Just Pumpkin

We’ve talked about dates, applesauce, and bananas, which all bring fruit-based sweetness to desserts, punching up the nutrient content of your favorite cakes, cookies, and more. Let’s talk pumpkin for a minute.

Where to Use It

It’s slightly sweet, but not really enough to function as a sugar substitute, so I wouldn’t recommend that. Where it does shine, however, is in swapping out eggs or oil. Now, eggs and liquid oils both earn Guiding Stars and are good foods to include in your diet, but (1) eggs aren’t vegan and (2) a little oil goes a long way, calorically speaking. Pumpkin can bump up the nutrient content while bringing the calories down, providing a more balanced end product.

How to Use It

For replacing eggs, the ratio is 1/4 cup to 1 egg. If you’re replacing oil, start with a 1:1 ratio of pumpkin puree for oil. Pumpkin is a little drier than both of these things, so if the mix is a little dry, you might add a little extra pumpkin puree. Be sure to whisk it in with any other liquid ingredients (like water or milk) to reduce the amount of time you need to stir it in with the dry ingredients to avoid increasing toughness of the final baked good.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Two Guiding Stars iconTwo Guiding Stars indicate better nutritional value. Pumpkin is a bizarrely excellent swap for eggs and oil for making soft cookies.

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