Sugar & (Pumpkin) Spice

As I hear the clinking clanking sounds of tempos going up, it has finally hit me... snow really is right around the corner. Although I am not a very big fan of the bone-numbing, face-hurting cold that is about to hit us soon, I really do love the jolly spirit winter comes with. The chilly nights that are perfect for movie marathons and hot chocolate (or maybe some spiked eggnog), the nostalgic Christmas songs, colorful decorations, Christmas cooking and baking for the whole family...

Before getting in the festive spirit prematurely, I decided to take more advantage of Fall. By now, many of you have probably overdosed on pumpkin-flavored everything. I am very late at entering this pumpkin game. I tried my very first pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks very recently. I decided to make the treat extra-decadently calorific so I ordered it with whipped cream on top.

I eagerly took my cup to my seat and dove in. I needed to finally understand why these pumpkin-spice lattes were so popular. I indulged in the soft, white cream with a spoon that had subtle hints of the pumpkin-flavored treat below. After devouring those cloud-like peaks, I stopped and looked down at my cup. I raised an eyebrow and started to wonder.

Why was my drink such a bright shade of orange? Pumpkins are orange but since when are they Oompa Loompa orange?

Maybe some of you already know this (and maybe some of you don't)... I eat everything! A bite at a time, I would proudly eat anything that is smelly, ugly, or slimy. I never discriminate and will try everything at least once. 

My biggest weakness though is sweets. I have never come across a sweet treat that I did not like... until now. Unless I am extremely full, you know that there is something terribly wrong with the food or drink in front of me (especially if it's sweet!) if I do not finish it... I didn't finish that orange disgrace of a latte and dumped that overpriced liquid-chemical-mixture straight in the garbage. 

If you're not tired of pumpkins yet (who can ever get tired of pumpkins?), here is an amazing recipe for the chewiest pumpkin spice cookies. These cookies are completely VEGAN and can be made in one bowl (easy cleanup!).

Indulge in what's left of Fall and get ready for Candy Cane/Mint-flavored everything once the snow hits. Oh! Deliciously magical times ahead! ☺


Vegan Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup oats
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp all spice
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup sugar (plus a bit more to sprinkle on the cookies)
- 1/2 cup pumpkin purée(canned or homemade)
- 1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 1 1/2 tsp Maple Syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup raisins
- zest of 1 orange

Directions
1- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2- Put the flour, oats, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and mix until they are all combined.
3- Make a well in the middle of the mixture and add the rest of the ingredients.
4- Stir until well combined.
5- Spoon mixture on the baking tray(I used a small ice cream scoop) and sprinkle a little bit of sugar on top of each cookie.
6- Bake for 20 minutes.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies & Chai Latte