Cooked Pumpkin Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

It seems that whenever I remember reading about an interesting combination or technique, these persimmon chips being one example, a quick google search leads me back to Esi and her blog Dishing up Delights.  And that, my friends, is where I first heard about pumpkin oatmeal.  Yesterday, I tried a variation of the recipe with some McCann's Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal, my personal porridge of choice.  Oatmeal in general is touted as a nutritious whole grain, but when you go for the quick-cooking rolled oats of the Quaker variety, the bran has been removed and they've been processed to absorb more water, thus the quicker cooking time.  

Steel cut Irish oats, on the other hand, have had the inedible outer husk removed, and have then simply been cut into smaller pieces, leaving the nutrient-rich bran intact.  I am not going to lie to you and say that I eschew instant oats as a rule, I have no such imperative when it comes to breakfast.  But when there's a bit more time in the morning, I love the texture of steel cut oats, and will gladly sacrifice the 30 minutes or so needed to cook them.  

Basically, for steel cut oats with pumpkin, I cooked the oats according to the package directions, but stirred in about 1/4 cup canned pumpkin, about 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, as well as about 2 tablespoons real maple syrup 5 minutes before the cooking time was over.  After all of that, I wasn't about to let the considerable leftovers go to waste.  So instead, I used the pumpkin oats as the basis for these healthy breakfast cookies, which, however, were gone by the end of the day, making them instead healthy all-day cookies.

Cooked Pumpkin Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

A Cooking Books Original

1 rather heaping cup cooked Pumpkin Oatmeal

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup all purpose flour

Oven preheated to 350F, 2 cookie sheets, greased.

With an electric mixer on medium speed, cream the butter for several minutes until it is a pale yellow color.  Add the sugar and continue to cream until you reach a smooth consistency.  Beat in the egg and the vanilla.  

In a separate bowl, gently stir together the oatmeal, flour, baking powder and baking soda, just enough to combine the ingredients.  Stir this mixture until the butter mixture until well combined.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto the cookie sheets.  I think I have a fairly liberal definition of a rounded tablespoon.  Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the cookies are firm and the edges just beginning to brown.  Transfer to a cooling rack to cool.

Notes

* You could get away with using even less sugar, if you want

*  You can use any kind of cooked oatmeal, with any flavorings you may have added, including the quick cooking kind

*  These are light and fluffy, with an almost cake-like texture, not heavy at all, and completely delicious.