Pumpkin spice recipes are literally everywhere, and for good reason: the warming (yang) spices complement the cooler (yin) weather during the fall season, which supports the immune system and digestive fire during these cycles. Lucky for you, I’m a pumpkin spice cookie fiend, and I’ve got YET ANOTHER recipe to bring to the party, this time without the artificial flavours, preservatives, seed oils, refined sugars, and lab-made additives. That’s right: wholesome and nutrient dense ingredients that actually won’t skyrocket your blood sugar and will help keep your energy levels balanced throughout the day. Because it’s still winter squash season out here, and we should enjoy nature’s seasonal gifts while we can.
Reasons I’m obsessed with these pumpkin spiced buckwheat cookies dipped in chocolate:
- You can eat as many as you want
- You can have them for breakfast
- They’re incredibly easy to make
- They can hang out in your fridge for over a week, if they even last that long
- They’re totally granola while tasty and organic at the same time, and I’m into it
Only use the best ingredients you can find for these pumpkin spiced cookies dipped in chocolate:
- Proper, high quality, deep yellow, grassfed, ethically pasture raised cow’s butter promotes teeth remineralization, protects and rebuilds the brain, and doesn’t give me acne or digestive problems like conventional dairy does. This stuff is straight up nutrient dense brain food, and my brain has been loving this stuff.
- Whole, sprouted buckwheat flour is a plant cousin of rhubarb, 100% gluten free, full of antioxidants and fiber, attracts bees, makes an effective, quick growing cover crop, aka living mulch that can be interplanted with other cover crops. It’s considered a “pseudo-grain”, much like quinoa and amaranth. Take from that what you will. Just make sure you find a trustworthy local brand that doesn’t enrich it with iron fillings.
- I used sprouted gluten-free One Degree brand oats that are tested and certified Glyphosate-free for bioavailability, but if you can’t find those, I recommend fermenting your oats overnight (or 12-24 hours) in a bowl of filtered water, stirred with a splash of fermentation starter such as whey, kefir, kombucha, or apple cider vinegar. Add in a pinch of magnesium chloride and Celtic sea salt if you have it. Cover the bowl with a towel and let the oats sit for 12-24 hours, then drain and use it in the recipe. This process will activate the oats and help them become more digestible and bioavailable. If you don’t do anything to your oats, you can actually end up with a nutrient net negative, wasting your money and time. Do we want that? I don’t think so!
How to brown grassfed butter:
Browning your grassfed butter isn’t totally necessary for this recipe if you’re in a pinch, but it adds an amazing complexity to your recipes in general. I do recommend it.
- Melt your desired amount of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Whisk the butter as it melts to heat it evenly. The butter will start to foam. Do not bring it to a boil. Keep a close eye on it, and make sure it stays at foaming stage – not too hot.
- Once it transitions to a deeper golden hue and eventually a light brown, it will smell toasty and nutty. Immediately turn the heat off at this stage, as any further will burn it.
- Remove it from the heat and set the browned butter aside to cool before using it in your recipe.
Hope you like these as much as I do!
Pumpkin Spiced Chocolate Dipped Buckwheat Cookies
THE pumpkin spiced chocolate dipped buckwheat cookie of your dreams. Dip a cooled cookie into the versatile chocolate sauce to turn it into a magic chocolate shell.
Ingredients
Pumpkin spiced buckwheat cookies
- 1 cup grassfed butter browned
- 3/4 cup roasted organic pumpkin or butternut squash purée
- 3/4 cup organic maple syrup to taste
- 1 tsp organic vanilla bean
- 1 pasture raised local egg
- 2 cups organic buckwheat flour or organic spelt flour
- 1 1/3 cup gluten free organic sprouted oats fermented overnight in water with a pinch of sea salt and 1 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar, if needed for digestion
- 1 tbsp organic flax seed meal
- 1 tbsp organic pumpkin spice
- 1 tsp organic Ceylon cinnamon
- 1 dropper organic reishi tincture optional
- 1 tsp aluminum-free baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt, plus more for topping
- 3/4 cup organic cacao nibs
Magic chocolate sauce
- 3 tbsp organic virgin cold-pressed coconut oil, melted
- 3 tbsp organic maple syrup
- 1/4 cup raw organic cacao powder, sifted
- 1/2 tsp organic vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Make the cookies. In a small saucepan, brown your butter over medium heat. Stir constantly until it turns golden brown with a nutty aroma. Don't overdo it or you'll lose much needed moisture for your chewy cookies! As soon as it turns golden brown and smells nutty, remove the browned butter from the saucepan into a small bowl, and let it cool to room temperature.
- In a small bowl, whisk the wet ingredients together: browned butter, pumpkin purée, maple syrup, vanilla, and egg.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk to combine the dry ingredients: buckwheat flour, oats, flax seed, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, reishi, baking soda, and sea salt. Pour in the wet ingredients gently fold the cacao nibs into the dough with a silicone spatula or your hands. Don't over mix! Combine the dough into a ball, then place the bowl of dough in the fridge for at least 20 minutes (or overnight) to allow the dough to thicken.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF/180ºC. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the fridge, and scoop out balls of the dough in 1 1/2-2 tablespoon pieces onto the prepared baking sheets. Flatten the pieces of dough and shape them into cookies – about 6-8 cookies per tray. Bake for 11-13 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the chocolate sauce. In a small saucepan (you can use the same one you used for the butter), whisk the coconut oil, maple syrup, cacao powder, vanilla and sea salt over low heat until it turns onto a smooth, well combined sauce. Set aside for dipping.
- Remove the cookies and cool them completely on the baking sheet. Be patient! When cooled, transfer the baking sheet to the freezer for 10-20 minutes. Remove from the freezer, then dip the cookie halves into the chocolate sauce. Place them back onto the baking sheet to harden the chocolate. Serve with extra flaky sea salt sprinkled on top.
Notes
- These cookies are best fresh, but they keep well in a sealed container for 2-3 days at room temperature. You can also store the cookies in a sealed container in the refrigerator or freezer, and this will help harden the chocolate.
- Store any extra chocolate sauce in the refrigerator or covered at room temperature for up to 5 days. The chocolate can also be warmed up at low heat in a small saucepan for each use. It’s a versatile chocolate sauce that also goes well with ice cream, smoothies, or other baked goods.
- I highly recommend mixing the dough with love in your heart and calmness in your mind. Trust me, the cookies will be even more special this way, and you’ll feel the difference when you eat them.
- The chocolate sauce will turn into a magic shell if the cookies are cool when you dip them in. For best results, freeze your bare cookies for about 20 minutes before dipping them. If you prefer warmer cookies, you can skip this step and dip them in the chocolate for eating right away 🙂
- Don’t over bake unless you want a tough, dry, sad cookie: you actually want to UNDER bake for the chewiest cookie. They will continue to bake as they cool, so I recommend keeping an eye on them when they bake, as ovens are all different.
- Don’t over mix the batter: this will cause the cookies to turn out dry and tough. If you want a chewier cookie, don’t overdo it!!!
- You can make the cookie dough well in advance. Once the cookie dough is chilled, scoop out balls of the cookie dough, then place them in a silicone Stasher bag in the freezer for up to 3 months to make instant, fresh cookies.
