My recent layoff has brought changes to my life, including an exaggerated, newly heightened sense of frugality. Though I have been cheap probably since the womb, I now feel an overwhelming consciousness of the cost of everything, the contents of my wallet, the balance of my checking account. I have saved every grocery receipt from the last month with the intention that I will map out my spending in some hypertechnical way à la Microsoft Excel and look for ways that I can cut more corners than ever before.

In honor of the winter holidays, this stinginess took the form of home-baked gifts for the vast majority of my friends and family: lemon anise biscotti, peppermint chocolate cookies covered in white chocolate and dusted with crushed candy canes, candied orange peels, and two types of chocolate bark. Amid the festive flurry of kitchen activity, I even found time and energy—and clean utensils—to bake a loaf of pumpkin bread for myself. But, as is always the case when I make pumpkin bread, the standard sized can of pumpkin leaves me with an extra half-cup or so leftover. I used some of it earlier in the week, adding it to a pot of oatmeal about a minute before the oats were fully cooked. This reminded me of my favorite cookie e-ver (oatmeal chocolate chip), which in turn reminded me of how unexpectedly delicious the combination of chocolate and pumpkin can be.

I used a Mollie Katzen recipe as a guideline, with the exceptions noted below. Her preparation times never hold true for me; I always take longer than she does. And while she says this recipe yields four dozen cookies, I used a 2-teaspoon cookie scoop and ended up with well over 60.


Pumpkin Chocolate-Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Adapted from Still Life With Menu Cookbook (Ten Speed, 1994) by Mollie Katzen

Preparation time (for me): 35 minutes to prepare, 12 to 15 to bake
Yield: 4-6 dozen cookies, depending on size

½-¾ c. canned pumpkin, drained of excess water
¾ c. packed brown sugar (I had only about ½ c., so I threw in ¼ c. maple syrup also)
½ c. unsweetened applesauce (if you want it to be vegan) or 1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ¼ c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
3 ½ c. rolled oats [A tip from Mollie: If you are using thick-cut rolled oats (the kind that is sold in bulk at natural foods stores), grind the oats slightly in a blender or food processor, using a few quick spurts. If you are using a more refined product, such as Quaker Oats, this step is unnecessary.]
5 to 6 Tbsp. water
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. whole chocolate chips (dairyless, if you're going the vegan route)

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet, or line with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, cream together pumpkin and sweetener with an electric mixer at high speed.
3. Beat in applesauce or egg; stir in vanilla extract.
4. In a second bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt.
5. Stir flour mixture into pumpkin mixture, and add all remaining ingredients. Mix until everything is well combined.
6. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto cookie sheet, and flatten each cookie slightly with the back of the spoon.
7. Bake 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from sheet while still hot, and cool on a rack. (If using parchment, transfer paper with cookies to rack and allow to cool.)

Optional:
Eat one as soon as you can handle it! They're awesome right out of the oven.