy!

These are the cookies I had for our Stroller Strides Halloween Class #1 (none of them survived for Class #2). The new snow and low temperatures make perfect baking weather. These cookies fill the house with a lovely smell - and are a perfect treat after playing with the kids outside! Bake a batch and enjoy - these also freeze well to save part of the batch for another snowy day. 

Spiced Pumpkin Molasses Cookies with Raisins

Ingredients (use organic wherever possible!) for 3 dozen cookies:

• 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar (or 1/4 c agave)
• 1 cup canned unseasoned pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup dark molasses
• 1 cup raisins, or dried cranberries or a combination

•  (optional extras - skip these to keep calories and fat lower: 1/2 c chocolate chips and/or chopped pecans or walnuts)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and nutmeg in a large bowl. 
3. Whisk eggs, brown sugar (or agave), pumpkin, oil and molasses in a second bowl until well combined. (TIP: use the same measuring cup for the canola oil and molasses, doing the oil first. Makes the molasses pour right out of there with no sticky clean up). 
4. Stir the wet ingredients and raisins/cranberries (and optional extras) into the dry ingredients until thoroughly combined.
5. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray, and drop the batter by level tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheet, spacing the cookies 1 1/2 inches apart.
6. Bake the cookies until firm to the touch and lightly golden on top, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy a delicious winter treat!