Soft and Chewy Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
These pumpkin oatmeal cookies are super soft, chewy, thick, and full of pumpkin flavor! The perfect cookie for fall!
Ever since I made my pumpkin snickerdoodles, I’ve wanted to create a pumpkin oatmeal cookie recipe. The problem with pumpkin cookies is that they can sometimes end up cakey. While cakey cookies can be delicious, I wanted to create a cookie recipe that was soft and chewy just like a regular oatmeal cookie.
This recipe took several tries, but after some adjusting, I finally found the winning recipe! These pumpkin oatmeal cookies bake up thick, they’re soft and chewy, and made with pumpkin puree.
You can even customize these cookies by adding some chocolate chips, your favorite chopped nuts, or top them with a simple vanilla glaze!
To make these cookies, you’ll start out by whisking together some all-purpose flour, spices, baking soda, and salt. For the spices, I added some pumpkin pie spice to these cookies along with some extra ground cinnamon for flavor. If you don’t have any pumpkin pie spice you can use my homemade recipe here.
Then, you’ll cream together some butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar for a minute or two until they’re well combined. Once the butter and sugars are mixed together, mix in an egg yolk and vanilla extract.
Since there’s pumpkin puree in these cookies, it’s necessary to remove some of the moisture from the cookie dough. Too much moisture in your cookie dough will result in a cakey cookie, but we’re going for a chewy cookie here. Just like my pumpkin snickerdoodles, I removed the egg white and stuck with just the egg yolk to add a little chewiness.
For the last of the wet ingredients, you’ll be mixing in the pumpkin puree. I found that just mixing in the pumpkin resulted in a cookie dough that was sticky and the cookies ended up softening quite a bit after a few hours.
The solution? You need to squeeze some of the moisture out of the pumpkin puree. The easiest way that I’ve found to get some of the moisture out of the puree is to line a plate with a few paper towels, spread the pumpkin on top, then top with a few more paper towels and blot out as much moisture as possible.
You may need to use a few more paper towels to get some more moisture out. You won’t get every last bit of moisture out of the pumpkin, but it should look drier and be easy to peel up off the paper towels.
Once you’ve removed as much moisture as you can from the pumpkin puree, you’ll mix it in with the wet ingredients. Then, mix in the dry ingredients and the oats. At this point, you can also add some chocolate chips or nuts to the cookie dough.
It’s also best to allow the cookie dough to chill for about 30 minutes because it makes it easier to work with and the cookies bake up nice and thick. After you bake the cookies and let them cool, they stay soft and chewy for days!
Baking Tips for Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
- When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it from the container. Instead, stir the flour around, spoon it into your measuring cup, and level it off with the back of a knife.
- Make sure to press some of the moisture out of the pumpkin puree before mixing it into the wet ingredients. I like to spread the pumpkin onto a few paper towels then use some more paper towels to press out as much moisture as possible.
- The cookies don’t spread too much in the oven so it helps to slightly flatten them, before baking, to help them spread a little.
Soft and Chewy Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (115 grams) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) brown sugar lightly packed
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup (80 grams) pumpkin puree squeeze out excess moisture with paper towels*
- 1 and 1/2 cups (150 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Set aside
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar for 1-2 minutes until well combined. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and mix until fully combined. Then mix in the pumpkin puree until well combined.
- Slowly mix in the dry ingredients, making sure to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Then mix in the old-fashioned rolled oats until just combined.
- Cover the cookie dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Using a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough and drop onto the prepared baking sheets. Roll the cookie dough into balls and very gently press down with your hand to flatten each ball of cookie dough slightly. Make sure to leave a little room between each ball of cookie dough as they will spread a little while they bake.
- Bake in separate batches at 350°F for 9-12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are lightly browned and the top is set. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Soft, chewy cookies.. Yummmm!!! These pumpkin cookies looks amazing, Danielle…
Thank you, Arpita!
To get moster out of the pumpkin puree can you use a cheese cloth instead?
I haven’t tried it, but I think it would work!
Hi Sandy and Danielle,
What I use to drain moisture is lovely straining bags from the wine store. They are terrific, so strong and a fine mesh. Dirt cheap too. I used them this fall to drain my homemade pumpkin puree. I also use them to drain my homemade cheese, and as making preserves. The wonderful thing about them is everything comes out of them so very easy, nothing sticks to the bag like cheesecloth. No little hairy fibres either. They can be washed and reused too. Hope you will give them a try.
🙂
I am making these fabulous cookies tomorrow I have a cookie monster for a husband and he is nuts over pumpkin and oatmeal.
Darlene
Hi! Stumbled upon your recipe and would love to try it. Instead of straining, you might try putting the pumpkin puree in a sauce pot and reducing it to the desired consistency—less mess, and you’ll get a deeper flavor. I may try it!
I haven’t tried reducing it, but I imagine that would work too. I don’t find the paper towel method to be too messy though 🙂
Just made these. My younger siblings have said that these are the best and “coziest” cookies they’ve ever had! I’m vegan so I had to change the recipe a bit (I used flax egg and coconut oil), but it still worked perfectly. 100% recommend!
My only complaint about this recipe is that 24 cookies isn’t enough! 🙂 Lovely recipe all around, the spice combination is perfect. I only had 1/3 c pumpkin remaining from another baking project or I certainly would have doubled the recipe. I added some dark chocolate chips to some of the dough which was good as well, though not necessary since the cookies as great as is.
I added a bit “too much” pumpkin but needless to say I kept them refrigerated, they held up great still. I probably had too much moisture in my pumpkin purée….. anyway, my only real complaint is that I didn’t make a double batch! Thanks :~)
Question – do you have to use puree will just packed pumpkin work? I can never find puree at the store & it’s only 1/3 cup.
Thank you
I believe they’re the same? As long as the only ingredient is pumpkin, it should be fine.
I work with a lot of moisture issue recipes and I have found that lining a metal mesh strainer with cheese cloth large enough to sit over a large bowl or pan, with enough over hang to cover item demoisturizing, works well. Paper towels are most likely quicker but I have my habits and cheese cloth is one of them. Without lining the strainer the puree just passes through the mesh. Sometimes patience is a virtue. I would let puree sit for some time before I started mixing rest of ingredients. Not that I always think that far ahead. I am looking forward to making these for spook night. Cookie recipes never make enough.
Made these to bring to an Oktoberfest party last night. They were actually so easy to make and came out so good! A little messy when rolling the batter into balls but totally worth it. I think I’ll be making again for Thanksgiving!
Hi there,
Is the 80 grams of pumpkin (1/3 cup) weighed before or after getting rid of some of the excess moisture?
That’s the weight before removing the moisture.
I made these today, and they are amazing! I added 1/3 cup white chocolate chips for fun haha and they turned out so well! Thank you for the recipe! ?
I personally had to make over 500 of these cookies for my Culinary program because our restaurant guests couldn’t get enough. We also used a cream cheese and powdered sugar icing between two of the cookies to make Whoopie pies and the results were great!! My family who got to sample them loved them so much they’re having me make them for Thanksgiving. Overall this is a great recipe for any occasion, and especially for fall!
So happy to hear that everyone enjoyed the cookies, Kylie!
Added 1/2 cup of toasted pumpkin seeds after they had cooled down to the batter and the tiniest bit of Maldon salt crystals on top of each cookie before baking. Totally delicious!
Made the following changes:
Browned butter instead of softened butter
3/4 cups of dark brown sugar instead of the blend of sugars
1/8 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cloves, 1/4 tsp allspice, 1/2 tsp cinnamon instead of pumpkin pie spice
Whole wheat flour instead of white flour
The taste is AMAZING with these changes, though the recipe is also excellent as-is.
These cookies are so soft, fluffy and full of flavor! I used 2 tbs of black strap molasses because I was out of brown sugar and they still turned out fabulous, thanks for the recipe!
These cookies turned out so perfect! I decided to add in some chopped pecans and white choc chips and they were delightful! Great recipe!
Hello, since I am Greek, I tried this recipe using extra virgin olive oil instead of butter. The cookies turned out to be delicious!
I wonder whether I could replace sugar by honey.
Thank you very much!
I haven’t tried it with honey, but I’m not sure that the cookies would set up correctly if you replace the sugar with a liquid sweetener.
Made these cookies today. I doubled the recipe. I did not squeeze out moisture from the pumpkin. I scooped and leveled the flour instead of spooning and leveling and added a extra teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. They turned out perfect!
Hi there, I made these today and I used a coffee filter to press and drain the pumpkin purée it worked great! I also added 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips. They turned out awesome! I will double the recipe next time for sure as … they are so good!
Delicious! They came out the perfect texture. Definitely a comfort type of cookie. I topped with a tiny amount of cream cheese glaze. Thanks for the recipe!
OMGolly these are amazing! I rarely comment, but this recipe deserves the kudos! I love working with fresh pumpkin and a friend challenged me to find or create an oatmeal pumpkin recipe. I didn’t even tweak this one at all! One suggestion- different pumpkins have different flavors and moisture content. For a little less work and wait in reducing moisture, I blended Winter Luxury which is very dry and mild with a little Cheesewheel which is very flavorful and moist. The cookies turned out perfect – absolutely delicious, soft and chewy. Thank you for sharing!!
Hello Danielle,
Your cookies are wonderfully delicious, I’m eating one right now, couldn’t even wait until it is completely cooled :-). I doubled the recipe. Using my homemade pumpkin puree I always add 1/2 pumpkin and 1/2 squash for loads of flavour. When my hubby gets home this afternoon he will grab a couple cookies immediately. He absolutely loves oatmeal and pumpkin. It is great to get a new cookie recipe. I can see myself making these over and over again. Thanks for sharing Danielle.
Merry Christmas
Darlene
Thank you, Darlene! So glad you enjoyed the cookies! Merry Christmas!
Honestly, I wasn’t expecting these to be great since oatmeal cookies aren’t my favorite. But I needed to use up my pumpkin puree, & some of my family does likes oatmeal. Boy, was I surprised. These are delicious! I think this recipe will be a new holiday tradition for us.
Sounds so good! Can I substitute sweet potatoes for pumpkin?
Thanks!
I haven’t tried it, but I think it would be okay.
I can’t find nutrition facts. Are they posted?
I don’t typically provide nutritional information, but you can plug everything into an online calculator to get an estimate.
I found the yield on this recipe to be inaccurate. I made a double batch and only got 38 cookies, weighed to 37 grans each, which is what I *think* the equivalent of the size measurement should be. Yield should have been 48, or at least over 40! They certainly aren’t big cookies, if anything I think I would have made them bigger if I had had dough to spare (I needed a certain number, and still fell short). They also didn’t spread at all, despite flattening them before baking. I like the idea of these cookies, but result fell a bit short.
Did I miss the step that says how to prepare the baking sheets? I’m using parchment paper to be safe.
You didn’t, it looks like I accidentally left that part out. Just fixed it!
These were delicious and so easy to make (and I’m not a baker!) I added mini chocolate chips and it was perfect. They were chewy and soft…didn’t last long and can’t wait to make them again!
I have made these many times in the last couple years. They are my husband’s favorite cookie now. He likes a little more cinnamon and raisins added. I have tried portioning and freezing the dough to store in a ziploc bag, but since they are pretty easy to stir up anytime, I usually just make them on the spot. – I think they bake a little better shape and consistency when not frozen. I do freeze the remaining pumpkin from the can into small cubes to put into my smoothies. Thanks for sharing such a great cookie recipe.
Hi, which would be better, walnuts or pecans, semi-sweet chocolate or white?
Thank you
I think it just depends on your personal preference! I would probably pick walnuts, but they would all work well!
I am wondering if I can use the whole egg rather than just the yolk….I hate throwing out the eggwhites…
I only recommend using the egg yolk, the cookies won’t turn out right with the whole egg. You can freeze the egg white or use it in another recipe though!