Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Oat Cookies

After experimenting with 5 different pumpkin cookie batches, I found the right combination.  My toughest critics finally devoured these tasty treats.  The difficulty was getting just the right amount of pumpkin flavor and sweetness.  These cookies have the perfect blend of moist and chewy.  They make an easy grab-n-go breakfast or snack.  The flax meal and chia seeds add heart healthy omega-3’s, protein, and antioxidants.  When they are combined with oats, they also add an abundance of fiber that makes them not only delicious, but filling.

Ingredients
(makes approx. 60 mini cookies)
•    2 cups organic oat flour
•    1 ½ cup rolled oats
•    1 cup light brown sugar
•    ¾ cup mini chocolate chips
•    1 tablespoon flax meal
•    1 teaspoon chia seeds
•    1 teaspoon baking soda
•    1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
•    1 teaspoon cinnamon
•    ½ teaspoon salt
•    1 cup pure pumpkin
•    ½ cup applesauce, unsweetened
•    1 tablespoon almond milk, unsweetened vanilla
•    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
3. In a seperate bowl, combine the wet ingredients.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix evenly.
5. Use a small ice cream scooper to scoop cookie dough onto a lined baking sheet.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Recipe courtesy of Helen Agresti, RD. Helen Agresti is a Registered Dietitian with Professional Nutrition Consulting, LLC.  She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and 5 children.  For more Nutrition advice and healthy recipes follow her on twitter @HelenAgresti. For more information and recipes, go to www.pronutritionconsulting.com