Drop Cookies: Pumpkin Oatmeal

These cookies are delicious! I am not a major oatmeal cookie fan- but these cookies have just the right amount of oats to embellish the drop cookie texture. I also added chocolate chips to this recipe- but I plan on making another batch with dried cranberries and serve around Thanksgiving. I adore drop cookies because I have come to love the aesthetic imperfection of these cookies. They look great and although they are a more complicated cookie- it is a simple process to follow.

Ingredients

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. vanilla

pinch of salt

1 cup white sugar 

1 egg

¾ cup butter    

1 cup pumpkin (canned)

1 3/4 cups rolled oats

1 cup chocolate chips

Process

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  

In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, spices, salt and sugar.  Add the butter and mix.  Add the egg, vanilla and pumpkin and mix.  Add the oats and chocolate chips and stir to combine.  Place in the fridge until the dough is firm (30-45 minutes).  

On a baking sheet lined with parchment place heaping tablespoons of cookie dough.  Bake for approximately 15 minutes until the tops of the cookies are lightly browned. 

These cookies are fantastic to freeze! If you want to freeze the cookies, simply let them cool completely, then place in a freezer bag with the date and let become frozen in the freezer. 

Cookies: Chinese Five-Spice

Ingredients:

Sugar cookie recipe, or pre-packaged mix

3 tsp. Chinese five-spice powder

½ c. butter softened

1 egg

 ½ c.  sliced almonds

Process:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In bowl, combine sugar cookie recipe and five-spice powder until blended. Stir in egg and butter until soft dough forms. Fold in almonds.

Roll dough into balls and place on cookie sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes until edges just turn brown.

It is a Chinese tradition to create the cookie as a thumbprint cookie with an almond in the center.

Chinese five-spice is a mix of 5 ground spices used in traditional Chinese cooking: cinnamon, clove, fennel seed, star anise, and Szechuan peppercorns.

Cookies: Almond Poppy

This began with a simple package of sugar cookie mix to create a dessert in a pinch but grew into quite the cookie.

Ingredients:

1 pouch sugar cookie mix
1/3 c. flour
1 TBSP. poppy seeds
1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 TBSP. almond extract
1 egg
1/4 c. sliced almonds

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In large bowl, stir together all ingredients except almonds until a soft dough forms.
Roll dough into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Press balls slightly to flatten and top with almonds to create a star.
Bake about 10 minutes or so- edges will be a light golden brown color.

I use this recipe when I do not have a lot of time but would like to have something delicious for guests. I usually serve these with my special Vanilla Rooibos Tea ( but that's for another post).


*This makes about 2 dozen cookies.