Pumpkin Mulberry Breakfast Cookies

This is a recipe I created a couple weeks ago (before my fantastic week in the hospital, ha).  I had discovered two opened bags of organic dried mulberries which is pretty unusual for me--they are so expensive that usually I keep very good track of my precious mulberries.  In fact, I'm not sure I've ever offered them to my husband.  Dried blueberries for him, organic mulberries for me--how selfish!

Anyways I wanted a pumpkin cookie, and it was breakfast time, and I wanted to eat some mulberries.  Somehow the combination not only worked, it tasted amazing.  So here you are--a fast and easy cookie recipe with yummy and nutritious pumpkin, chia, and yes, mulberries.  If you don't have any though, any dried fruit such as raisins, currants, cranberries, blueberries or something similar would work fine.  Heck, if you want more of a dessert, omit the fruit and add in your favorite chocolate chips!

Pumpkin Mulberry Breakfast Cookies
yields 10

Ingredients:

1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
3 to 4 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 egg or egg replacement
3/4 cup gluten-free oat or regular flour
3/4 cup gluten-free oats
2 tablespoons ground chia seeds
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
sprinkle sea salt (optional)
1/4 cup dried mulberries (or fruit of choice or chocolate chips)

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2.  Mix all wet ingredients together, then stir in dry ingredients.  Add 1 to 2 additional tablespoons of pumpkin if the batter looks too dry.
3.  Stir in mulberries or dried fruit on hand, or for a more dessert option, nondairy chocolate!
4.  Divide into 10 cookies and bake for 10-12 minutes or until set but look soft still.  For my oven, 11 minutes is perfect.  Let cool on a wire rack for a few minutes before pulling off the cookie tray.  Store any leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge; will keep for a few days.