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.

If you like to create something new, how about pumpkin liqueur? You can make enough for your own household and as gifts for Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Then, pumpkin up your holiday cocktails and desserts.

This recipe comes from The Martini Diva.

You’ll need these tools:

Ingredients

Preparation

1. REMOVE seeds and fibers and cut pumpkin into chunks (about 8″). Place flesh side down on a baking sheet and bake at 400°F for about half an hour or until the flesh is tender. The baking time will depend on the size of your pieces.

2. SCRAPE the cooked flesh from the shell and place into the infusion jar with the vodka. Reserve the vodka bottle to bottle your liqueur.

3. ADD the lemon zest, pumpkin pie spice and sugar. Seal jar and place in the fridge. Let this distill for a minimum of one week and up to two weeks. Shake the jar up whenever you open the fridge, or at least once a day. After the first week you can test the depth of flavor until you get the intensity of pumpkin flavor you want.

4. STRAIN the ingredients through a large sieve or metal strainer to remove the chunkier pieces.

5. LINE the metal strainer with coffee filters or cheesecloth and place over the over the filtering jar. Filter the infused pumpkin liqueur through the strainer in stages (do not overfill the strainer). After each portion of the liqueur filters through, toss out the sediment that has accumulated in the strainer. When all the solids are removed, you’re ready to bottle.

Use the retained vodka bottle for your own use. For gifting, purchase decorative bottles and add a label.

PREPARATION TIPS

Canned Pumpkin: You can substitute 32 ounces of canned pumpkin purée can for the fresh pumpkin, but you’ll lose some of the great flavor. Think of fresh-baked acorn or butternut squash versus frozen squash.

Color: If you want a really bright orange colored liqueur, Add a few drops of food coloring to the infusion jar. Use the proportion of 4 drops yellow to 1 drop red. Add it bit by bit, but don’t worry if you find yourself adding 12 drops of yellow and 4 drops of red food color.

Rum Option: You can use white rum instead of vodka, but the pumpkin flavor will be less pronounced. Vodka is a neutral spirit, but rum has flavor. Try both and see how you like them.

An individual Pumpkin Crème Brûlée. Photo
courtesy Spice Islands.

While pumpkin can (and should) be enjoyed year-round, Pumpkin Crème Brûlée is a delicious Halloween dessert or Thanksgiving dessert.

The recipe, for individual dishes of crème brûlée, is courtesy Spice Islands, which has been searching the world for the highest-quality, most flavorful herbs and spices since 1941.

Prep time is 35 minutes, bake time 40 to 45 minutes, chill time 2 hours.
RECIPE: PUMPKIN CRÈME BRÛLÉE

Ingredients For 8 Servings

Preparation

1. PREHEAT oven to 325°F.

2. SPLIT vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape vanilla bean. Place in heavy saucepan. Add cream, pumpkin and syrup and whisk together; bring to a simmer over medium heat. Whisk egg yolks and pumpkin pie spice in a separate bowl.

3. ADD the hot pumpkin mixture slowly to the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Add 1/4 cup pecans and 1 tablespoon crystallized ginger. Pour mixture into eight 6-ounce ramekins. Place ramekins in a hot water bath.

4. BAKE 40 to 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in center of custard comes out clean. Transfer ramekins to a rack to cool completely. Chill, covered, until cold (at least 2 hours).

5. COMBINE sugar, 1 teaspoon crystallized ginger and 1 tablespoon pecans. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons evenly over each ramekin. Broil until topping is caramelized. Serve.

RECIPE: PUMPKIN PIE SPICE

Unless you use a lot of it and like the convenience, there’s no reason to buy pre-blended pumpkin pie spice. It’s easy to mix it from other spices you already have.

Ingredients For 2 Teaspoons

 
Blend together.
  

We have a new favorite crispy snack to enjoy with beer, wine and Martinis. We love them with soup, too. And for general crunching.

Harvest Snaps are a line of gluten-free snacks made largely from peas (70%) or lentils (65%). Both legumes are packed with nutrients: calcium, folate, iron, potassium and vitamin B, plus highs level of protein and dietary fiber.

Harvest Snaps have 50% less fat, lower sodium and more fiber than regular potato chips.

And they have more pizazz. Harvest Chips are deftly seasoned for a sizzle that goes well with a drink. Flavors include:

Lentil Snaps

 
If you “Like” the brand on Facebook, you’ll receive a buy-1-get-1-free coupon.

That’s agricultural poetry!

WHERE TO FIND HARVEST SNAPS

Harvest Snaps are available at the national’s top retailers:

Albertsons, Andronico’s, Basha’s, BJ’s, Bristol Farms, Costco, Dominick’s, HEB, Ingles, Kroger, Lucky, Publix, Raley’s, Ralphs, Safeway, SaveMart, 7Eleven, Smart&Final, Spartan Stores, Sprouts, Stop & Shop, Target, Von’s, Walmart, Wegnan’s and Whole Foods Market, among others.

If you need help finding them, here’s the store locator.

Retail buyers are notoriously tough; but all they needed to do was taste Harvest Snaps. They’re probably as hooked as we are.

Discover more at HarvestSnaps.com.

Our favorite packaged sweet snack, Bare Fruit apple chips has expanded the line to two new “flavored” chips. The lineup now includes

They’re as satisfying as candy—in fact, much more so, since they’re a guilt-free, all fruit and just 50 calories per bag. Each bag is the equivalent of eating an apple, so you also contribute to your recommended daily fruit and fiber servings.

Caramel Apple is perfect for Halloween; all varieties of these naturally sweet chips (no sugar added but a special baking process caramelizes the apple’s natural sugar) are great for: