Millie's Pumpkin Cookies

These pumpkin cookies bridge the gap between cookie and breakfast bar. Honey replaces refined sugar, mashed pumpkin keeps them moist, and a generous fistful of raisins, dates, and chopped nuts gives every bite something to chew on.

Whole wheat pastry flour is the smart choice here. It has the protein content of all-purpose with the bran and germ of whole wheat, giving the cookies a tender crumb and nutty flavor without the dense, heavy quality of standard whole wheat flour.

Spicing matters with pumpkin. Half a teaspoon each of cinnamon and nutmeg with a quarter teaspoon of cloves hits the warming sweet spot. The cloves are the key, since they bring that fragrant, slightly medicinal note that pushes the cookies past pumpkin spice latte territory into something more grown-up.

Double-duty recipe: drop them by tablespoon for soft round cookies, or press the dough into an 8×8 pan for thick pumpkin bars. Either way, the lower oven temperature is intentional. Honey browns faster than sugar and burns at higher heats.

Pro Tips

• Use sugar pumpkin or canned pumpkin puree, not pie filling. Pie filling is pre-sweetened and pre-spiced.
• Toast the walnuts or pecans first for five minutes in a dry pan to deepen their flavor.
• Honey makes the dough sticky. Wet your hands lightly when shaping balls or use a cookie scoop.
• Cookies look soft when done, but firm up considerably as they cool. Don’t overbake.

Variations

• Swap pumpkin for cooked yam or winter squash puree for a different fall flavor.
• Add a half cup of chocolate chips for a sweeter, more dessert-leaning cookie.
• Drizzle cooled cookies with a maple-cream cheese glaze for a bakery-style finish.