recipe! pumpkin oatmeal cookies.

all pumpktoberfest long, we've been featuring guest posts from some of my favorite bloggers. for our final guest post of the pumpktoberfest season, this week we've got the first ever recipe on eat!drink!snack! courtesy of laura from eating the beats, a blog that pairs cooking & music together in an oh-so pleasant way. want some super simple !!!pea salad? how's about a lil' wine-soaked chocolate cake & pears inspired by the national? anyway...she combines two of my loves in a tasty manner, so you should check her stuff out. bonus points if you make one of her recipes & feed it to me.

when it comes to halloween, i can't say i'm really into the costumes, but i am definitely into celebrating all things pumpkin. i've made pumpkin whoopie pies, pumpkin-apple cupcakes, and even cupcakes with mini pumpkin pies in them, but for something a little more simple and less labor-intensive, you can't go wrong with pumpkin oatmeal cookies. these are simple, soft, cake-like cookies that are sweet but not too sweet. and, if you buy a large can of pumpkin puree (libby's, of course), you'll have plenty leftover for things like pumpkin granola and pumpkin oatmeal.

ingredients:

2 cups brown sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree
3/4 cup oil
2 tsp vanilla, mixed with 2 tsp instant coffee
2 1/2 cups flour
2 cups oats
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp ginger
1 cup chocolate chips, raisins and/or nuts (optional)

directions:

1. in a large bowl, beat together sugar, pumpkin, oil and vanilla.

2. in a separate bowl, mix together all dry ingredients -- except for the oats -- until smooth.

3. stir in the oats, then chocolate chips, nuts or raisins (optional; i left this batch plain).

drop by heaping tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet, or a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (ungreased). bake for 12-15 minutes at 350° F. makes about three dozen or so cookies.

laura leebove is a brooklyn-based writer and editor, and the self-taught home cook behind the music-inspired food blog eating the beats. her full-time gig is in the editorial department at eMusic, and she spends most of her free time in the kitchen of her bushwick apartment. follow her on twitter at @leebovel.