I have been short on post ideas even though we're only a third of the way through NaBloPoMo. (Questions? ideas? inspirations? It could be a long November.) Today I was going to post about some tricks I just learned for making nice-looking graphics in my stats program. (I know! You can hardly contain your disappointment!) But yesterday I conscripted all the boys to work outside in the yard, and I promised cookies as a thank-you.
I was mulling over my cookie options this evening. As I mentioned, I'm giving up sugar again in hopes of improving my emotional equilibrium here at the onset of gloomy season. (My new tagline will be "Light and Momentary: now with 30% less crazy!") If I have cookies that I like in the house, I will eat them. I cannot quite bring myself to make cookies I dislike. I was wondering if I could make healthy-but-not-disdain-provoking cookies with the leftover roasted squash (I know! Squash cookies! You guys all want to come live at my house, don't you?) and googling pumpkin cookie recipes when suddenly a memory came bursting back.
When my friend Anneleisa and I had our first babies, we dipped cautious toes into the La Leche League waters. We each had a copy of Whole Foods for the Whole Family, which we viewed with a measure of suspicion. Wheat germ! Nutritional yeast! Grow-your-own lentil sprouts! But one day we made WFWF pumpkin bars together, and they were surprisingly...good. Who knew?
These are slightly modified from the WFWF recipe. They were a hit at my house.
Mash a cup of roasted winter squash, or use canned pumpkin. Beat in two eggs, a stick of melted butter, a third-cup of honey or maple syrup, and a teaspoon of vanilla. Add a cup plus 2T. whole-grain flour, a teaspoon of baking powder, a scant half-teaspoon each of salt and baking soda, and 3/4 t. cinnamon. Combine and spread in a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with flaked almonds or pumpkin seeds or chocolate chips if you're not worried about Edwina Froehlich rolling in her grave, pressing them lightly into the batter. Bake for 25-30 minutes in a preheated 350° oven.
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