pumpkin raisin spice cookies

Now that I have a store of fresh pumpkin puree, I thought I should test it out in a baked good.

Enter the pumpkin spice cookie.

I adjusted the recipe a little to make these a tad healthier. What resulted is a very moist, cake-like cookie that takes most of its sweetness from the raisins.

Of course, if you wanted to add more sweetness, you could drizzle them with honey or spread on a spicy frosting (may I suggest cream cheese?), but for me, they're just perfect.

{pumpkin raisin spice cookies}

adapted from here

makes 2 dozen

1 cup pureed pumpkin

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup Splenda (or other sugar substitute or more white sugar if you prefer)

1/2 cup applesauce (or oil)

1 egg

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon milk

2 cups raisins, soaked in hot water and drained

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Mix together pumpkin, sugars, applesauce, and egg until well blended.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, spices and salt.

Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and add to the wet ingredients.

Add the dry ingredients until well blended. Stir in the raisins and walnuts.

Drop by spoonful onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes (depending on how large your cookies are). They should be golden and firm to the touch.

{hint} The cookies will stick to your baking sheet. You could grease the sheets or use parchment, but I opted for neither. They leave a scant bit of cookie crumb when you shovel them off, but it washes off really easily so you decide how fussy you want to get.

{also} Really be sure they're cooked all the way through. The touch test is essential.

{bonus} Don't have any pumpkin? Don't like pumpkin? Substitute 1 cup of mashed bananas (about 3 medium ripe bananas) for the pumpkin (I also decreased the raisins and increased the walnuts). What do you get? Delicious banana bread cookies!