By Corinne
I like my cookies soft and not too sweet. I like to think of these as ‘breakfast cookies’ as there is some goodness packed in there. These cookies stay soft even after baking, but the sunflower seeds and almonds give them a bit of a crunch. I prefer them without chocolate chips, but my husband has more of a sweet tooth and prefers them with. They are vegan as long as you use chocolate chips with no milk solids.
Time: prep 10 min, bake 20-22 min per batch
Makes: about 48 medium sized cookies
Oven: preheat 350F
You will need:
- 3 cups quick oats*
- 1/2-1cup lightly packed brown sugar (I tend to use the smaller amount as I find with the other sweet ingredients(cranberries, chocolate chips) they are sweet enough.
- 1 cup sunflower seeds (roasted, salted)
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds(need nut free? Substitute pepitas-shelled pumpkin seeds)
- 1/2 cup hemp hearts
- 1/2 cup ground flax seed
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cardamom (If you love cardamom and would like it to be more ‘present’, go 1 tsp cinnamon and 2 tsp cardamom instead)
- 1 can (398 ml) 1 3/4 cups canned pumpkin
- 1 cup virgin coconut oil, melted
- 1 cup semi sweet or dark chocolate chips (optional)
Preheat oven to 350F. Mix together all dry ingredients. Melt virgin coconut oil in microwave, about 1 minute. Add coconut oil, canned pumpkin to dry mixture and thoroughly mix together. This can be done pretty easily by hand, or if you have a mixer, that works too.
Roll a scoopful of cookie dough into a ball between your palms, then squish flat. They cook into whatever shape you make them now and they don’t spread or ‘puff up’ so you can snuggle them up close together.
Bake for 20-22 minutes. Cookies will be slightly browned around the edges, bottoms and tops. Cool completely and store in an air tight container, or freeze and take out just a few at a time as desired.
*oats are one of those ‘maybe’ items for many celiac people. While oats themselves are gluten free, crops may be contaminated with wheat. Some brands of oats will say ‘gluten free’ and others don’t.