Friday morning, the snowy gray skies — the omen of yet another homebound day in so many weeks — inspired me to bake.  And such wintry weather made me immediately crave something pumkiny. Okay, I crave pumpkin treats all year round, but I think they are especially appropriate any time from say mid-September to late-February/early-March.

I’ve had this recipe for Iced Pumpkin Cookies for years. Years. I always use extra spices & add chocolate chips. I almost never bother with the icing. I really should just type up my own recipe.

This time, I really monkeyed around with it. I substituted in a 1/2 cup of wheat flour and a 1/2 cup of Splenda to accommodate my diet, and I used Ener-G egg replacer so the Boy could also enjoy a cookie. This last substitution was especially important since was the very first thing he’s “helped” me bake — and by this I mean he wore his own apron for all of 5 seconds, played with funnels and spoons, watched stuff churn in the stand mixer, and enjoyed licking batter from my fingers.

Nothing better than the scent of two dozen pumpkin cookies filling the house

So, here’s the final recipe:

2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter (softened)
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. Splenda
1 c. canned pumpkin
1-1/2 tsp. Ener-G egg replacer (prepped according to package directions)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

  • In a medium-sized bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients (flour thru salt on the list above)
  • In another bowl, cream together the butter, sugar & Splenda
  • Add the pumpkin, egg replacer (stirred into 2 tbsp water, as per package directions), and vanilla to butter/sugar mixture. Blend until creamy and smooth.
  • Add dry ingredients and mix until evenly blended.
  • Finally, add chocolate chips and stir gently by hand until evenly distributed.
  • Drop tablespoons full onto prepared baking sheets (I lined with parchment paper, but you could also spray with cooking spray). Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Makes 24 cookies.

These cookies came out perfectly. With no noticeable difference from previous versions made with full sugar and eggs. They are always fluffy and a bit cakey, which I think comes from the pumpkin. They clock in at 136 calories per cookie… which isn’t great, but isn’t bad when you consider they are pretty sizable and filling. The Little Mister ate them for lunch on Friday. And the Boy had them for snack AND dessert – definite winners!