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Posted on October 6, 2011 by Laura

The chill is in the air, the leaves are dancing down, and there are pumpkins on every porch—and so it’s time.  It’s time to hunker down in a warm, cozy kitchen and whip up some smiles with pumpkin and spice and everything nice.  These are a few of my favorites for fall.  I hope they bring smiles to your table, too.

Vegan pumpkin cake

I’ve shared this recipe already, but it bears repeating, so I can tell you how to turn it into pumpkin cookies.  First, the cake:

• 2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1 ½ tsp. Vietnamese cinnamon
• ½ tsp. nutmeg
• ¼ tsp. cloves
• ½ tsp. ginger (optional)
• 1 tsp. fine Himalania salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda

Mix the above ingredients thoroughly in a small bowl and set aside.

• ¾ cup 100% maple syrup
• ½ cup canola oil
• ½ cup soy milk
• 1 can 100% pumpkin (15 oz, 1 ¾ cups)

Mix the first three wet ingredients thoroughly in a large bowl; then mix in the pumpkin. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Rub the bottom and sides of a 13x9inch ceramic baking pan with organic canola oil. Add the cake batter to the pan and smooth with a spoon. Bake at 350°F for 34 minutes. Let cool and enjoy.

Vegan pumpkin cookies

And now, the cookies: This is the same recipe as above, but with an extra cup of flour and different baking instructions.

• 3 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1 ½ tsp. Vietnamese cinnamon
• ½ tsp. nutmeg
• ¼ tsp. cloves
• ½ tsp. ginger (optional)
• 1 tsp. fine Himalania salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda

Mix the above ingredients thoroughly in a small bowl and set aside.

• ¾ cup 100% maple syrup
• ½ cup canola oil
• ½ cup soy milk
• 1 can 100% pumpkin (15 oz, 1 ¾ cups)

Mix the first three wet ingredients thoroughly in a large bowl; then mix in the pumpkin. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Line a cookie-baking sheet with parchment paper, and drop the batter by the rounded tablespoon onto the paper. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and use a metal spatula to place the cookies on a wire cooling rack.

Nutrition

Pumpkin is a great source of beta-carotene, vitamin A. Canola oil is a great source of omega-3 EFAs. The natural salt adds minerals including iodine, which is important in a plant-based diet. The canola oil, pumpkin, and ginger are highly anti-inflammatory.

Like most pumpkin cakes and cookies, these taste best the next day, but don’t worry if you can’t wait. Enjoy!

Vegan pumpkin smoothie

If you love pumpkin cakes and cookies, but don’t have time for baking, try this spicy pumpkin smoothie instead.  It is rich and thick and indulgent like a pudding.

• 1 can 100% pumpkin (15 oz, 1 ¾ cups)
• 3 bananas (mash and freeze them first)
• ¼ cup regular soy milk
• ½ cup pure maple syrup
• ½ tsp. cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. nutmeg
• pinch of fine Himalayan pink salt

Blend.  Chill.  Enjoy. You can even put it in a thermos and take it with you.

Vegan gingersnap cookies

This is not a pumpkin recipe, but it is full of spice and everything nice, and when I created it in February of 2010, then 6-year-old Emma said, “They’re perfect!”  I don’t hear that often, so this recipe is a bonus.

• 2 ½ cups whole wheat white flour
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• ½ tsp. Vietnamese cinnamon
• ½ tsp. nutmeg
• ¼ tsp. cloves
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. fine Himalania salt

Mix all of the dry ingredients above and set aside.

• ¼ cup molasses
• 1 cup 100% grade A maple syrup
• ½ cup canola oil
• ¼ cup Silk soymilk, regular
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

In a large bowl, mix the above wet ingredients.  Then, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Scoop a large spoonful of batter onto the parchment paper for each cookie.  The cookies expand, so leave some space in between.

Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes.  Remove from the pan to a cooling rack using a metal spatula.  (An amazing aroma will waft through your home.  Sweet.)

When cool, transfer the cookies to a ceramic plate and keep them under glass.  They will dry out if left in the open air.

While these cookies are comfort food, best consumed in moderation, remember that the ginger in them is highly anti-inflammatory.  So there you go, but you didn’t really need that, did you?

I hope you enjoy these recipes and all the loveliness of the harvest season.  (The Jack-Be-Little pumpkins featured in this post came from our garden.  They are not edible, but they are way too cute and easy to grow.) Happy autumn!

   

© Copyright 2011, Laura J. Rongé, Ciel Bleu Media, healthiveg.com.  All rights reserved for all content on this site, including text and photos.  The articles here are not intended as medical, nutritional, or other professional advice.  The ideas presented are my own, unless otherwise noted, and are for informational purposes only.  Please use this information with discretion.

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