Egg-free Pumpkin Spice Sandwich Cookies with Maple Frosting

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving yesterday.  We had a very delicious Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings. This year, we didn't have to worry too much about The Princess's allergies since she is able to eat eggs and milk now - and than she ended up not eating anything but crackers and ice cream (yes, not healthy but it was a holiday after all). We spent the morning with one side of the family and the afternoon with the other side of the family. The weather was beautiful and The Princess, The Brothers and their cousins were able to run around outside and leave the adults to visit (and watch football) in relative peace.

I realize the last thing everyone probably needs is more goodies after eating pie yesterday... but, I wanted to get in another recipe with pumpkin in it before the month of November was over. And trust me, you don't want to miss out on this recipe. These cookies are so delicious!

As a side note: I almost never bake with all-purpose flour. It is so processed and refined and there is absolutely no nutrition in it. But, I did use a little in this recipe to make sure they turned out ok (since I was taking them a family outing). When I make them again, I will use all wonder flour (or another whole grain flour).

Pumpkin Spice Sandwich Cookies 

1 1/2 cups wonder flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup raw sugar

1/2 cup sucanat

1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree

1 Tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 3 Tbsp water (or 1 egg)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Add pumpkin puree, ground flax mixed with water and vanilla to butter mixture and beat until creamy. Mix dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonful; flatten slightly. (I prefer to flatten mine right after they come out of the oven)

Bake for 15-20 minutes in a preheated oven. Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Maple Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

2-3 Tbsp pure maple syrup

Put butter in a medium size bowl and mix until whipped. Mix in powdered sugar and beat for another minute. Scrape down the sides and add the maple syrup. Mix for another 2-3 minutes or until frosting is fluffy.

Recipe inspired by Living Well Spending Less

I intended to take a better picture of these, but I forgot so this is what you are stuck with. 

Jana

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Baked Pumpkin Donut Holes

I am not a huge donut eater, but I do have a weakness for pumpkin donuts. Krispy Kreme makes a delicious pumpkin spice cake donut, but it obviously contains eggs. It is also seasonal, so what is a girl supposed to do when she is craving pumpkin spice donuts in the spring.  I decided I would make my own donuts.

When came across this recipe, I loved the idea of using a mini muffin tin to create donut "holes".  I also liked that these were baked and not fried - not just because of the health factor, but mainly because of the mess factor. I loathe cleaning up oil splatter all over the stove top and counter. These turned out so well they were gone within a day! We did manage to save enough to sneak some into The Princess's granddad who was in the hospital at the time (because everyone needs some contraband in the hospital to help them feel at home!).

Baked Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes

For the Donuts:
2 cups wonder flour*

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp allspice

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

1/4 cup sucanat

1 Tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 3 Tbsp water (or 1 egg)

1/2 cup non-dairy milk

For the Coating:**

1/2 cup raw sugar

2 Tbsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F. Spray a 24-cup mini muffin tin with baking spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves.

In a separate large bowl, whisk together oil, sucanat, ground flax mixed with water, vanilla, pumpkin and milk until smooth. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

Divide batter evenly among mini muffin cups. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

While the muffins bake, combine raw sugar and cinnamon in another bowl. Remove muffins from oven when finished and allow to cool for 2 minutes. Roll each muffin in cinnamon sugar to coat. Serve muffins warm or at room temperature - if there are any left  to serve!

*If you choose to use all-purpose flour in place of the wonder flour, cut the amount to 1 3/4 cups.

**The original recipe called for dipping the donut holes in melted butter before rolling them in the cinnamon sugar mixture. I tried mine both ways to see if there was much difference. I tasted a small difference (because I knew the difference) but nobody else could tell. I say save the mess and the calories and avoid that step.

Recipe Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod

Jana

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Pumpkin Snickerdoodles (and they're egg-less)

Happy Election Day! I hope we all let our voices be heard today by voting.

Since we haven't had enough treats with Halloween being just last week, I thought it was a good time to post some cookies. Fall, Halloween and Thanksgiving are the perfect time to bust out the pumpkin recipes (although I think it is ok to cook with pumpkin year-round, if I can find it).  I just love the combination of pumpkin with all the yummy spices... cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and allspice. Not only do they make the house smell heavenly while baking, they taste so delicious!!

This recipe combines all the fall yumminess (you know pumpkin and all the above-mentioned spices) with a classic favorite - snickerdoodles. It doesn't get any better than this, I promise!

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

For the cookies:
2 cups wonderflour

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. aluminum-free baking powder

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup raw sugar

1/4 cup sucanat

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 Tbsp. ground flax mixed with 3 Tbsp. water

2 tsp. vanilla

For the coating:
1/2 cup raw sugar

1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

In a medium bowl, combine flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Whisk to blend and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Blend in pumpkin puree. Beat in the ground flax mixed with water and vanilla until incorporated. With the mixer on low speed add in the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray baking sheet with non-stick spray or cover with silicone baking mat. Combine sugar and spices for coating in a small bowl and mix to blend. Scoop the dough (I like to use a small cookie scoop) and roll into a ball. Coat the dough ball in the sugar-spice mixture and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough to fill the sheets, spacing dough 2-3 inches apart. Press on dough balls slightly to flatten (I use the bottom of a small bowl so they are evenly "smooshed".

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until just set and baked through. Let cookies cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transfering to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Recipe adapted from Annie Eats

Jana

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