Pumpkin cookies

Difficulty: 3/5

Preparation and cooking time: 2 hours

Servings: 8 (3 cookies per serving, 24 cookies total)

Cost per serving: $1.47 (total cost: $11.80)

Cost per 2000 kcal: $5.22

Nutrition facts per serving
CALORIES PER SERVING (kcal): 565         (calories in whole recipe: 4520)
Proteins	25%	14.6g	Protein: lysine	24%	0.5g
			Protein: methionine	22%	0.2g
			Protein: isoleucine	25%	0.4g
Carbohydrates	50%	65.1g	Fibers	25%	9.8g
			Net carbs	n/a	55.3g
			Sugars	n/a	27.8g
Fats	48%	31.8g	Omega-3	4%	0.1g
			Omega-6	52%	9.0g
			Saturated fats	n/a	5.9g
Vitamin B1	23%	0.3mg	Vitamin B2	15%	0.2mg
Vitamin B3	42%	6.7mg	Vitamin B5	17%	0.9mg
Vitamin B6	29%	0.4mg	Folate	14%	58.6μg
Vitamin A	12%	108.4μg	Vitamin C	2%	2.1mg
Vitamin E	37%	5.7mg	Vitamin K	3%	3.8μg
Vitamin B12	/	/	Vitamin D	/	/
Calcium	11%	117.4mg	Copper	47%	0.4mg
Iron	36%	2.9mg	Magnesium	32%	131.4mg
Manganese	103%	2.4mg	Phosphorus	44%	312.1mg
Potassium	14%	686.8mg	Selenium	55%	30.4μg
Zinc	18%	2.1mg	Sodium to taste

Ingredients:

FOR THE COOKIES

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 300g pumpkin flesh
• 1 1/2 cups date sugar (if you can't find reasonably cheap date sugar, you can buy Anthony's Date Sugar - this is an affiliate link, and it helps this site to buy from it)
• 1/2 cup peanut oil
• 2 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp plain soy yogurt (to activate the baking soda)
• 2 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract (optional)

FOR THE GLAZE

• 1/2 cup date sugar/paste
• 1 cups soy milk (or other plant milk of choice)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

Instructions:

• Pre-heat the oven to 225°C (437°F), clean a pumpkin, and cut 310-330g of it into cubes.
• Place the pumpkin cubes on a baking tray with parchment paper, and place it in the oven for about 25-30 minutes, or until the pumpkin is soft (you can check with a fork if they're soft). Note: for more detailed instructions on how to prepare a pumpkin, check this section. You can also skip this by simply using 300g of store-bought 100% pumpkin puree.
• In the meantime, in a small pot, prepare the glaze by putting the date sugar/paste, the soy milk, and the cinnamon. Heat it up, then turn the heat to low.
• Keep stirring for about 15 minutes, letting the soy milk reduce and making sure that all the date sugar/paste is dissolved, and that it turns into an uniform thick glaze. Set aside to cool.
• Bring the pumpkin cubes out of the oven, and with the help of a fork to hold the cubes down, peel off the pumpkin skin with a knife, leaving the flesh clean.
• In a blender/food processor, for the cookies, place the peanut butter, the pumpkin cubes, the date sugar, and the peanut oil. Blend on a slow setting until it's a uniform, thick paste.
• Transfer the pumpkin paste into a large mixing bowl, and pour in it the whole-wheat flour, the baking powder, the baking soda, the soy yogurt, the cinnamon powder, the salt, and the vanilla extract (optional). Mix with your hands well, until uniform. Continue kneading the dough until it doesn't stick to your hands anymore, and it's a firm consistency.
• Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (356°F). Place parchment paper on a baking tray, and separate the dough into 24 equal parts (to the best of your abilities).
• Roll one of the parts into a ball with your hands, place it on the palm of your hand, and with the other palm on top press to squeeze the ball, so that it turns into a cookie shape (as the picture shows). Repeat for all the parts of the dough.
• Place the cookies on the baking sheet, leaving a bit of space in-between them to let them expand. On one tray, 12 cookies should fit (two batches should be enough to cook them all).
• Place the baking tray in the oven, and let it cook for 20 minutes. Take them out and let them cool off for a few minutes before taking them off the baking sheet, or they might break. Repeat for the second batch.

Serving:

Place however many pumpkin cookies you want on a plate, and be generous with the glaze.