Hello friends!
It’s funny; though I spent the last few weeks of summer (ahem, “summer”–it’s still 70 degrees out) dreading the coming of fall, I’m now really into pumpkin, sweaters, boots, Halloween, and the upcoming holidays! Like, maybe more than I’ve ever been. It’s weird. Maybe it took a brief trip to Minneapolis to activate my thorough appreciation of Houston’s faux fall-ness because oh man Minneapolis is C O L D.
A few years ago, I shared this as my Halloween-y post. This year, it’s a spin off of one of my all-time favorites: soft pumpkin cookies, and I’m thrilled to be sharing them to help promote OXO’s Cookies for Kids’ Cancer awareness. Cookies for Kids’ Cancer does amazing fundraising to support research for cancer treatments for kids.
For each blog post dedicated to this campaign (like this one!) in October, OXO will donate $100 to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. Altogether, OXO will donate up to $100,000 to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer through product proceeds, bake sale matches and other fundraising efforts in 2015. If you feel like making a donation at some point this fall, feel free to visit their web page!
To aid in my cookie-making, OXO sent me the following items:
- Non-Stick Half Sheet Pan (the most awesome baking sheet that turns out the most evenly baked cookies I’ve ever owned)
- Medium Cookie Scoop (how had I lived without this for so long?)
- Cookie Spatula
Okay so these cookies. I adapted them from the classic Libby’s old-fashioned soft pumpkin cookie recipe but made them 8913843x more exciting by using einkorn flour (a lower-gluten wheat flour that is supposedly more nutritious–importantly, it works just like wheat flour and tastes delicious) coconut oil instead of butter, and AQUAFABA!
If you haven’t heard about aquafaba yet, you are in for a treat. No, really. Put aside your skepticism for a moment: aquafaba is an egg replacer and is the brine that you typically drain out of a can of chickpeas (or any other white bean). Lately, I’ve been saving all the brine from any cans of beans that I open in a container in the fridge and using it as needed in different recipes–for example, this recipe only uses 1.5 tablespoons to replace half an egg in the original version of the recipe. You can make all sorts of interesting things with aquafaba (meringue! marshmallows!) and I could go on about it for hours, but I’ll save that for another day. Happy Halloween!
PS. In case you were wondering: Cookies for Kids’ Cancer is a recognized 501c(3) public charity duly incorporated under the laws of the state of New Jersey. Your generous donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowable by law. 100% of proceeds raised by Cookies for Kids’ Cancer fund pediatric cancer research.
Soft Vegan Pumpkin Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups einkorn flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 3 tablespoons soft coconut oil
- 1.5 tablespoons aquafaba chickpea brine
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Whisk together all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar, pumpkin, coconut oil, aquafaba and vanilla. Stir the wet into the dry until just combined.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Scoop level scoops of dough onto a cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes until set around the edges. Drizzle with a powdered sugar + almond milk glaze if desired.
Did you try this recipe?
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Jess
Hello!
Could I use regular flour in this recipe, if necessary? If so, would it be a 1:1 ratio substitution? I don’t have any Einkorn at the moment, though I’d love to try it! 🙂
erika
Hi Jess! Yes, a 1:1 ratio of regular flour substitution should work fine–let me know how they turn out!! 🙂
Shikha @ Shikha la mode
Woah, I had never even heard of that egg replacer until now and wow! Hope to see you over the holidays if you’re in town!
erika
Omgosh yes I’ll be in town for quite awhile so I will def hit you up!! <3
Katie (The Muffin Myth)
Oooh, these look delish. I wonder if the chickpea water from home soaked / cooked chickpeas would also work, or whether it has to be canned? Either way, totally worth trying it out!
erika
Yes! According to aquafaba forums, people have had luck using water from home-cooked chickpeas, though I haven’t tried it. So many aquafaba experiments, so little time!!
Izy
I’VE BEEN SAVING AQUAFABA TOO. I swear sometimes we are connected at the food-soul. I pour the aquafaba into ice cube trays and freeze it :))) I still need to get on the einkorn train, I haven’t used it before!
erika
FOOD SOUL SISTAS YAS. That’s so brilliant to freeze the aquafaba–I’m gonna buy me an ice tray and start doing that. Also get on the einkorn train, you will love it!! Also, about to go stalk your NYC posts because I’m headed there this weekend and want to eat EVERYTHING!! <33
Emilie @ Emilie Eats
Yummm! I actually have some einkorn flour laying around, so I can’t wait to try these!
erika
Omg einkorn flour is the besttt!!! I want to buy a ton more! Hope you like them and thanks so much for stopping by Emilie! 🙂
Natasha @ The Cake Merchant
I’m totally obsessed with aquafaba but I’ve only used it for vegan meringue. I’ve never thought to use it as an egg replacer in cookies. That’s genius! And these look like they have the perfect soft chewy texture.
erika
Oh man Natasha I’ve been using it as subs in cookies, cakes, pancakes, you name it. Aquafaba macarons were the first thing I tried! But I seem to find that I have to reduce the aquafaba to get a really thick meringue–if I just beat straight brine with cream of tartar and then add sugar, it turns out a little weak and weepy most times. But the macaron recipe called for reducing it by half and that whipped up super thick and stable. Have you found the same??
Natasha @ The Cake Merchant
I have found the same thing. I made a meringue based frosting and reduced it on the stove by about half and it whips up way better! Now I want to try macarons too.