Baking a batch of pumpkin cookies is the best way to kick of the fall season! These cookies are soft, moist, thick, cake-like cookies that are loaded with chocolate chips and cozy pumpkin pie spices!
Everyone has a different idea of what the perfect cookie looks like. Thick, thin, crispy, soft, chewy, cake-like, healthy, etc.
My favorite? Yep! Pretty much all of them!
These homemade cookies are thick, moist, and soft! They’re exactly what you’d expect a pumpkin cookie to be like. Plus, they have chunks of warm gooey chocolate chips. You could always add walnuts, white chocolate chips, raisins, or cranberries too.
If you’re in love with pumpkin be sure to check out my pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting, no-bake pumpkin cookies (for when you’re really in a hurry), pumpkin icebox cake, and you’ve gotta try my pumpkin French toast!
Why This Recipe Works:
You need a pumpkin recipe that you’ll come back to every single fall…and THIS is it!
- This is a one bowl recipe. No extra dishes to wash here!
- You need simple ingredients. Nothing weird or fancy!
- No chilling time! Who has time to wait? Not me!
- The addition of oatmeal makes them a little more hearty and healthy than traditional pumpkin cookies. You’ll love it!
Ingredients:
You’ll need simple ingredients to make pumpkin oatmeal cookies. Most likely you have all of them in your fridge and your pantry. Let’s go over the details!
- Pumpkin Puree – you need canned pumpkin puree, NOT to be confused with canned pumpkin pie filling.
- Brown Sugar
- Butter – real butter is best, salted or unsalted (you can substitute margarine if needed)
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Oats – Quick oats or rolled oats have a softer texture than steel cut. Either will work. I prefer steel cut.
- All Purpose Flour
- Baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves
- Chocolate Chips – semi-sweet, milk chocolate, or even white chocolate chips. Butterscotch chips would be fantastic too!
How to Make Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies:
STEP 1: Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and beat for 1 more minute. Add pumpkin and vanilla. Beat
STEP 2: Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add to wet ingredients. Beat until combined.
STEP 3: Add chocolate chips. Stir.
STEP 4: Drop on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Add a few extra chocolate chips to the top if you want.
STEP 5: Bake. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Some readers have had trouble with the cookies spreading too much. I’ve never actually had this problem. Remember the dough will be sticky. But here are a few suggestions for making sure the cookies are thick and puffy!
- Pat the pumpkin puree with a paper towel to absorb a little bit of the extra moisture.
- Use one whole egg and one egg yolk instead of of two whole eggs.
- Add a couple of minutes of baking time. 3-5 minutes.
- Add additional flour 1 Tablespoon at a time until the dough is the desired consistency. You can add up to 1/4 cup extra flour if needed.
- As the cookies sit they will get a little bit more dense. Just plan on that!
Recipe FAQ’s
Yes! Pumpkin cookies freeze beautifully. Flash freeze just until they are firm on a baking sheet, then remove to an airtight container. They will keep for up to 4 months.
You can also freeze the cookie dough and bake later if you prefer. Scoop dough into cookies. Freeze until firm. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 months. To bake cookies allow the dough to thaw and bake as instructed.
I’m not sure why I haven’t tried making this recipe into bar cookies because it would be faster than dropping them into cookies, but I haven’t. I imagine it would work well. I’d use a 9″x13″ pan and start with a 20 minute baking time. That’s just a guess though, so watch the baking time closely!
Other Easy Cookie Recipes:
You guys, if I had to choose one dessert to eat for the rest of my life it would definitely be cookies! They’re the best! Here’s a few of our fave’s that I know you’re going to love too!
- Zucchini Oatmeal Cookies
- S’mores Cookies
- Classic No Bake Cookies
- Peanut Butter Fudge Bar Cookies
- Thick Snickerdoodles
- Cake Mix Butterscotch Cookies
I love it when you make my recipes and give me feedback! If you have a minute please comment below and leave a star ranking! Also, be sure to follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook!
Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 3/4 cups butter room temperature
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 whole eggs
- 1 cups flour
- 2 cups quick oats
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In large mixer bowl cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and beat. Add pumpkin and vanilla and mix.
- If desired, add oats to blender and blend into a flour.
- In a separate bowl stir flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking powder, baking soda, salt and oatmeal together.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix together only until combined. If needed add a more flour one Tablespoon at a time until the you have a soft dough. Be careful not to over mix.
- Add chocolate chips and mix to incorporate.
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Drop cookies a little larger than 1 inch sizes. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Don’t over bake the centers will be soft and will set as they cool.
- Remove immediately from baking sheet and cool on a wire rack.
Video
Notes
- You may need to add a few minutes to the baking time. Especially if using a bigger cookie scoop.
- Use one whole egg, and one egg yolk.
- Oat and oat flour will absorb some moisture as the dough sits. Allowing the dough to rest for 20 minutes before baking will prevent the spreading of the cookies.
- Pumpkin has high water content. You can squeeze the pumpkin puree to eliminate some moisture.
- Although I’ve never added additional flour to these cookies, you may add up to 1/4 a cup more flour than listed on the recipe. Add flour one tablespoon at a time.
- Chilling cookie dough before baking will prevent cookies from spreading too much. I don’t do this, but it can be done to help create a thicker cookie.
Shellie Cummings says
Hi, can I make this with gluten free flour instead of regular flour?
TIA
Amy Engberson says
I’ve never tried making them with gluten free flour but I’m guessing you could. Some of my gluten free friends just use that 1 to 1 flour. Hopefully that helps!
Kristen says
I have learned that if you let your cookie dough chill in fridge for at least an hour they don’t spread when baking. I like to dimly bake about a dozen at a time. The dough can stay in fridge up to 3 days. This way you can have fresh cookies every time.
Amy Engberson says
Great tips! And who could ever say no to fresh cookies every day!
Joanne says
I substituted oat flour for wheat, cut the butter to 1/2 cup, substituted 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 cup stevia in order to make this recipe work better for my diet. They are delicious! I love the spices. Thanks for posting your great recipe.
Amy Engberson says
Yay! I’m glad you were able to substitute to make this work for your needs! It’s the perfect time of the year for all things pumpkin spices!
Arleen says
I made these to take to a pre-class reunion nite—–they were a hit!!
They are in m;y “excellent” collection of recipes! Thank you for this wonderful,
moist, tasty cookie!!
Amy Engberson says
I love that you added this recipe to your collection! They are a fall staple around here!
Cindy says
Hi Amy, I followed your recipie exactly and they turned out amazing. Can’t wait for my guys to get home. No doubt I will be making more tomorrow.
Happy thanksgiving. Here in Canada anyways.
Amy Engberson says
Yay! So glad you loved them and I bet your guys will be thrilled to come home to cookies! Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Vanessa L says
I just made these are they were delicious. I used homemade pumpkin purée that had been frozen. After defrosting the pumpkin I knew there would be additional moisture. I added 1 extra cup of flour. Other than that I followed the recipe pretty much to the T (minus the vanilla because I was out) I also used regular oats not quick cooking ones, and did not blend them. Mine cooked for about 14-15 minutes until the bottoms turned golden. I think the key is removing them immediately from the cookie sheet like stated in the directions. I’m glad I didn’t read the comments before hand as I probably wouldn’t have made them, but I would have missed out
Amy Engberson says
Yay! So happy they turned out for you Vanessa! I just made them the other day and they were as yummy as I remembered! They are so soft and moist!
Sierra says
Hi, just had to tell you I tried these pumpkin cookies today and are they ever good!!! Thanks for an awesome recipe! Definitely will make again. ~Sierra
Amy Engberson says
Yay! It’s getting chillier at night and that means it’s about time for all things pumpkin! Glad you loved them!
Trisha says
I’m wondering what would be a good gluten free substitute for the flour before I try to start experimenting. I don’t want to waste ingredients..
Thank Yooou 🙂
Amy Engberson says
Hi Trish! I’ve never experimented with gluten free flour so I really don’t have any advice. I’ve heard friends talk about purchasing gluten free flour blends. Maybe you could try one of those options.
Toni says
I made these and the batter was a bit wet so I added 1 more cup of oats and a bit of extra flour and the cookies came out perfect.
Amy Engberson says
Glad they turned out for you!
Fran says
Smelled great cooking but these cookies fall apart. Spread out too much and crumble when you take them off cookie sheet. Sorry to have to say this but don’t think I’ll make them again. Maybe I’m doing something wrong. Did follow the recipe but substituted cranberries for chocolate chips. Maybe that’s it.
Amy Engberson says
I don’t think substiting cranberryes should have changed the recipe. I’m not sure why people have trouble with this one. They always turn out for me!
Kelsey says
Hi Amy,
The recipe turned out great! I added 1/4 C extra flour and a little extra pumpkin due to high elevation and the dough was pretty wet. I found in the second batch that the dough had warmed up some which caused the cookies to flatten a little which was easily solved by keeping it in the fridge between batches. I have also noticed in the past that oatmeal cookies will flatten if you place dough on a hot pan. Just a thought for the folks that had troubles. Thanks so much!
Amy Engberson says
I’m not very experienced with changing recipes to accomadate for changes in elevation. Thanks for sharing your tips! Glad they turned out so good for you!
Luciana says
I am willing to try this recipe and was wondering if I could replace the flour (which I think it is all purpose) for almond or coconut flour maybe.
Thanks!
Amy Engberson says
I’m not sure how it would work to replace the flour with almond or coconut flour because I haven’t ever cooked with it before. Let me know if you try it!
Vladimar says
Hi! The butter is salted or unsalted? Thanks!
Amy Engberson says
I almost always use salted butter because I’m a salt addict and figure it won’t hurt anything to add it in! I think you can use either without drastically different results! Enjoy!
Angela Conley says
Can you use old fashion oats instead of quick oats?
Amy Engberson says
I haven’t ever tried with old fashioned oats but I imagine it would work fine. It might change the texture a little though.
Pam says
You mention ½ tsp. baking soda in the ingredients list but don’t dhow it added into the dry ingredients in the instructions. Which is the error?
Amy Engberson says
The instructions are missing the addition of baking soda. I’m wondering if that is why some people are struggling with this recipe. It has been updated so there shouldn’t be anymore errors. Thanks for noticing!
None says
I’m sorry but, I’ve been baking my whole life and this recipe is probably one of the worst cookie recipes I’ve ever tried. These really aren’t cookies, let’s be honest. They are too moist and fall apart. If making flour out of oats makes the difference in this recipe, then you should state that it is definitely needed to break down the oats. Obviously, the dry to wet ingredients ratio needs to be tweaked. I really dislike trying recipes from great looking blogs with beautiful pictures only to be disappointed because I wasted my time, but also ingredients. Just goes to show that anyone can take pretty pictures of their food and post it online but, that doesn’t mean it tastes good.
Amy Engberson says
This recipe has turned out perfectly for so many people, and has actually become one of their fall favorites. It was brought to my attention that the instructions didn’t list the addition of baking soda, however they were listed in the ingredient list. I just edited and updated that. Maybe that was the problem.
Cindy K says
The cookies are fantastic! Here are my modifications to make them both gluten free and dairy free: gluten free oats, ground to flour consistency, Bob’s Red Mill gluten free 1:1 flour, ghee instead of butter and Enjoy Life gluten, dairy and soy free chocolate chips. I used a cookie scoop and baked for 12 minutes. Yum!
Amy Engberson says
This is good to know for my readers who are looking for a gluten free alternative! Thanks for sharing!
Nancy says
Made these with butternut squash. and they were delicious.. The spices were perfect in this recipe, but I did add walnuts and raisins and next time I will omit the chocolate chips and add more walnuts.
Amy Engberson says
What a fun idea! I grow butternut squash in my garden every year. I will have to try it next year before I eat them all!
Marcie says
Wonderful recipe!! Thank you! They are delicios and turned out perfectly
Amy Engberson says
I’m glad you loved them Marcie! Pumpkin cookies are always a good thing in the fall!
Alisha Rau says
I made these tonight the batter turned out great. The only thing I had a problem with i had to cook for about 17 minutes.
Amy Engberson says
Pumpkin cookies always hit the spot! Glad you liked them!Happy fall!