(with pumpkin seeds)
PREAMBLE: I have a lot of complicated feelings tied up with food, especially where finances are concerned. There are a lot of reasons for this, including personal experience living below the poverty level, but the bottom line is that I really (like really Really REALLY) dislike food waste. I’m as guilty of it as everyone else who lives in first world countries, but I truly do try my best to avoid it. This recipe came about because – in my attempt not to waste the food that was sitting in my cupboard – I found myself in need of a creative way to utilize pumpkin seeds. (Thank you, Bon Apetit.)
RECIPE
(Modified from the original by Moi.)
Bowl 1: Dry Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 1/2 cup coca powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp paprika
Sift together dry ingredients in Bowl 1 and set aside.
Bowl 2:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 cup butter (at room temperature)
- 2 eggs
Cream together sugars and butter. Beat in eggs one at a time.
DIRECTIONS: When Bowl 2 is ready, add dry mixture from Bowl 1 in three portions, gradually mixing the dry ingredients to the dough. The consistency will be thick/firm and may be hard to stir. Once all ingredients are thoroughly mixed, fold in 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate morsels/chunks and 1 cup of pumpkin seeds.
Ball onto a teaspoon and drop onto baking sheet. They will look about like this:
Bake at 350°F on middle oven rack for 15 minutes.
Yields 3.5 dozen @ 160 calories each.
These cookies have a brownie-like texture and are best served warm.
BON APETIT!
My best friend loved way below the poverty line growing up and strangely she rarely eats leftovers. My ex sister in law (also grew up poor) and will not eat leftovers. My family was definitely more middle class and I’ll eat leftovers right up until it’s almost unsafe to.
Admittedly, I do need to be better about food waste in other ways. It’s not something I’m always good about.
I’m super-weird about leftovers too! I don’t refuse to eat them, but I won’t eat most kinds without “re-doing” them. I think it’s because there were times we *had* to eat the same.effing.thing. multiple meals in a row during the ‘poor’ portion of my upbringing, so the idea of eating the same thing twice (reheated especially – blech!) just gives my belly an automatic NO WAY response.
I learned how to bake young though, and know how to extend my available food options by creating baked goods, which – ironically – I eat repeatedly (but enjoy) until they’re gone. Cookies and breads especially. 🙂
I’m not great about it but it goes against my upbringing, for sure.
(Says the daughter of 2 people who grew up in the Depression.)
And I am a LOT better than a lot of others I know, so I console myself that way…
I have a mixture of “must stock up!” and “no, I don’t want that!” attitudes/behaviors, so on my recent cupboard clean-out (which spurred this pumpkin-seed baking experiment), I ended up throwing out a bunch of expired boxed/canned goods, because I’d stocked up out of fear-of-scarcity habit, then wrinkled my nose up at actually eating the stuff I’d bought. Gah! 😱
I’m trying so hard to curb my wasteful ways when it comes to stored food. Instead of shopping weekly, I do it daily so only buy what I need, cos if I have a full fridge I’m notorious for not wanting anything in it. I used to stock up on tinned and packaged stuff, too, but felt so bad when they sat there until they expired that I had to stop. I think I was just so stoked to be in a position to have super stocked cupboards after not being in that position for a stretch that I got carried away.x
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It’s a strange feeling to have totally stocked cupboards. It’s equally strange, for me, to no longer panic when the cupboards start getting low.
Sounds delicious !!!!!!!
They were quite tasty! The spices and cocoa were a unique combination.
i’m a fan of finishing up the stuff in my stockpile too. for some reason i’d rather have an empty-ish larder than an overflowing one. go figure. currently I’m trying to get thru all the bits of frozen meat in my freezer. Those cookies look awesome btw!
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They were really good! 🙂
What are you doing with your frozen meats? Pot pies? Stir fries? I’m not a meat-eater but my husband is, and there’s stuff in the freezer that he just doesn’t want in its plain form. (Sausages come to mind.) I’m not sure what to do with them.
casseroles mostly – with aubergines and zucchini and baked beans; baked with cauliflower florets and melted cheese over the top; a chilli paste+ curry gravy combo works well as a very spicy stewy thing for dipping bread into; just grilled with olive oil and salt (plain) for throwing over salads. I had some dumplings (potstickers) which i steamed and dipped in soy sauce for a simple meal, and i’ve some frozen fish which i chucked herbs and diced canned tomatoes on and baked.
I’m not a frying pan / wok user, so most of my stuff is either cooked in a pot or chucked in the oven. The clean up is less frigthful than greasy oily splatters.
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Maybe I’ll try to help him figure out a casserole for his sausage stockpile.
Thanks for the suggestions!
I am so with you in regards to food waste. Also hate processed food so mostly we cook from scratch. It takes time but it is actually cheaper and so much healthier.
Love it when you put recipes in – this one looks delicious and will let you know when we have tried it 😉
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I bake from scratch – and only from scratch! – and have done so since I was very young. My mom started teaching me to bake when I was six years old, and I think the memories of learning (along with the deliciousness of the finished product 😉 ) are part of why I enjoy it so much. 🙂
Only scratch baking. I did scratch when I was young – now I’m a lazy older person. I’m intrigued by the recipe – the paprika, to be exact. My husband likes stuff a little spicy but paprika is more for flavor, I think…it’s intriguing. Visiting from A to Z and thank you for visiting my blog!
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I wasn’t sure what to expect when I saw paprika on the ingredients list, but it admittedly put a different – and delightful! – spin on the chocolatey flavor. 🙂
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