Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with Chocolatey Drizzle

Oh boy. These are good. I will have to say though that they have lots of sugar and fat, more than I usually bake with. I did use less sugar than the original recipe and the next time around I will use even less. I brought these to work and they were all gone by mid-afternoon which means everybody liked them. Here is the original recipe from The Sweet Life blog in all its glory with some stunning photos.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup organic all purpose unbleached flour
1 cup quick oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp salt
-----
1/2 cup Earth Balance vegan butter
1/4 cup plus 2 TB Sucanat sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 TB organic cane sugar
1/2 cup + 3 TB pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips
-----
chocolate drizzle (recipe below)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl combine flour, oats, baking powder and soda, spices, and salt. Mix together and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat with a mixer the vegan butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin puree and vanilla. Stir to combine.  Slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing together until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Drop cookies onto baking sheet, about 2 tbsp each. Press down lightly and bake for 10-12 minutes, until edges golden. Let sit for a minute and then move to a rack to cool. Drizzle chocolate over the cooled cookies. Let harden before putting into container.

Chocolatey Drizzle
1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips
2-3 TB vegan butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
2 TB or more of non-dairy milk

Directions
Heat chocolate chips and butter in microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted. Add vanilla, sugar and 2 TB of non-dairy milk and mix until smooth. Keep adding milk 1 TB at a time until thin enough to drizzle over cooled cookies.

Uber Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

The book "Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar" have a version of this recipe that is quite good but I cannot leave well enough alone - got to make it healthier, less sweet, etc. This recipe makes about 2-1/2 dozen cookies.

Ingredients
2 cups quick cooking oatmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup white whole wheat flour
2/3 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
-----
1-1/4 to 1-1/2 cup sugar*
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
2/3 cup soy, rice, or almond milk
2/3 cup walnut oil
1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon chocolate extract
-----
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 and line a couple of cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, mix together the first seven (dry) ingredients.

In a large bowl, beat together sugar, flax, and milk until smooth. Add oil and both extracts and beat until well mixed. Fold in half the flour mixture and stir until moist; add the rest of flour mixture and mix until combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Drop a generous tablespoon on to cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes until firm. Let sit for a few minutes before transferring to wire rack. Store in tightly covered container.

*Use smaller amount of sugar if you like your cookies less sweet.