Honey Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe came about because I had a few things in my kitchen that I needed to use up. I took an existing recipe and modified it for that purpose. They turned out even better than I had hoped. So if you happen to have these ingredients, I suggest giving this recipe a whirl. They're not very heavy on the pumpkin flavor, if you're concerned, but you can always go with unsweetened applesauce or some other fruit/veggie puree if needed. They stayed nice and soft for that day and the day after and probably would have longer, but by that time they were gone. Pardon the bad picture.

Yield: 3-4 dozen

1 cup honey
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 tbsp dry, powdered egg (I modified the recipe to use honey, so I had to decrease water, hence dry eggs. If you use regular, you'll have to use a lot more flour too, so I don't recommend it. Maybe a honey expert can chime in about a good way to balance this if you don't have dry eggs.)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups oats (quick or regular but not instant)
1 cup mix-ins (I used dried cranberries and butterscotch chips...a bit sweet, but still good. Any dried fruit/chip/nut will work.)

Mix together honey, butter,pumpkin, powdered egg, and vanilla. In another bowl whisk together baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and flour. Stir wet and dry ingredients together just to combine. Throw in oats and mix-ins, again stirring only enough to combine.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheet and bake in 365°F oven for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on sheet for about 2 minutes, then place on rack to cool.

Rosemary