Diabetic Friendly Pumpkin, Oatmeal, Pretzel, Pepita Cookies

As I type this, Thanksgiving was a few days ago. The holiday season is here, and with that comes lots of baking. Sadly, for most diabetics or people who are trying to reduce their sugar intake, making tasty, satisfying baked goods can be a challenge. However, these cookies are not only sweet and tasty, your friends will be going back for more (if you are willing to share), and at only 10 grams of carbohydrates per 1-ounce cookie, they can fit into most diabetic and reduced sugar diets!

I grow and cook my own pumpkins. I am especially fond of Blue pumpkins- blue on the outside and deep, deep orange on the inside, which is perfect for baking.

I enjoy using pumpkin in a number of ways, such as in Gluten-Free Pumpkin Scones. And in pumpkin bread, such as Pumpkin Pear Bread with an Almond Streusel Topping, Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pear Bread with an Almond Streusel Topping, Vegan Pumpkin Pear Bread with an Almond Streusel Topping, and Diabetic Friendly Pumpkin Pear Bread with an Optional Almond Streusel Topping. I have also used pumpkin in cookies, such as Penuche Pumpkin Cookies with optional Penuche Icing, Vegan Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey Pumpkin Cookies with Optional Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey Icing, Diabetic Friendly Pumpkin Spiced Cookies, and Gluten Free Penuche Pumpkin Cookies with Optional Penuche Icing. And there will be more pumpkin recipes coming soon, such as a Fireball Cinnamon Pumpkin Pie!

But after making pumpkin cookies, as listed above, that were slightly crisp on the outside and chewy/cakey on the inside, I wanted a pumpkin cookie that was crisp inside and out, which is not easy, since I am using a lot of pumpkin. The result: Pumpkin Oatmeal Pretzel Pepita Cookies with a Vegan Option. The pretzels and pepitas added a wonderful crunchy texture to this cookie. Of course, I had to make the gluten-free version of this cookie (coming soon), and now, the Diabetic Version.

This recipe is presented as a suggestion and may not be appropriate for all diabetics. Please check with your doctor or dietitian to determine if food items made using this recipe can be safely incorporated into your diet.

THE INSIDE SCOOP

This is an easy recipe to follow. I just have a few inside comments:

We cannot live by bread alone. Sometimes we need Cookies When I first set out to create diabetic baked goods, I knew I had to do something about the flour mix. All-purpose flours typically contain 21 grams of carbohydrates per 1/4 cup- far too many carbs to allow room for additional ingredients.  My Diabetic Flour Mix was the result of extensive experimentation to produce a flour mix that was high in fiber, high in protein, low in carbohydrates and tasted good!

When both volumetric and weight measures are provided, the volumetric measures should be considered approximations. The standard measure for a cup of Splenda is 24 grams. By volume, this measure will be less than 1 cup. Precise measuring is essential for diabetic baking to ensure accurate carbohydrate counts.

I grow my own pumpkins and cook them; that way, I can control how much water is left in the pumpkin. If you are using commercially canned pumpkin, you will probably need to drain off the excess water. Too much water in the pumpkin will make the cookies doughy on the inside.

To drain the excess water from the pumpkin, fill a jelly bag with the pumpkin and place the bag and bag holder over a bowl. Let the excess water drain off until the pumpkin is no longer watery and will hold a shape but is not dry. I often speed this along by gently squeezing the bag to remove the excess water.

If you do not have a jelly bag, line a sieve with several layers of cheesecloth. Place the pumpkin on the cheesecloth and let it drain until it is no longer watery and holds a shape without being dry.

And if you don’t have a jelly bag or cheesecloth, you can drain the pumpkin by placing several sheets of newspaper on a baking sheet and covering them with 3 layers of paper towels. Spread the pureed pumpkin on the paper towels. Let the pureed pumpkin drain until it is no longer watery and will hold a dent without filling with water if a finger is pressed into it.

An apple a day? I use unsweetened applesauce to replace some of the fat in most of my diabetic baked goods.

Mix it up: Why do so many recipes tell one to whisk together the dry ingredients? This is important so that the leaveners and salt are evenly distributed throughout the flour, which helps to ensure an even rise and texture.

GENTLY fold the dry and wet ingredients together. My Diabetic Flour Mix is very high in gluten proteins; any more than a gentle folding will cause it to become tough.

Chill out! Wheat bran is fiber and absorbs moisture poorly. It is essential to refrigerate the prepared batter for at least 4 hours to allow the flours time to absorb moisture and reduce the grittiness of the bran. I usually cover my batter bowl and refrigerate the batter overnight. Be sure to label your covered bowl with the name of the batter and the time of refrigeration.

Do not add the pretzels and prepared pepitas to the batter until just before you are ready to bake the cookies so that the pretzel and pepitas remain crisp.

When you are ready to bake, line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Parchment paper helps to ensure the cookies bake evenly on the bottom.

Space the cookies 2″-3″ apart so that they have room to spread.

A little sprinkle of sea salt on top before baking adds a wonderful touch of saltiness to the cookie.

Print Recipe

Diabetic Friendly Pumpkin, Oatmeal, Pretzel, Pepita Cookies

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By Connie Teunis – Serves: 18 1-ounce cookies

A delightful cookie packed with pumpkin, oatmeal, pepitas, and pretzels. And only 10 grams of carbohydrates per cookie!

Ingredients

• 30 g./ ¼ c. Pumpkin Pepitas (166 cal., 8 ½ g. of carbs, 14 ½ g. of fat)
• 120 g./ ½ c. Pureed Pumpkin, drained of excess water (approximately 15 cal., 4 g. of carbs, .1 g. of fat)
• 113 g./ 1 stick Unsalted Butter (800 cal., 0 g. of carbs, 88 g. fat)
• 16 g./ 4 t. Unsweetened Applesauce (14 cal., 1 g. of carbs, 0 g. of fat)
• ½ t. Vanilla Extract (6 cal., 2 ½ g. of carbs, 0 g. of fat)
• 91 ½ g./ 1 c. My Diabetic Flour Mix (312 cal., 55.25 g. of carbs. 5 g. of fat)
• 80 g./ 1 c. Old Fashioned Rolled Oats (300 cal., 54 g. of carbs, 5 g. of fat)
• ¼ t. Baking Soda (0 cal., 0 g. of carbs, 0 g. of fat)
• 1 t. Baking Powder (2 cal., 1.3 g. of carbs, 0 g. of fat)
• ¼ t. Salt (0 cal., 0 carbs, 0 fat)
• 18 g./ ¾ c. Splenda Granulated Sweetener (72 cal., 18 g. of carbs, 0 g. of fat)
• 12 g./ 1 T. Brown Sugar (45 cal., 12 g. of carbs, 0 g. of fat
• ¼ t. Cinnamon (.65 cal., .35 g. of carbs, 0 g. of fat)
• 28 g./ ¼ c. Salted Pretzels, coarsely chopped (110 cal., 23 g. carbs, 1 g. of fat)
• Coarse Sea Salt

Instructions

1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the pepitas on a sided baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, until some pepitas begin to brown. Remove from oven; turn oven off. Cool pepitas to room temperature; set aside.

2

If the pumpkin puree appears slightly watery, drain the pumpkin. This can be done by placing the pumpkin in a jelly bag and letting the excess pumpkin water drain out. This can also be done by placing several sheets of newspaper on a baking sheet and covering with 3 layers of paper towels. Spread the pureed pumpkin on the paper towels. Let the pureed pumpkin drain until it is no longer watery and will hold a dent without filling with water if a finger is pressed into it.

3

In a medium bowl, melt the butter or shortening; cool slightly. Add the drained, pureed pumpkin; whisk together. Add the unsweetened applesauce and vanilla; whisk together; set aside.

4

In a large bowl, whisk together My Diabetic Flour Mix, old fashioned rolled oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt, Splenda Granulated Sweetener, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Make a well in the middle of the flour mix. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the well and fold together. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

5

When Ready to Bake:

6

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

7

Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator. Add the broken pretzels and prepared pepitas; fold together- batter will be stiff.

8

For each cookie, roll one ounce of cookie dough into a ball; place onto the prepared cookie sheet, and flatten to about ½". Space cookies at least 2” apart on the cookie sheet. Top cookies with a light sprinkling of coarse sea salt.

9

Bake in 325 degree oven for approximately 25-30 minutes, until cookies are firm when lightly touched. Remove from the oven; let cookies cool on the cookie sheets for 1 minute, then transfer cookies to a cooling rack.

10

Repeat until all cookie dough has been baked. Makes 18 1-ounce cookies.

11

Enjoy!

12

Nutrition information per 1-ounce cookie: 102.4 calories, 10 g. of carbohydrates, 6.31 grams of fat.

Diabetic Flour Mix

Ingredients by Weight                      Grams of Carbohydrates        

30.0g./ 4T Sprouted Whole Wheat
          Or Whole Wheat Flour             21.0g. 
27.5g./ 5T Wheat Germ*                            12.5 
16.0g./ 4T Wheat Bran*                                7.0 
   7.0g./ 1T       Amaranth ***                         4.75
 11.0g./ 2T      Oat Flour**                             10.0

Total: 91.5 g  per cup                   55.25 grams of carbohydrates per cup of flour

* Grind in a coffee grinder or a grinder specifically for grinding grains

** Look for oat flours with lower carbohydrate counts

***Amaranth can be found among gluten-free flours or at health food 
stores. If not, substitute cornstarch, potato starch or tapioca starch, although the carbohydrate content is slightly higher.

Nutrition Information Per Cup:
Total Carbs:              55.25 g.
Total Fat:                    4.75 g.
Total Fiber:              16.13 g.
Sugar and “other”: 23.00 g.
Protein:                    17.10 g.

To make a larger batch to store for future use:

Ingredient x5

Sprouted Whole Wheat
           Or Whole Wheat Flour 150.0g.
Wheat Germ                              137.5g.
Wheat Bran                                  80.0g.
Amaranth                                     35.0g.
Oat Flour                                       55.0g.
Total weight for 5 cups:         457.5 g.