Try a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie for harvest season, and make it a healthier one.

This recipe uses whole grain spelt flour instead of refined white flour; and if you want a lactose-free cookie, you can substitute coconut oil for the butter.

You can also use the pumpkin and pumpkin pie spices in your own chocolate chip cookie recipe, and fall back on refined white sugar instead of the better-for-you maple sugar.

(You can’t simply substitute white flour for the spelt flour in a recipe. The proportions of all base ingredients—eggs, sugar, etc.—can change when spelt flour is used.)

If you do purchase maple sugar, it’s also delicious on hot and cold cereal.

The recipe from the Shiloh Farms blog was created by health coach Stephanie Torres.

RECIPE: PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients For About 3 Dozen Cookies

Preparation

1. PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Lightly grease baking sheets or line with baking parchment paper.

2. COMBINE combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

3. BEAT together sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until well blended. Beat in pumpkin, egg, spices and vanilla until smooth. Gradually beat in flour mixture until well blended. Fold in chocolate chips and optional nuts.

4. DROP large tablespoons of dough onto prepared cookie sheets and bake for 15-18 minutes, until edges are firm and beginning to brown. Remove from oven, allow to set for 2 minutes and transfer to a cooling rack.

Spelt is an ancient grain that fell out of favor in the U.S. because it is more difficult to process. It is a non-hybrid, distant relative of modern wheat. While spelt contains gluten, many people with wheat allergies can tolerate spelt.*

If you passed a field of it, you’d think it was wheat. But spelt’s genetic makeup and nutrition profile are different from wheat. It is a whole grain, and has high water solubility, making it easy to digest (the nutrients are easily absorbed by the body). “It digests like a vegetable,” says Shiloh Farms, a producer of fine grains.

Spelt Nutrition

Spelt is an excellent fiber source, and is significantly higher than wheat in B vitamins, simple and complex carbohydrates. The complex carbohydrates are an important factor in blood clotting and they stimulate the body’s immune system. The nutrients contribute to lower risk of cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes.

Like whole wheat, spelt has a slight nutty flavor. We prefer the richer, more complex flavor of spelt in bread and crackers.

 
*Over the years, modern wheat has been continuously hybridized to make it easier to grow and harvest, and to increase yields. The need for commercial bakeries for high gluten flour producers to maintain a high gluten content in white flour. Today’s spelt, however, retains many of its original traits, including high nutrition and flavor. It is equally easy for home bakers to use in breads and pastries.