Butternut Cookies

I randomly flipped to this recipe in my Moosewood Restaurant's Cooking for Health cookbook (that I am clearly obsessed with) and decided these cookies needed to be made immediately. I had some leftover squash in the freezer (I'm pretty sure it was acorn, but may have been butternut, who knows?) that was dying to be made into these little things. Plus, I had every single ingredient. Every single one. If fate was not calling, then I don't know who was.

The cookies themselves are not incredibly sweet (the chocolate chips help with that) but they are jam packed with healthy goods: squash, pumpkin seeds, nuts, raisins. Okay, yes, they are still cookies, but as far as cookies go, these babies are pretty damn healthy. According to the nutrition info provided with each recipe, they are just 103 calories a pop. Not bad, little cookies, not bad at all. This recipe is also easy to alter. If you don't have any of the add-ins or don't want to use nuts, for example, just double the amount of something else, like the raisins or chocolate chips. Anything goes!

Butternut Cookies
Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant's Cooking for Health

1 1/2 cups pureed cooked butternut squash (or 12 oz frozen winter squash)
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup olive oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chpped toasted nuts (walnuts, almonds, peanuts, or pecans)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped raisins or dried cranberries (I used golden raisins)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds or chopped pumpkin seeds (I used whole pumpkins seeds because I'm lazy like that)
2 tbsp sesame seeds (optional, I did not use)



Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix the squash, sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients into the wet. Stir in the nuts, chocolate chips, dried fruit, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds (if using).



Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and use about a tablespoon of batter for each cookie. Mine didn't spread at all, so you can fit about 18 per sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Makes 36 cookies.