Julie and I have ventured into a new realm of cooking ... low-carb. There's still room for all those tasty treats in our last cookbook but all in moderation, right? Unfortunately, I'm not so good with "moderation." So, in my quest to improve my health, I've joined the ranks of the "low-carb". That being said, I do miss a sweet treat every now and then. In looking toward hosting Thanksgiving and going to holiday parties, I'd like a few treats that I can eat, and no one is the wiser. Julie shared that her aunt made an excellent sunflower cookie (recipe below) and we've tweaked it to make the perfect fall cookie by using pumpkin seeds instead. Whether you're eating low-carb or not, this will be a great cookie to share with family and friends. ~Holly 🙂

Holly calculating carb totals for this recipe.

Pumpkin Seed Cookies (low-carb)

Ingredients

6 Tbsp. Vegetable shortening
3/4 c. Coconut sugar
1/4 c. Pumpkin, canned
1 tsp. Vanilla paste or extract
1 Egg
2 C. Almond flour
1/2 tsp. Baking powder
2 tsp. Pumpkin pie spice
1/2 c. Pumpkin seeds, roasted & salted

Toppings
Extra pumpkin seeds
1/4 c. extra coconut sugar

Directions

1. Cream together shortening and coconut sugar on high for approximately 2 minutes to incorporate. Coconut sugar seems grainier to combine than regular sugar.

2. Once combined, add in pumpkin, vanilla and an egg . Mix well.

3. In a separate bowl mix together flour, baking powder, and pumpkin pie spice. Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients until just combined.

4. Stir in pumpkin seeds.

5.Using a 2 Tbsp. cookie scoop, drop mixture onto cookie sheet. Sprinkle tops with pumpkin seeds. Bake for 20 minutes at 350°. 
Makes about 2 dozen cookies.
Net carb count is 6g per cookie.

Not all cookies were winners: These were too wet. We had to reduce the fats (here vegetable shortening) and increase the almond flour to produce a low-carb cookie with more body and structure.

This was our inspiration recipe if you'd like to bake this version.