Happy Halloween Everyone! It’s hard to believe how quickly the month of October has flown by! Today is Halloween. I still have not bought my candy but I hope it is on sale now. So today I’ll buy candy for my little neighborhood trick or treaters and make some pumpkin flavored Halloween cookies for Lacey and her friends!
Since Lacey is my favorite 5 years old (other than my great niece) I wanted to make her a special treat for today. I’m pretty sure she will appreciate that much more than my dressing her up again. (She was not a fan.) I found this recipe in a magazine called 100 Best Pumpkin Recipes. I’ve been meaning to try a few more people recipes, so I may do that in November. Meaning tomorrow! Yikes.
I am 100% sure Lacey will love these treats. She has never met a treat she didn’t like! Plus, I’ve heard pumpkin is good for dogs. Canned pumpkin is said to be loaded with fiber and beta-carotene and is good for dietary and stomach issues. This recipe only calls for 1 cup of pumpkin so I think that amount will be perfect for a treat. Luckily I have all of the ingredients on hand!
Spiced Pumpkin Snaps:
1 cup natural apple juice
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup honey
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1/3 cup toasted wheat germ
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups quick oats
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
In large saucepan combine first 4 ingredients and bring to a simmer stirring constantly.
Remove from heat.
Stir in oats and wheat germ. cool slightly.
Stir in the remaining ingredients. (I used my Kitchen Aid Mixer)
On lightly floured surface roll out the dough. Add a little flour if needed. Using a pastry wheel or knife cut the the dough into 3 inch squares. If desired, lightly press a pet theme cookie cutter into each square. Instead of this I rolled out the dough and used a bone shaped cookie cutter.
Place squares or cut outs close together on a prepared cookie sheets. I used parchment paper. Since I have double ovens, I preheated both and cooked them at the same time. Otherwise you will need to flip the cookie sheets in the middle of bake time. They don’t spread so you can put them really close together.
Bake on separate oven racks for 45 minutes.
Turn off oven & let sit overnight.
Store in airtight container in refrigerator for one week. This recipe made 25 treats.
Although it says to leave the cookies in the oven overnight, I didn’t have time for that. I wanted to give our furry friends a treat tonight when they come by with their little humans. I took a few out to test them and will leave the rest in for a few more hours. I think the extra oven time makes them crispy. They smell really good! I took a little nibble and gave the rest to Lacey. Naturally she loved it!! Lacey approved. Happy Halloween! Stay safe & warm!