Chewy Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
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Pumpkin oatmeal cookies are chewy and a little bit crispy, with the perfect amount of pumpkin spice flavor. Make this delicious and cozy fall cookie anytime you’re craving pumpkin!
Table of Contents
Why We Love Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
Have you been feeling in a fall mood yet? Here in Arizona it stays pretty warm through most of the beginning of fall. But being originally from the Midwest I can’t help but start thinking about baked apple, warm sweaters and pumpkin bread.
This pumpkin oatmeal cookie recipe is soft and chewy with just the right amount of pumpkin spice and pumpkin flavor. So it means we can start fall baking a little early whether the leaves are changing or not.
Ingredients For Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions below in the recipe card.
- butter softened, salted butter is fine. If you have unsalted butter add a pinch more salt
- white sugar
- brown sugar
- egg
- vanilla
- pumpkin puree– canned or fresh pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. blot with a paper towel before adding so the cookies stay chewy
- flour – all purpose
- rolled oats – sometimes these are called “old fashioned oats”. You can use quick oats in place of rolled oats in this recipe, but the cookies will be less chewy with this swap. You can not swap steel cut oats into this recipe or the cookies will be dry and crumbly.
- baking soda
- cinnamon – you can substitute pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon and nutmeg, use 1½ teaspoons total
- nutmeg
- salt
- semi-sweet chocolate chips optional, white chocolate chips are also delicious
Have leftover pumpkin puree? These easy frozen pumpkin pie yogurt snack bites or this pumpkin pie dip are both a great way to use leftover pumpkin when you don’t have a full can.
How To Make Chewy Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies (With Optional Chocolate Chips)
Blotting the pumpkin and a quick chill for the dough are the keys to chewy, not cakey cookies in this recipe.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until well combined and a little fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla to the butter mixture, then mix until smooth.
- Blot the pumpkin well with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. Add the pumpkin to the sugar mixture and mix until fully combined.
- In a medium bowl add the flour, rolled oats, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients together well until combined.
- Stir the dry flour and rolled oats mixture into the wet pumpkin batter a little at a time, mixing in between. Mix just until a dough forms and there is no visible flour.
- Fold in the chocolate chips into the cookie dough and mix well if using.
- Place the bowl of cookie dough in the refrigerator. Chill the dough for 30 minutes. When the dough has about 10 minutes left, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Drop batter with a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop onto the prepared cookie sheet, leaving about 2 inches between cookies.
- Bake the cookies for 18-21 minutes until soft and chewy. The middle will still be a little soft, but not wet and the edges will be set. Then cool cookies on a wire rack and enjoy!
How To Make Pumpkin Cookies Chewy Not Cakey
One of the things that can turn these cookies into more of a cakey cookie than chewy is too much moisture so it’s important to get the moisture out of the pumpkin.
While the oats do absorb quite a bit of the moisture in this recipe, sometimes the pumpkin holds too much moisture. It can actually vary from pumpkin to pumpkin how much moisture is inside!
Blotting the pumpkin on a paper towel removes that excess moisture and can result in a more chewy pumpkin cookie. You can use canned pumpkin puree, or you can make your own homemade pumpkin puree.
How To Keep Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies From Spreading Too Thin
Like most butter-based cookie doughs, chilling the dough can be super important to help keep the cookies from spreading too much. Chilling the dough helps the butter start to become a little more solid again within the dough.
If your butter is too soft, your cookies might spread a little extra. You can put the dough in the fridge for longer than 30 minutes, in the freezer, or even pop the whole pan full of balls of cookie dough in the freezer before you make these cookies. Cooling the dough a little extra can help save a batch of cookies that are spreading too much.
Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookie FAQ
Yes, quick oats can be used in this recipe but the cookies will be less chewy.
No, steel cut oats require a lot more liquid and a longer cooking time because they are a lot thicker. Steel cut oats will cause the cookies to be dry and crumbly.
Yes, this cookie dough freezes great! Freeze in individually portioned cookie dough balls to bake from frozen. Watch the cookies carefully, baking cookie dough from frozen may need an extra 1-2 minutes baking.
If you are freezing the dough as one solid piece you’ll need to defrost it fully before scooping it into portions to bake.
Yes, pumpkin can have a lot of water and how much can vary a lot from pumpkin to pumpkin. Blotting helps to achieve a chewy cookie every time that doesn’t have too much moisture.
Sure, you can leave the chocolate chips out or try some of the other variations I noted in the variations section.
The edges on this cookie will be set, but the center will still be soft. The center should not have any wet shine.
Variations For Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
While most of this cookie really can’t be changed a whole lot, there are a few places you can easily adjust.
More Pumpkin Spice – Listen, some people just love a lot of cinnamon and nutmeg. Feel free to use a little more if that’s you, or swap in pumpkin spice for the cinnamon and nutmeg.
Add Dried Cranberries – Skip the chocolate chips and try cranberries for a fruity flavor instead that feels festive. Or make a cranberry walnut variation by adding in some nuts too!
Try Nuts – Chopped walnuts or pecans can be added to the cookie dough at the end, start with about 1/2 cup.
Change The Chocolate Chip – I’ve used semi-sweet chocolate chips, but experiment with dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips or even seasonal flavors.
How Long Do Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies Last?
Expect these pumpkin oatmeal cookies to last about 3-4 days if stored in an airtight covered container on the counter. If you store these cookies in the refrigerator in an airtight covered container, they can stay fresh for about a week.
Leftover cookies can also easily be frozen in a single layer in a freezer zip-top storage bag or container. I like to put layers of parchment paper between the cookies so they don’t freeze together. Then defrost on the counter.
More Cozy Pumpkin Desserts
Easy Pumpkin Pudding
Pumpkin Oreo Balls
Frosted Pumpkin Cookies (With Cake Mix!)
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles (Chewy + Fluffy!)
Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies
Equipment
- Oven
- parchment paper or silicone baking mat
- Silicone spatula
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Medium sized mixing bowl
- medium cookie scoop 1 1/2 tablespoons dough
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter softened, salted
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup pumpkin puree blot the pumpkin with a paper towel, see notes for more details.
- 1 cup flour
- ¾ cup rolled oats sometimes these are called "old fashioned oats"
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until well combined and a little fluffy.½ cup butter, ½ cup white sugar, ½ cup brown sugar
- Add the egg and vanilla to the butter mixture, then mix until smooth.1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Blot the pumpkin well with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. Add the pumpkin to the sugar mixture and mix until fully combined.½ cup pumpkin puree
- In a medium bowl add the flour, rolled oats, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients together well until combined.1 cup flour, ¾ cup rolled oats, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Stir the dry flour and rolled oats mixture into the wet pumpkin batter a little at a time, mixing in between. Mix just until a dough forms and there is no visible flour.
- Fold in the chocolate chips into the cookie dough and mix well if using.½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Place the bowl of cookie dough in the refrigerator. Chill the dough for 30 minutes. When the dough has about 10 minutes left, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Drop batter with a medium 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop onto the prepared cookie sheet, leaving about 2 inches between cookies.
- Bake the cookies for 18-21 minutes until soft and chewy. The middle will still be a little soft, but not wet and the edges will be set. Then cool cookies on a wire rack and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This?
I would love to see it! Share your thoughts with me in the comments below!
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Extraordinarily good cookie!! I didn’t add chocolate chips. Substituted 1.5 cups Craisins & 1.5 cups pecan pieces. Definitely a Thanksgiving treat for future gatherings. 🫶🫶🫶
Thank you for the kind note, I am so glad you loved them! I will have to try it with the craisins and pecan pieces, YUM!
These cookies are so good & stay nice & moist, my family loved these they are a keeper!
Very tasty, easy to make as well.
If I don’t have pumpkin purée can I use regular pumpkin in the can.
You can use plain pumpkin puree from a can, but don’t swap canned pumpkin pie filling. Plain pumpkin is not sweetened, pumpkin pie filling is sweetened. Pumpkin pie filling will cause the cookies to be too sweet.
They are in the fridge for thirty minutes
Really easy to make and taste really yummy but do they have to be refrigerated after cooked or can sit in container on counter top?
They can sit on the counter top in a covered airtight container. They will last a little longer in the fridge but can also sit on the counter and be ok. Hope that helps!
I don’t see in the notes about blotting the pumpkin.
I talk about it in the article, I recommend it. Blot the pumpkin before adding it to the cookie dough for a chewier cookie. Different cans of pumpkin have different amounts of water, and fresh pumpkin puree has even more water than canned generally. Blotting the pumpkins will give you a more consistently chewy cookie no matter the water content in your particular batch of pumpkin. Hope you enjoy! -Kristy