Hooray for Halloween! It’s that time of year when pumpkins get carved into toothy grinning lanterns, kids are happy draped in tablecloths, cosy jumpers make an appearance and our bellies want more heart-warming meals.

But what do you do with all that pumpkin flesh? How about making these delicious pumpkin, oat and ginger chocolate chip cookies?! (Oh boy! That was a mouthful!). I love healthy snacks and I get such satisfaction offering healthy homemade Halloween treats instead of refined-sugar laden ones.

These cookies are chewy on the inside and crispy on the outside. They are enriched with chia seeds for extra protein, fibre and omega-3s; oats, for slow-release carbs and fibre; sugar-free dark chocolate chips for a cacao antioxidant and tryptophan mood-boosting lift and some optional protein powder.

These cookies are spiced with a generous helping of ground cinnamon too, which is rich in antioxidants with anti-inflammatory compounds to protect against disease, lower blood cholesterol levels and helps fight off infections. These cookies are positively medicinal!

These cookies freeze well, making them ideal for batch cooking. They are suitable for vegans and coeliac (by using gluten-free flour).

Makes: 12 cookies

Preparation time: 15-20 mins

Ingredients

Dry ingredients:

• 80g oats (gluten-free if required)
• 80g plain flour
• 25g protein powder (soya bean or pea. If you have run out, sub for more oats)
• 25g coconut sugar
• 20g chia seeds
• 5 tsp. ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp. ground ginger
• ¼ tsp. sea salt

Wet ingredients:

• 200g of pumpkin puree* (this can be steamed pumpkin or canned pumpkin)
• 50g maple syrup, brown rice syrup, date syrup or honey (for non-vegans)
• 2 balls of stem ginger, chopped roughly
• 2 tbsp. oil, melted coconut oil or rapeseed oil

Options:

40g chocolate chips (I used dark sugar-free ones) or nuts or dried fruit (eg. cranberries, goldenberries, raisins)

If you are making these for children, you may want to use some edible sugar eyes.

*You can substitute pumpkin for steamed or baked sweet potato if desired.

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C and grease and line a large baking sheet with a little coconut oil and greaseproof paper.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients.
3. In a second large bowl, mix together the wet ingredients to form an orange batter.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Then stir in the chocolate chips or nuts or dried fruit.
5. Using a tablespoon spoon out portions of mixture and using your hands, roll them into balls of approximately equal size (approx. 45g per biscuit..yes I measured them!).
6. Place on the baking sheet and flatten with your fingers to form a round disc like biscuit shape. These cookies will not spread upon baking so you can pack them quite closely together. If using sugar-eyes, press them into the cookies now.
7. Bake in the oven for 15 mins until the edges slightly darken. Allow to cool on the baking sheet before transferring onto a wire rack to allow to cool completely. Enjoy!

Don’t forget you can find my favourite recipes in my FREE eBook here.