Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

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Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies are soft, chewy, and beautifully spiced with a combination of fall-time warming spices. Optionally, add on a sweet, pumpkin-spiced glaze.

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American, Vegetarian

Keyword oatmeal pumpkin cookies, pumpkin oatmeal cookies

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Chilling Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 57 minutes

Servings -18 cookies

Calories 245kcal

Author Chelsea Lords

Ingredients

3/4 cup (12 tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature (Note 1)
1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling!)
1 large egg yolk (discard or save the whites for another recipe)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (Note 2)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1-1/2 cups quick oats (Note 3)
1-3/4 cup white, all-purpose flour

Optional Glaze

1/4 cup milk (whole preferred)
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

US - Metric

Instructions

WET INGREDIENTS: In a bowl attached to a stand mixer (fitted with whisk attachment) add room temperature (not softened/melted) butter, brown sugar and white sugar. Beat, scraping edges as needed, until nice and creamy (peanut butter consistency). Add in the pumpkin, egg yolk, and vanilla. Mix to incorporate.
DRY INGREDIENTS: Add the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and quick oats to the mixture. Beat until combined. Add in flour and beat until no streaks of flour remain, scraping sides of the bowl as needed.
CHILL DOUGH: Cover and place the bowl of dough in the fridge for 1 hour. (Don't skip this step!)
FORM COOKIE DOUGH BALLS: Remove dough from fridge and roll into large balls (3 tablespoons (55 grams) each. (See Note 4; batter should make 17-18 cookies.) Dough is a bit sticky and messy! Roll cookie dough balls to be taller instead of wider. Place rolled cookie dough balls on a parchment-paper lined tray or plate and return to the fridge for 15-20 minutes.
OVEN PREP: While the dough balls are chilling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone liner.
BAKE: Add only 6 cookie dough balls to a sheet pan at a time, spacing them out well (they spread a lot). Bake for 12-15 minutes or until very lightly browned at the bottom/sides, but slightly gooey in the center. The key to these cookies is slightly under-baking - that will keep them soft and chewy. (If cookies are poofy, right out of the oven, hold both sides of the cookie sheet and bang the pan on the counter a few times to flatten!)
OPTIONAL: Working quickly, (right after banging the pan), use the back of a large spoon or metal spatula to press the edges of the cookies into the center.
ENJOY: Allow cookies to stand on the pan for 5 minutes before removing them to a wire cooling rack. Repeat this process to bake all of the cookies. These cookies taste best at room temperature and even better the next day -- the pumpkin flavor has intensified by then!
OPTIONAL GLAZE: Add milk to a medium pot, heat over low heat until warmed. Add powdered sugar and whisk in slowly until well combined. Remove glaze from heat and stir in pumpkin pie spice and vanilla. Dip completely cooled cookies into the glaze, one at a time, and set on a cooling rack atop a sheet pan. Let stand 5 minutes until glaze is hardened. (If glaze starts to harden while dunking cookies, just whisk it up again!) Heads-up: You'll likely have a bit extra glaze, but dipping works best with this quantity.

Notes

Note 1: Room-temperature ingredients: It’s really important to use butter at room temperature so it will cream with the sugars properly. Don't melt or soften; set it out at room temperature for 45 minutes to an hour before starting.

Note 2: Oats: Although it would make sense that any oats would work, they aren't interchangeable here. Quick oats act more like flour since they are small, dense, and compact.

Note 3: Pumpkin pie spice: This spice blend can be found among other spices in the grocery store, or you can make your own pumpkin pie spice!

Note 4: Cookie size: Cookies work best at this size. While you may want smaller cookies, know that the texture is not the same. The "sweet spot" for this recipe is exactly 55 grams (3 packed tablespoons) of dough. Big, I know, but totally perfect for ensuring crisp edges and soft, chewy center!

Note 5: Storage: Most cookies are the best right out of the oven, but these ones aren’t. We actually like these cookies best at room temperature -- and they're even better (with a much more pronounced pumpkin flavor) the next day! We actually don't cover these cookies -- just leave them on a plate at room temperature -- this keeps them from becoming too moist and losing texture. After baking the cookies, let them cool completely on a wire rack (this will keep the bottoms from getting soggy from the steam).

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