Pumpkin Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

I rarely have to make recipes over for my blog, but I made these cookies four times to get the right texture.  All I wanted was a crispy cookie on the outside with a moist-chewy center.  The problem with pumpkin cookies is that they contain a lot of moisture because the pumpkin has a high water content and you end up with a cake-like texture instead of a cookie texture.  I also didn't want to use regular or brown sugar in the recipe, even though it would help crisp them up.  My sweetener of choice is maple syrup, especially if the flavor pairs well, and pumpkin and maple are a great combination.  However, I knew that by using the maple syrup that I would be adding even more moisture to the batter and I would have to make further adjustments to the recipe.   Anyway, I was about to give up (I had wanted to post this recipe in October), but I'm glad that I hung in there because I really like the texture and the flavor.  But it's time to move on--I'm so over pumpkin cookies!

Ingredients:

(Yield:  4-1/2 doz if using a small ice cream scooper)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

2-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp ground cloves

2 sticks Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks, softened to room temperature

1-1/2 cups pure maple syrup

3 tsp Ener-g Egg Replacer, plus 2 tbsp filtered water

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup canned organic pumpkin

3 cups old fashioned rolled oats, not quick or instant

1 cup dark raisins

1/2 cup golden raisins

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two sheet trays with either a silpat or parchment paper and set aside.
• In a small bowl, whisk together egg replacer and filtered water and set aside.
• In a medium sized bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and spices and set aside.
• In the bowl of a food processor (or large bowl) add softened butter and maple syrup and mix well to combine.  Then add egg replacer, vanilla and organic pumpkin and mix well again.  If you used a food processor to mix the wet ingredients, then scrape out the batter into a large bowl.  Note:  The batter may look like it's curdling because of the acid content of the maple syrup reacting with the butter, but it will all come together when it bakes.  Just make sure that your pumpkin is evenly disbursed and this is where it's helpful if you have a mixer or food processor. 
• Add flour/spices to wet ingredients and mix lightly just so that the flour is disbursed, but not all the way combined.  
• Add in rolled oats and raisins and stir until ingredients are evenly combined, but do not over mix.
• Using a small ice cream scooper, or what ever size you have on hand space batter evenly on a cookie sheet (12 per sheet) about 2" apart and flatten cookies slightly with your fingertips.  
• Bake for 16-20 minutes depending on your oven temp, rotating the baking sheets from top-to-bottom, and from left-to-right, half way through the baking process.
• Cookies will be lightly golden brown around the edges/bottom and firm to touch when finished. 
• When finished baking, remove cookies from the sheet pans and place on cooling racks.  As the cookies cool (about 15 minutes) they will crisp up even further.