Falling in-love with fall: A recipe + a 21 day challenge update.

This weekend, fall took my breath away.
The leaves on our street have all turned gold and red. For me, heaven was: sitting on the porch, in the perfect weather, and soaking in the beauty of fall.

But then I realized cookies would make that moment even more perfect.
So, I made these:
Oatmeal Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies:

What you need:

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  
• 2 cups quick oats
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unpacked brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 6 tbsp canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet organic chocolate chips
  

What you're gonna do:

• Preheat oven to 350°; line two baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with organic cooking spray.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin spice and cinnamon.
  
• In a mixer, cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed.
• Add the egg to the butter and sugar mixture, followed by the pumpkin and vanilla extract.
• Working by hand, stir in the dry mix until just combined and no streaks of flour remain; stir in the pecans, and chocolate chips.
• Drop 1 tablespoon of the dough at a time onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until cookies become light brown at the edges.
• Cool on baking sheet for 3 or 4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Makes 32 cookies, 1 tbsp each.

They're the perfect fall cookie. Hearty, crunchy, chewy, chocolaty and of course, pumpkiny.*Note: I made these cookies on a night that I was having some girls from church over, so that they would eat the majority of them ;) I only had two of these delicious cookies.

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21 Day Challenge Update:
I was supposed to start my 21 day challenge last week. But, I ended up being sick all week. At first I was going to keep going with the challenge, even though I was sick. My eating was great (It helped that my apatite was completely gone;), but then I remembered that working out everyday was apart of the challenge. I definitely had not been doing that while I was sick. So, I decided to start it after I had gotten better.

My first official day of the 21 day challenge was last Wednesday the 12th.So far I have 5 little hearts!
What's your little piece of fall heaven?