Recipes, Photography, Musings

Heartwarming Orange and a Recipe for Pumpkin Cookies

pumpkin cookies with pumpkinOrange seems to be one of the most popular and celebrated colors during the fall.  We are drawn to orange foods, such as pumpkins, carrots, and squash in the fall.  I have always loved orange–according to many sources, it is the color of joy and creativity.  When I eat orange foods, I feel like I am infusing my body with the energy of orange, and with it giving myself more vitality and inspiration.  Pumpkins are full of vitamin A, iron, potassium, and phosphorous.  Sometimes when I am feeling too blue, orange is a good balance, since orange and blue are complementary colors in the color spectrum.  While orange is bright and inspiring, blue is calming and relaxing.  According to the talented artist Vincent Van Gogh,  “There is no blue without yellow and without orange.”  Nothing exists completely on its own–we feel what we feel, or see what we see, in relation to everything else around ourselves.  It is good to try to maintain a healthy balance between the two opposite ends of the spectrum, because too much of anything can be detrimental, and I must say, sometimes the beautiful fall weather brings on the bittersweet, wistful blues. pumpkin cookies on cookie sheet 3 To add some orange to my life, and just because I like pumpkin cookies and I know my husband and kids like them too, I often turn to the following recipe in the fall.  The recipe I posted below is easy, tasty, and quite healthy (cookies with a vegetable in them!).  The pumpkin puree keeps them nice and moist and the spices give them the great flavor.  The chocolate chips are optional, but I personally like to add chocolate to as many things as I can, and the chocolate tastes great in these cookies.  They are a perfect snack, and easy to pack in lunches.

pumpkin cookie batterpumpkin cookies on sheet 1

 

 

 

 

Pumpkin Cookies

  • Servings: approximately 3 dozen cookies
  • Print

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 cup all-purpose, unbleached white flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 Tablespoon softened butter
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs, slightly beaten
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 3/4 to 1 cup of chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger.  In a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir together the vanilla, butter, sugar, pumpkin puree, oil, and eggs.  Stir vigorously until completely combined.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour the wet ingredients into the well.  Stir until the batter is well-combined. Gently stir in the chocolate chips, if using.  Drop the batter onto a cookie sheet in rounded teaspoons, and bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes, or until the cookies are puffy and golden, but not too brown.  Continue until all the batter is used.  Enjoy!

 

2 Comments

  1. Rebecca

    Looks delicious! Recipe is saved and can’t wait to make them for my family! Thanks for sharing! ~Blessings~

    • dragonflyhome

      Thanks, Rebecca! I hope you and your family enjoy them!

Leave a Reply