PECAN PUMPKIN BUTTER OATMEAL COOKIES

There were two warning signs for this recipe that I didn't heed: first, the recipe is not from the Williams Sonoma Kitchen; second, the directions said to flatten the dough if desired when putting it on the cookie sheet. These cookies don't spread and don't raise. There's a lot of oats in the recipe and with the pumpkin butter, these are very dense cookies. To make matters worse, I made them "healthy," substituting applesauce for part of the butter and adding 1/2 cup toasted pecans. My neighbor is taking them to the soup kitchen on Thursday where they hopefully will be appreciated. This is not my kind of cookie. But if it sounds like something you might like, here's the recipe:

Pecan Pumpkin Butter Oatmeal Cookies
INGREDIENTS: 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. molasses
1 Tbsp. Stevia Plus (or add another 1/2 cup of sugar, making 1 cup total)
2 eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup Muirhead Pecan Pumpkin Butter (or homemade--see my post)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3 cups quick oats, uncooked
1/2 cup crystallized ginger chopped fine
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
3/4 cup raisins soaked in hot amaretto liqueur for 1 hour, then drained

DIRECTIONS: Have all ingredients at room temperature before starting. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper. Drain raisins, discarding liquid or reserving for other use. In large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs, vanilla, applesauce and pumpkin butter. Beat well. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and add to wet mixture with oats, raisins, nuts and ginger, stirring just till combined. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet and flatten dough if desired. Bake 12-15 minutes or til golden brown. Cool several minutes on cookie sheet and move to wire rack to finish cooling. Makes about 4-1/2 dozen cookies. (For original recipe, go to this link: http://www.muirheadfoods.com/.

On a lighter note, I found a great buy at our local Harris Teeter food store -- crystallized ginger for $2.99. It was a very nice sized box, too.