"We are dedicated to cruelty-free living through a vegetarian - vegan lifestyle. Let no animal suffer or die that we may live!"
These healthful pumpkin raisin oat and pecan cookies are a deliciously soft holiday treat that contains no sugar or white flour; their sweetness comes from fruit. This recipe makes about 24 cookies. Since these cookies contain no preservatives, as do store bought cookies, leftovers should be stored in a covered container or food storage bag in the refrigerator and will remain fresh for a few days.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. (175 degrees C.)
Place the spelt, or whole wheat flour, and the ground and whole rolled oats (oatmeal) in a bowl and mix together. (The rolled oats can be ground in a blender on high speed. Be sure that the container is dry before grinding.) Add the cinnamon, ginger and cloves, and mix well. Add the raisins and mix well to ensure that the raisins are not sticking together, and that they are thoroughly coated with the flour mixture.
Place the canned or cooked pumpkin into the container of a high speed blender. Add the apple juice and dates. Cover and run at high speed until all the ingredients are thoroughly blended and smooth.
Add the pureed pumpkin (see What Do We Do with a Pumpkin?), dates and apple juice to the flour mixture and mix thoroughly with a stiff spatula or spoon. If the cookie dough is too stiff, you may add a little more apple juice. A thinner dough will make a flatter cookie. A stiff dough will make irregular thick cookies like the ones shown in the photo. (To test for dough stiffness, we stick a soup spoon upright into the dough. If the dough is stiff enough, the spoon will remain upright.)
On a non-stick or lightly oiled baking sheet, place the cookie dough in 24 equal sized "mounds." Smooth and shape each cookie with a spoon or spatula, as desired. Place the pecan halves on top in any pattern you desire.
Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake at 350 degrees F. for 20-25 minutes. Various ovens bake differently, so we suggest that you begin checking the cookies after 20 minutes of baking. The cookies should be firm, but not hard. Be careful not to over-bake. When the pumpkin raisin oat cookies are baked, remove from the oven, cool, and enjoy.
The above recipe is in keeping with God's creation intent (Genesis 1:29-31): 'Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground-- everything that has the breath of life in it-- I give every green plant for food." And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.' (NIV) Let no animal suffer or die that we may live!