Samhain ~ Halloween ~ All Hallows Eve ~ Pumpkin Walnut Oatmeal Cookies ~

Samhain - Halloween - All Hallows Eve - October 31 to November 1, in the Northern Hemisphere - is a Celtic festival marking the end of harvest season and the beginning of winter and is considered to be the darker half of the year. The skies are turning grey, the leaves have fallen from the trees and the garden is bare. It is a time where we honour the dead, protect the living and petition the spirits for wisdom and prediction. 

Death is a reoccurring theme during this time as boundaries dissolve and the veils between worlds during equinoxes and solstices are at their thinnest. That is why it is believed that the spirits, faeries, ancestors and darker entities could more easily roam our lands as the portal between our world and theirs is considered to be at its thinnest; therefore we want to honour and hold offerings to our ancestors, the dead, the departed and the otherworldly for this reason. Other festivals celebrated during or around this time are: Day of the Dead (Mexico), Day of those who have Died/Undas/Araw ng mea Yomao (Philippines), Dia de Finados (Brazil), All Saints' Day (Christian), All Souls' Day (Roman Catholic & Christian), Hallowmas (Christian), Martinmas/Armistice Day (Scottish/British/UK), The Huron Feast of the Dead (Wyandot Nation - Canadian, Ontario, Canada) and another Celtic tradition, Feast of the Dead/Féile Na Marbh, (Irish)   

Samhain is a magical time. As the dark half of the year begins, death is followed by rebirth, the end of the old year and the beginning of the new year, it's a time of rest and reflection as we go inward to honour the darkness as we descend into winter and the darker half of the year. Remember... light is born from darkness and darkness has potential and growth... through death we find rebirth.

These densely rustic pumpkin cookies honour Samhain in such a spirited spiced seasonal way.  

Pumpkin Walnut Oatmeal Cookies

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3/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar 

1 egg

1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin

1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 3/4 cups rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup chopped walnuts

dark chocolate,  melted, for decorating

Preheat oven to 400ºF (200ºC) and line a baking sheet with baking parchment paper.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg and beat well. Add the pumpkin and stir to combine.

In another bowl combine the flour, rolled oats, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, ground ginger and cinnamon, add the chopped walnuts and stir together. 

Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture. The dough with be sticky and thick. Drop by teaspoonfuls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until done. Remove from baking sheet and allow to cool on a wire rack.

When completely cool. Melt the dark chocolate in the microwave and drizzle over top of the cookies. Decorating them with drizzled chocolate isn't necessary however it just adds that hint of sweetness and darkness to this delicious festive cookie.     

Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Fall is in the air and that means everything is turning up pumpkin and these delicious cookies are another way to enjoy pumpkin. I did toss in some ground flax seeds for an added bonus; I am on a ground flax seed kick right now therefore I add it to everything. These are my kidlets favourite cookie so far. The cookies made with mashed avocado were less so.      

Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

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1 1/2 cups butter, soften

2 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

1 (15 ounce) can of pumpkin purée

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 cups all purpose flour

2 cups quick-cooking oats

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375ºF (190ºC)

Beat butter and both sugars together in a large bowl until creamy. Add the pumpkin purée, egg and vanilla extract; beat until smooth.

Mix flour, oats, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl; stir into the creamed butter mixture until combined. Fold the chocolate chips into batter. Drop 1 to 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie onto a baking sheet.

Bake in the pre-heated oven until the edges of each cookie are lightly browned, approximately 10 to 12 minutes.  

Notes: I added 2 to 3 tablespoons of grounded flax seeds with the dry ingredients.  When trying a recipe for the first time I usually follow it to a T, however I felt with this recipe the butter and sugar could be reduce. The next time I make this recipe I will do so. You could also add chopped walnuts, if you like. I did not have mini chocolate chips so I used a good quality standard size chocolate chips. The pumpkin purée I use was organic. I did not have quick-cooking oats so I used what I had on hand and that was large flaked oats.

Hope everyone had a good weekend! It's back to school for most... including my two. 
- JD