My Guilty Indulgence: The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

I've been a really bad girl. I've been craving for my favorite chocolate chip cookies for the past two weeks so I made a batch of crispy ones Saturday and a batch of chewy ones yesterday. Although I cut back on the sugar and made them whole wheat, this cookie is a really big treat since I don't normally use this much sugar in a baked good. If you decide to make these, treat these as BIG treat and try not to have too many.

With Christmas around the corner and because I love these cookies, I want to share this personal favorite with you. After this, I will continue to bake with very limited or no sugar. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did. I'll be featuring the chewy version, but they can be crispy too if you add one to two minutes to the bake time. 

The recipes is to make chewy chocolate chips cookies but can easily be made crispy if baked for too long. I'm featuring this chocolate chip recipe version since most of all my crispy chocolate chips were gone before I could take any pictures of it. 

I adapted this recipe from Alton Brown, one of my favorite person whom my husband and I would love to meet. You may known him as the emcc for Iron Chef America, and the host for Good Eats. Alton is like a walking encyclopedia. He is amazingly knowledgeable in the science of cooking, baking, and facts about most ingredients out there. I've never had any problems with his recipes and hope you won't either, especially this one!

Modifications: I made half the batch and was able to bake about two and a half dozen cookies. My cookies were smaller than what Alton instructed since his recommended sized cookie would be big enough for a few people. I omitted granulated sugar, included molasses, replaced white bread flour for white whole wheat flour.

Taste: This isn't your typical chocolate chip cookie. This cookie is very flavorful because of the subtle hint of molasses and the brown sugar. These sweeteners pairs very nicely with the light nutty flavor of the whole wheat flour. Actually, it goes so well that my friends and husband didn't even know that they were eating a whole wheat cookie. And of course the dark chocolate chips made this cookie complete!

Texture: I got cookies that were very chewy in the middle and cookies that were less chewy and more crispy. This variation is dependent on the baking time. In step 7 of the methods section, I describe the different baking times I used for dark and light colored baking sheets. Below is an image of a crisper cookie. Both textures were enjoyed by me and my husband. 

Ingredients:
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup or 4 ounces)
1 cup + 2 tablespoons white wheat flour (6 ounces)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoon molasses*
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar (4 ounces)
1 egg*
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon milk (½ ounce any type & kind)
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup of your favorite type of chocolate chips, I used Ghirardelli's Dark Chips (6 ounces)*

*Egg & Molasses: I kept the amount of egg used the same even though I halved the batch. Because I am using whole wheat flour instead of regular white flour, I need more moisture to make chewy and not dry cookies. The molasses and egg will help make it chewy and moist. 
*Chocolate: I chopped my chocolate chips since they were quite large. You don't need to do this. 

Method:
1. Melt the butter in a medium bowl in the microwave. Set aside to cool slightly. 

2. Sift flour, salt, baking soda into a separate clean bowl. In a separate container, whisk the whole egg, egg yolk, milk and vanilla extract together. 

3. Add brown sugar and molasses to the butter and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes with a handheld mixer or stand mixer. Reduce the speed and slowly add the egg mixture. Mix until everything is well combined. It shouldn't take more than 30 seconds. 

4. Slowly integrate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Stop your mixture to scrape down sides of bowl if needed. Once flour is combined, add the chocolate chips. Hand stir in the chips or use the slowest setting of your mixer. Chill the dough for 45 minutes. If you chill the dough for longer, you will need to increase the baking time. 

5. Preheat oven to 375F and place racks in the top third and bottom third of the oven.  I didn't grease my two non-stick baking sheets. You can grease yours if you wish or use parchment paper to line them. 

6. With a tablespoon, use it to scoop and measure out the amount of dough to drop onto the baking sheet. There is no need to flatten the dough on the baking sheet. Give a lot room for the dough to spread. Space each piece of dough at least 2 inches apart.

7. Baking time will vary and be dependent on the type of cookie sheet you use (color, metal, and how it is made). Keep a close watch on your cookies and take them out when the edges are browned and center looks gooey. I've been afraid of the gooey look in the past and have baked them for longer. It will result in crispy cookies. You may need to play with the baking time.  Below is my results when using a dark and light colored baking sheet.  

• Dark colored baking sheet: I knew that cookies will bake and brown more easily with my dark colored baking sheets because it heats up more quickly and retains heat longer. I baked the cookies for 7 minutes and they were more crispy than chewy. I used this sheet again and reduced the baking time to 6 minutes. These cookies were more chewy. I will probably reduce the baking time by 30 seconds to one minute for an even more chewy cookie, like the ones I got with the light colored baking sheet.

• Light colored baking sheet: This baking sheet is thicker and very light in color so cookies will bake more slowly on this sheet. I baked cookies on this sheet for 7 minutes. They were perfectly chewy in the center upon cooling. 

8. Remove baking sheets from oven. slide cookies onto cooling rack and try to wait 5 minutes before enjoying. 

The New Favorite: Purple Yam Chiffon Cake!

In my last post, no one shared a food they enjoy or would like to see in this blog :(. Don't be shy to share your favorite baked dessert or savory dish with me. I want to get to know you, and what you like to eat. You can share your go to comfort food, snack, dessert here.

I was inspired to make this cake because my dear friend Christine gave me lots of purple yams when she came to visit me a couple weeks ago. If you haven't had purple yams before, you must! You'll be blown away when you taste them since they are naturally super sweet like candy. Only buy small sized yams though. The big ones are not very sweet and spoils easily.

What is Chiffon Cake? Chiffon cake is a simple cake made from four base ingredients,  oil, eggs, sugar, and flour. Leavening agents such as baking soda and powder is not used or needed to create volume because whipped eggs are the leavening agents. In order for eggs to maintain is volume, sugar is needed to stabilize and to create structure in the whipped eggs.

Taste: As you have guessed, this chiffon cake is unlike any other because it contains purple yam, making it sweet and tasty.

Texture: This cake is light and fluffy from air whipped into the eggs. When I pressed down on the cake to flatten, it bounced back up. This chiffon cake has great volume but less compared to those made of cake flour.

My Results: I am very happy with my purple yam chiffon cake but I have room to improve. The top of my cake deflated a little, making it dense compared to the rest of the cake (in the photo, the top of the cake is the bottom because I flipped the cake upside down). It was still tasty but I want the same volume throughout the cake. The color of my cake did not come out purplish pink but bluish-grey. I believe the color of my cake was due to the quality of  my yams. I used large yams and they didn't have the super dark rich purple color as the small ones.

Modification: I used whole wheat pastry flour instead of cake flour, and I decrease the amount of sugar because purple yams are very sweet. When I make this next time, I will use less sugar and use small sized yams since they are sweeter, more flavorful, and has a richer purple color. I adjusted the amount of eggs used to make it easier for people like me who don't want to weigh the amount of eggs needed.

Ingredients to make an 8" cake
This recipe is inspired from a recipe by Noriko Ozawa.

90 grams mashed purple yam*
5 egg yolks
oil
water
12 grams lemon juice
80 grams whole wheat pastry flour

5 egg whites
80 grams (1/3 cup + 2 teaspoons) sugar
10 grams cornstarch

*choose small purple yams to make this cake.

Method
1. Wash and wrap the purple yams in foil. Bake at 350F for 30-45minutes or until fully baked. Too check for doneness, slide a knife into the center of the yam. The knife should slide easily in and out. Slice the yam in half. The yam should be moist and have a dark rich purple color. If it doesn't, it might not be fully cooked.  If it appears dry and there is not much color, the yam may be not good. Once cooked, mash the yams well.

2. Preheat oven to 325F.  Use a tubed shaped cake pan. There is no need to grease the tube pan. You can use a ceramic dish or cake pan but the cake will deflate a bit and not have as great of volume. Prepare the ceramic dish or pan by lightly greasing the bottom or line it with parchment paper.

3. In a medium bowl, sieve flour. Set aside.

4. Place egg yolks, water, and the mashed sweet potato in a mixing bowl. Whisk the mixture to combine. The color of the batter will not be purple.

5. Add the oil and stir to combine. Now add the lemon juice and stir to combine. The lemon juice will bring color back to the mixture. It may be a pink color. Sieve the flour into the wet mixture and whisk until it is fully incorporated. The mixture should be smooth. Add the small amount of sugar. Stir to combine.

6. In a clean dry bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer on the lowest speed. Once it becomes frothy and foamy, turn the speed on high and add the sugar to the whites gradually. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar at a time. Before adding the last tablespoon of sugar to the egg whites, combine it with the cornstarch. Beat the egg whites until the whites appear smooth and glossy. When the whisk is lifted up, the peak of the whites will curl and droop slightly.

- Something wrong happened to  my egg whites when I added the cornstarch became it became more like a batter. I beat my whites with the whisk until I reached a ribbom stage. That is when I could draw an 8 with the batter. The 8 would disappear after a few seconds.

7. To combine the two mixtures together, add the egg whites into the yam batter in three different parts. First, add a third of the whites into the yam batter. Use a spatula to fold the batters together. Do this by cutting through the center of the batter and lifting the bottom of the batter to the top. Turn the bowl a quarter turn after each fold to evenly blend the two mixtures together. When the whites are combined with the yam batter, add half of the remaining eggs white, and use the folding method to combine.  Repeat this method with the remaining whites.

8. Pour batter into pan and lightly tap it against the counter to release unstable air bubbles. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 325F for 45 minutes. I tinted my cake so the top won't burn. I could have let the top browned a bit more though. if a skewer comes out clean after being inserted into the center of the cake, it is done.

9. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool upside down. By cooling it upside down, the springy texture of the cake is maintained. This isn't possible if it is baked in a ceramic pan. Unmound cake after its cooled.

10. Remove the cake by running a thin knife around the side and center of the tubed pan. If your cake pan does not have a removable bottom. Try to loosen the bottom of the cake with a thin spatula. With the removable bottom tubed ban, push bottom to separate the two pan pieces. Then run knife between the pan and bottom of the cake. Flip cake over to a serving plate and enjoy.

Help me decide what to make next!

I've hit a creative block and need your help. I'm currently not inspired to make a specific item. I haven't given up on my past attempts to make a sugar-free vegan muffin (without the use of vegan butter and egg substitutes since I don't believe in those products), but I need a break from that project for now.

Can you help me figure out what I should make next? What would you like to see and eat? I know the holidays are coming up, is there a favorite dish or dessert that you want to see a re-make of? I'm open to all ideas and suggestions! Just let me know by submitting a comment below. Thank you for your help!

Here is my failed attempt in making a flour-less bread by sprouting wheat berries. My dough had trouble rising. Once I succeed, I'll post the recipe.

Sugar-free Pumpkin Bread

This quick bread is inspired by all the unhealthy pumpkin bread recipes I saw online and in recipe books. Almost all recipes I found for pumpkin bread uses approximately ONE CUP OF SUGAR for EVERY CUP OF FLOUR. That is way too much sugar for anyone to consume in bread. I came up with this sweet pumpkin bread that only requires 1/3 cup of honey for every cup of wholesome whole wheat flour. This bread can be enjoyed all year round since it is not heavy in spices. Just freeze it to store,  and when you are ready to enjoy it, pop it in toaster-over or oven.

If you are not accustomed to the nutty flavor of whole wheat flour, swap half of the flour for unbleached organic all purpose flour.

Taste: This pumpkin bread is sweet from the use of only a third cup of honey for two small loves. The smell of cinnamon goes well with the plump and juicy raisins and crunchy walnuts.

Texture: This bread is very tender and moist. It has good structure and will not fall apart when handling upon cooling.

Ingredients to make 2 small loaves (approx: 5 ½" x 3" x 2 ¼")
½ cup (70 grams) Whole Wheat Flour*
½ cup (80 grams) Whole Wheat Pastry Flour*
½ teaspoon Baking Soda
⅛ teaspoon Baking Powder
¼ teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 cup (225 grams) Pumpkin (pureed or can)
⅓ Oil*
½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Egg
⅓ cup Honey
⅔ Soaked Raisins (Soaked for at least an hour)
½ cup Chopped Walnuts
½ cup Chocolate Chips (optional, bread will not be sugar free if this is used)

Flour*: If you don't have pastry flour, you can use 1 cup of Whole Wheat Flour. Using regular whole wheat flour will give you a hardier bread with a more nutty flavor. If you use flour made with White Wheat, it will be softer and less nutty in flavor. You can find 100% Whole White Wheat flour at Trader Joe's, Wegmans, Walmart and even Target.

Oil*: Use any type of vegetable oil. I used Trader Joe's pressed sunflower oil. Don't use olive oil, your bread will have a strong olive flavor that will not taste good with the other flavors in the bread.

Method
1. Line bottom of loaf pans with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. With a whisk, mix dry ingredients together in a clean bowl (whole wheat pastry flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon). Set Aside.

3. In a separate bowl, mix pumpkin, oil, egg, honey, vanilla extract together with a whisk or hand held blender until ingredients are blended together.

4. Combine flour mixture with wet mixture. Using a spoon or hand held blender, mix ingredients until just combined to avoid over-mixing. Over-mixing will create a tough loaf. I used a spoon and fold the mixtures together.

5. Add raisins (drained), walnuts, and chocolate chips into the batter. Mix for a few seconds to distribute the goodies. Then pour into the loaf pans and bake for 40-45 minutes. Use a toothpick to check for doneness by inserting it in the loaf and pulling it out. If batter clings to the toothpick, it is not ready. Bake for another 5 minutes and check again.

6. Cool bread completely before slicing. Once baked, remove the bread from pan and cool on a cooling rack. Use a knife to separate sides of the bread with the pan. Don't worry about the bottom since it is lined with parchment paper. Leave the parchment paper on the bread when it is cooling.

Apple Tartlets

This apple dessert is inspired from Micahel Roux's Apple Tart which I made this week. I came up with this dessert since I have leftover pie crust from making the Apple Tart. I like well portion desserts to help me with portion control. These apple tartlets are perfectly sized so you can enjoy the buttery flavor of the crust and sweet-tart apple compote. This dessert is easy to make and perfect for dinner parties. There is no need to take out a serving knife and worry about making the perfect slice.

Modification: I used honey instead of sugar to make the glaze, and used whole wheat flour instead of white flour.

Texture: The crust is thin, light, tender, delicate but with good structure to hold the soft cooked apples.

Taste: The rich flavor from butter makes the nutty whole wheat flavor light. The crust is lightly salty and enhances the natural sweet flavor of the apples, especially since sugar is not used in the compote. The compote is mildy sweet with a hint of tartness.

Pate Brisee

 A delicate buttery crust

This recipe makes 1lb (450grams), enough to make 22-23 tartlets. 

Ingredients for Pate Brisee
1 cup (250g) Whole Wheat Pastry Flour*
⅔ cup (150g) Unsalted Butter, cut into small pieces and is slightly soften
1 teaspoon (6g) Salt*
Pinch- Sugar
1 Egg
1 tablespoon (15ml) cold milk*

* Whole White Wheat Flour works too
*Salt- reduce by half for less salty crust
*Milk- I used 2 tablespoons (30ml) when I used Whole Wheat Flour since it typically needs more moisture for it to become a good structure builder in baking. Don't add more than two tablespoons of water. When adding more water,  add a little at a time, especially when working with pastry flour.

Method to make Pate Brisse
1. Place flour onto a clean counter and make a mountain with it. Then make a well in the center of the mountain of flour to hold butter, salt, sugar, and egg. With your fingertips, mix and cream the ingredients together. (Tip: Mix flour with salt first before making the mountain of flour)

2. Slowly draw flour into the well with the creamed ingredients until a grainy texture is achieved. Add milk and incorporate it into the mixture with your fingertips until the dough holds together. With your palm, push the dough away four to five times until the dough is smooth.

3. Roll the dough into a ball and wrap it with saran wrap.  Chill the ball of dough in the fridge for at least an hour or until ready to use. It can be stored in the fridge for up to one week or three months in the freezer.

Apple Tartlets

If using all the dough, you can make 22-24 tartlets. 

Each dough should weigh about 20grams each.

Ingredients for Apple Compote 
8 (950g) large dessert Apples* (skinned and diced, about 1cm to half cm big)
1 cup Apple Juice
2 ⅓ cups (200g) Butter
½  teaspoon Cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon Cloves
⅛  teaspoon Nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

*Apples: Best to use a variety of apples (ex. Braeburn, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious)

Method to make Apple Tartlets 
1. If using all 1lb of Pate Brisse dough, divide it into two equal balls. Roll each into a log and divide it into 11-12 equal pieces. You should end up with 22-24 small balls of dough. Place them onto a cookie sheet and cover them with syran wrap. Chill them in the fridge.

2. Make the apple compote by placing butter, juice or water, vanilla extract, diced and skinned apples in pan on medium heat. Stir it once in a while to prevent sticking. Cook apples until tender. Add spices and mix. Cool compote.

3. Take out dough. Roll out a ball of dough. Roll from the center of the dough to the top or bottom. Rotate the dough one quarter clockwise and roll dough to same direction as the first roll. Continue to do this method of rolling until the crust is about 3mm thick. It should be about the size of a CD.

4. With the cool compote, fill the center of the dough with 2 tablespoons. Then take an edge of the dough, use your index finger and thumb of your left hand to hold the edge. With your right hand, use the thumb and index finger to hold the edge of dough right next to your left hand. With the dough being held by your right fingers, bring it over the top of the dough that is being held by your left hand to make a pleat. Press the pleat to seal the fold. Continue to do this to make a pleated crust for your small tartlets.

5. Placed tartlet on baking sheet. Then repeat step 3 and 4 to make desired number of tartlets.

6. Cover tartlets with saran wrap and place them in the fridge to chill for 15 minutes.

7. Preheat oven to 375F and bake tartlets for 20 minutes or until apples and crust is lightly golden color.

Tip: Store in freezer for future use. Don't defrost them when ready to bake. Just bake them directly from freezer but add at least 5 minutes to the baking time.

Michael Roux's Apple Tart

This apple dessert is adapted from Micahel Roux's book Pastry: Savoury and Sweet. Roux is a world renown french pastry chef and trained many talented chefs such as Gordon Ramsay, Pierre Koffman, and Marco Pierre White. This apple desert does not include sugar in the filling and only needs a pinch of sugar to make the crust. This dessert is not labor intensive and is a great alternative if you want to make a simple apple dessert. I made the dough a couple days before deciding to make this treat. 

Modification: I used honey instead of sugar to make the glaze for the tart, and used whole wheat flour instead of white flour. Instead of making a large 9.5 inch sized tart which this recipe will teach you how to make, I made a smaller and deeper tart since I do not own a tart pan. My tart was about 6" in diameter and 1.5 inch deep. I suppose mine is more like a pie.

Texture: The crust is thin, light, tender, delicate but with good structure to hold the soft cooked apples.

Taste: The rich flavor from butter makes the nutty whole wheat flavor light. The crust is lightly salty and enhances the natural sweet flavor of the apples, especially since sugar is not used in the compote. The apple filling is mildy sweet with a hint of tartness. With the sweet honey glaze, it contrasts the tartness of the apples.

Pate Brisee

A light and crumbly crust is made from this dough. 

This recipe makes 1lb (450grams) 

Ingredients for Pate Brisee
1 cup (250g) Whole Wheat Pastry Flour*
⅔ cup (150g) Unsalted Butter, cut into small pieces and is slightly soften
1 teaspoon (6g) Salt*
Pinch- Sugar
1 Egg
1 tablespoon (15ml) cold milk*

*Salt- reduce by half for less salty crust
*Milk- I used 2 tablespoons (30ml) instead since I worked with Whole Wheat Flour, and it typically needs more moisture for it to become a good structure builder in baking.
*Flour-I made one with Whole Wheat flour, and that worked out well too.

Method to make Pate Brisse
1. Place flour onto a clean counter (marble is best) and make a mountain with it. Then make a well in the center of the mountain of flour to hold butter, salt, sugar, and egg. With your fingertips, mix and cream the ingredients together. (Tip: mix flour with salt before making the mountain of flour)

2. Slowly draw flour into the well with the creamed ingredients until a grainy texture is achieved. Add milk and incorporate it into the mixture with your fingertips until the dough holds together. With your palm, push the dough away four to five times until the dough is smooth.

3. Roll the dough into a ball and wrap it with saran wrap.  Chill the ball of dough in the fridge for at least an hour or until ready to use. It can be stored in the fridge for up to one week or three months in the freezer.

Apple Tart

Ingredients for Apple Tart
6 (850g) large dessert Apples*
1 Vanilla bean, split lengthwise
4 ½ tbsp (60g) butter
¼ cup (50ml) water
½ cup Honey (instead of sugar for the glaze)
*Apples: Best to use an assortment of apples: Red Delicious, Honey-crisp, Braeburn, Fuji, etc
* Free free to use 1 teaspoon of Vanilla extract if that is what you have on hand

Method to Apple Tart
1.  Roll dough into a 1/8" (3mm) thick circle to line a 9.5 inch diameter and 3mm deep tart pan. Pinch up the edges with your index finger and thumbat 1/2 inch intervalsto make a fluted edge. Chill this for at least 40 minutes. I made deeper and smaller apple tart/pie since I do not have a tart pan and everything went well.

2. Preheat Oven to 400F. Peel, core, and halve apples. Place apples cut side to slice them into 2mm thick slices. Put one third of the apples into a pan to make the compote. Choose the smaller slices to make the compote. Keep the remaining apple slices together so it won't discolor.

3. In the pan with the apples, add water, vanilla bean, and butter. Cook over medium heat until apples are tender. Take it off the heat, discard vanilla bean. Work the apples with a whisk to achieve a compote consistency. Set aside to cool.

4. Prick base of prepared pie crust lighlty with a fork. This will prevent it from bulging up when baking. Pour in the apple compote into the pie shell and spread it gently. Arrange a border of overlapping apple slices around the tart. Then arrange another circle inside, but with slices facing the other way. Fill the center with a little rosette of small slices. Trim slices to fit as necessary. I didn't make the rossette or decorated as how Roux did.

5. Bake for 35 minutes until crust and apples are a light golden color. Cool for at least 20 minutes before removing the pie from the tart pan.

6. Make the glaze with hone by mixing 1 tablespoon of water with honey. Heat it in the microwave for 10 seconds to blend the two together more easily.

7. Brush top of pie with glaze and place the tart on a wire rack until just cooled. It is now ready to be cut and served.

Guiltless Soft Cookies

If you are looking for a healthy and filling snack, you can stop looking. These cookies are tasty, healthy, and filling.  After one or two cookies you'll be full and satisfied. There is no need to feel guilty from having a few because they are naturally sweet from dried fruit, 100% whole wheat, and contains a vegetable! Pumpkin! Just don't eat the entire batch in one sitting though ;)

Modification: I made these cookies twice, one batch with dates as the sweetener and the second batch with cane sugar as the sweetener. I adapted this recipe from Joy of Baking. Besides reducing the sugar by almost 50% or replacing it with dried fruit, I use other spices and use 100% whole wheat flour.

Taste: 
Batch 1  (contains no cane or other types of sugar): This cookie is mildly sweet from dates and raisins. The whole wheat flavor is not masked but is complimented by the dates and raisins.

Batch 2 (contains cane sugar): For those who have a sweet tooth, this version is sweeter but has much less sugar compared to commercial cookies and other cookie recipes. The sweetness is not only from cane sugar but from juicy raisins. The wheat flavor is less prominent.

Texture: These cookies are cake like because they are very soft, moist and tender. When stored in an airtight container they are super moist and will melt in your mouth. The walnuts gives the cookie a nice crunch that creates contrast from the plump juicey raisins and soft tender cookie.

 For one tablespoon sized cookies, yield:1 1/2 dozen 
Ingredients 

Organic Whole Wheat Flour (for milder wheat taste, sub half or all for whole wheat pastry flour)	1 cup (130g)
Baking Powder	1½ + ⅛ teaspoon
Baking Soda	½ teaspoon
Salt	¼ teaspoon
Cinnamon	½ teaspoon
Nutmeg	⅛ teaspoon
Cloves	⅛ teaspoon
Eggs (room temperature)	1
Pumpkin Puree	½ cup (120 grams)
Oil	¼ cup
Vanilla Extract	1 teaspoon
Pure Cane Sugar OR Dates	¼ cup + 2 tbs + 1 tsp (70g) sugar OR 90g mashed dates
Raisins	3/4 cup
Chopped Walnuts	3/4 cup

Method
1. Preheat oven to 325F. Lightly grease baking sheets.
2. Mix dry ingredients together (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices) in bowl. Set aside.
3. Mix pumpkin puree, oil, vanilla extract, sugar or dates together. If using dates, mash them well and use a blender to mix all the wet ingredients for a smoother consistency.
4. Mix dry and wet ingredients together until just incorporated. Then mix in walnuts and raisins.
5. Use a tablespoon to scoop dough onto cookie sheet. Give at least a  2” space between each cookie.
6. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes.

Pumpkin Sponge Cake

Enjoy this dessert and not feel guilty. This simple cake is perfect for those who don't want too add an inch to their waistline from heavy Thanksgiving desserts. Unlike most pumpkin desserts, this dessert is light and fluffy like a sponge. If you want something a bit richer, you can always add a scoop of pumpkin or vanilla ice cream on top.

Taste

This cake is sweet and flavorful. Pumpkin flavor is prominent and masks whole wheat flour's flavor if you use an extra pinch of clove and nutmeg. I used less spices since my husband prefers a lighter aroma. The fall spices complements the pumpkin flavor well and is not overpowering.

Texture

 Like a sponge, this cake is fluffy, airy, and tender. It is most moist when fresh and is best when eaten the day of. After a day, heat it up in the microwave for just a few seconds. Store this cake in an airtight container or it will dry out.

Modification

From studying five different recipes for inspiration, I came up with this one. Unlike all of them, this one has less sugar, uses Whole Wheat Pastry Flour instead of cake flour, and includes plain yogurt.

Ingredients		Method (makes one 10" cake)
Organic Whole Wheat Pastry Flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill)	⅔ cup (100g)	1. Preheat oven to 325F. Line cake pan with parchment paper or use 10" chiffon cake pan.
Baking Powder	½ teaspoon	2. Mix flour, baking soda, salt, spices in a clean dry bowl together. Sieve two times. Set aside.
Salt	⅛ teaspoon	3. In another bowl, mix oil, pumpkin, yogurt or buttermilk, egg yolks and half the sugar (1/4 cup) together.
Cinnamon	1 teaspoon	4. Sieve flour mixture over wet mixture and mix together gently. Stop once it is just combined.
Nutmeg	¼ teaspoon	5. In a clean and dry bowl, whisk egg whites. Once it is foamy, add the tartar powder while whisking egg whites.
Clove	⅛ teaspoon	6. Add remaining sugar in three separate additions to the egg whites while whisking the egg whites. Continue to whisk whites until it reaches the soft stiff peaks stage.
Sugar	½ cup (90g) - divide in half	Soft Stiff Peaks- whites will curl over and droop slightly. To check, stop stand mixer or hand held mixer and lift whisk from bowl. Some egg whites will hang onto the whisk. It will droop and have a curl.The egg whites will appear to be smooth and glossy.
Oil	2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons (40ml)	7. With a spatula, gently fold ⅓ egg whites into the pumpkin mixture, then half of the remaining egg whites, and then remaining whites. Never stir batter.
Pumpkin Puree (canned is fine)	½ cup (100g)	8. Pour Batter into a 10 inch tube pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.
Yogurt or Buttermilk	2 Tablespoons	9. Cool pan inverted.
Eggs	6 (yolks and white separated)	10. Enjoy!
Cream of Tartar (optional)	½ teaspoon

*It is optional to include the cream of Tartar. Cream of Tartar is suppose to help stabilize the egg whits so it won't deflate easily. I made it a few times without it and had identical outcomes.