Vegan Pumpkin Pecan Cookies

You can swap out the peanut butter for any nut butter you like, as well you can use agave syrup or other liquid sweeteners if desired. The cookies are soft inside with a nice crunch on the outside. For best results use a mini food chopper to dice up the pecans, it will be uniform.

Vegan Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin purée
2/3 cup canola oil
¼ cup natural-style chunky peanut butter
¼ cup pure maple syrup
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp kosher salt
¾ cup pecans, finely diced
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 ¼ cups rolled old-fashioned oats
1 tsp baking powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325° and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. If you have a convection setting use it, this produces a better cookie IMO.
2. In a stand mixer bowl, add the sugar, pumpkin purée, canola oil, peanut butter, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt.  Beat on medium-low until smooth, add in the pecans.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the flour, oats and baking powder.
4. With the mixer on low speed add in the dry ingredients and let beat in, then turn up to medium and beat till fully mixed.
5. Let the dough sit on the counter for 15 minutes or so, it will thicken up a bit.
6. Using a 1 Tablespoon size disher drop 12 cookies per tray and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.  The cookies will be golden brown and mostly firm, not wet on top. Do not over bake or they will become crispy when cool.  Bake one tray at a time for best results.
7. Take out of the oven, let cool for a minute or two and then transfer to a cooling rack with a thin spatula (metal works best).

Makes 3 dozen (36) cookies.

~Sarah