Soft, chewy, and filled with warm fall spices, these Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies are made with real pumpkin, brown sugar, and old fashioned oats. They’re the twist on a classic with favorite pumpkin flavor that you’ve been waiting for all year!
Be sure to try these Apple Oatmeal Cookies or these Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies too!
Table of contents
Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Cookies
If it feels like pumpkin season is just an excuse to add pumpkin to everything, well you’d be right! And why not? Is it even fall if we don’t make all the pumpkin treats?
I’ve done it with pumpkin snickerdoodles and pumpkin whoopie pies, so naturally, I wanted to take a classic oatmeal cookie and turn it into one of the best fall cookies you’ll ever try!
Pumpkin oatmeal cookies are chewy, and deliciously moist thanks to the pure pumpkin, brown sugar and other simple ingredients. The traditional textures are the same but the flavor of the cozy spices comes from the pumpkin pie spice.
This recipe makes it easy to satisfy all our warm and cozy soft cookies craving this time of year!
Ingredients/shopping list
- Butter, softened: This is what helps to keep the cookies soft and chewy.
- Brown sugar: Provides more moisture to the cookies than white sugar does. Also gives them a deeper caramelized flavor and goes so well with the fall flavors. You can also use coconut sugar.
- Pumpkin puree: Be sure to use pure pumpkin and not the pumpkin pie filling. You can use canned or homemade puree. Just know that canned puree will contain less water, but either way, you’ll want to blot the excess moisture with a paper towel before you use it.
- Large egg: Needed to bind the cookie batter together so they don’t fall apart once they’re in the oven.
- Vanilla extract: Delivers extra yummy flavor and enhances the overall taste of the cookie.
- Old fashioned oats: I like the texture of these oats, as they’re nice and coarse like a traditional oatmeal cookie should have. You can also use quick oats if you’d like.
- All-purpose flour: Used as the foundation of the cookie which provides its structure.
- Baking soda: We need a leavening agent that will stop the cookies from falling flat.
- Pumpkin pie spice: A combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. If you’re making a homemade pumpkin pie spice blend, you can also add allspice if you’d like.
Variations/ Substitutions
1. Add ½ cup of chocolate chips or white chocolate chips to the batter.
2. Use ½ cup of raisins, chopped pecans, or chopped walnuts.
3. If using unsalted butter, add a pinch of salt to the cookie.
4. Add a bit of maple syrup to the batter for additional flavor.
5. Some extra ground cinnamon in addition to the spice blend is delicious!
6. Use gluten-free flour or oat flour for a gluten-free cookie if desired. Some alternative flours are finicky, so I would stick with a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour.
7. Drizzle them with an icing of ½ cup of powdered sugar and 2 teaspoons of milk mixed together.
How to Make this Oatmeal Cookie Recipe
In just 30 minutes, using a no-chill cookie batter, we transform a regular oatmeal cookie into something even better.
Step 1: In a large mixing bowl beat the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until fluffy. This should take about 1-2 minutes and will be a very light beige color.
Then add the puree, egg, and vanilla. Blend completely and scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go.
Step 2: In a separate medium bowl, mix the oats, flour, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice then gradually add that to the wet ingredients in batches.
Blend just until the dry ingredients are mixed in. You don’t want to overmix!
Step 3: Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop out the batter. This will help ensure that each cookie is the same size which helps with even baking. Drop each scoop of cookie dough onto a prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
Step 4: Bake in a preheated oven for 12-14 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. Remove the tray and tap it on the stove or counter a couple of times.
This helps them to set a bit faster and helps to achieve that cute little ripple effect as it will deflate the cookies slightly.
Then, allow the cookies to completely cool and enjoy!
Tips
- Use the egg. Did you know the puree can be used as an egg replacer? The thing is, it can lead to dry cookies, so if you are trying to make these cookies without an egg, don’t! At least use the yolk.
- Don’t skip blotting the puree. The excess moisture will create dry cookies. We want our pumpkin oatmeal cookies nice and chewy, so get rid of as much of it as you can. Use a paper towel to absorb it.
- Measure the flour correctly. Spoon it into the measuring cup (don’t scoop it out of the bag directly) then level off the measuring cup with the back of the knife. Either that or use a scale!
FAQ’s
These will keep nice and moist at room temperature as long as you keep them covered in an airtight container. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months.
Yes! If you want to get ahead and make the dough before you’re ready to bake anything, you can. Up to 4 days before, make the dough and keep it in the fridge. Bring it to room temperature before you scoop and bake the pumpkin oatmeal cookies.
Sure! Just scoop out the dough and form them into balls. Flash freeze on a baking sheet so they solidify and don’t clump together when they freeze. Transfer them to a freezer-friendly bag and keep them frozen for up to 3 months. Again, before doing any baking, bring them back to room temperature.
So many things! Start with my pumpkin pie bars, pumpkin coffee cake, or pumpkin hummus. Go ahead and explore all my pumpkin recipes on the blog!
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Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter 1 stick softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups old fashioned oats
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the softened butter and brown sugar and beat on medium speed for 1-2 minutes until it’s fluffy. (you can use a stand mixer or electric hand mixer)½ cup butter, 1 cup brown sugar
- Then add the pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla extract and blend in completely. scraping down the sides of the bowl as you blend.¼ cup pumpkin puree, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate bowl, add the oats, flour, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice and mix together.1 ½ cups old fashioned oats, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, 1 cup all-purpose flour
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredient in batches and blend just until the dry ingredients are just barely mixed in, careful not to over-mix!
- With a cookie scoop, scoop out 1 ½ tablespoons of batter and place it on the prepared baking sheets at 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes or the edges begin to brown.
- Remove from the oven and tap the tray on the stove or counter a couple of times so they will set quicker.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely on the cookie sheet.
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