Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies – A trio of three delicious flavors including pumpkin, oats, and chocolate chips come together to create one unforgettable autumn treat!
These pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are made rich with butter, chewy with oats, decadent with chocolate chips, soft and flavorful with pumpkin and spices, and of course nicely sweet with two types of sugar.
They are a fun new take on a nostalgic childhood favorite. We know and love the traditional pumpkin chocolate chip cookie, but here we add some oat-y goodness for extra flavor and texture.
It’s a tempting fall cookie that’s easy to make, a fun treat for parties, and they’re always sure to satisfy those seasonal pumpkin dessert cravings.
Make a batch this weekend then save the recipe for the holidays to impress your guests!
Recipe Ingredients Needed and Notes
- All-purpose flour: This builds the structure of the cookie. I like to use unbleached all-purpose flour
- Quick oats: Oats add texture and flavor to the cookies. Quick oats are thinner, fine chopped, pre-cooked oats than regular old-fashioned oatmeal.
- Baking soda: This is a leavening agent that helps the cookies to rise and spread.
- Spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves are used but you could also just replace them with an equal combined measurement of pumpkin pie spice.
- Butter: The fat is included in the cookies for richness. Don’t use margarine or coconut oil it won’t work the same in this recipe.
- Sugar: Brown sugar and white sugar are used for sweetness and a light caramel-y flavor.
- Egg: This will help bind and hold the ingredients together.
- Vanilla extract: Added for flavoring.
- Pumpkin: A key ingredient for classic seasonal flavor and added moisture. Use canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. Homemade pumpkin puree is fine too.
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips: Added for a chocolate flavor upgrade. Chopped chocolate bars would work too.
- Nuts: optionally you can include chopped pecans or walnuts in the recipe if you are a fan.
How to Make Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, oats, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger for 30 seconds, set aside.
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until creamy.
Add egg and mix until combined (it will look separated, that’s fine).
Blend in pumpkin and vanilla extract.
Add in flour mixture and mix until combined.
Mix in chocolate chips and pecans.
Let the batter rest for 10 minutes.
Let the batter rest for 10 minutes.
Scoop dough out 2 Tbsp at a time, and drop onto parchment paper lined baking sheets, spacing cookies 2 inches apart.
Bake in preheated oven for 13 – 15 minutes. Allow to cool on a baking sheet for several minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 
Helpful Tips
- Pumpkin pie spice: In case you missed it above, you can use pumpkin pie spice in place of all the spices used. Use 2 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice.
- Dough resting: Though it’s tempting don’t skip the 10-minute resting period for the dough, this allows time for some of the moisture of the pumpkin to soak into the oats so cookies spread less.
- Cookie scoop: For even-size cookies use a cookie scoop to scoop and drop dough. I use a #40 and fill it slightly heaped.
- Aesthetic: For the prettiest oatmeal cookies that are most visually appealing dot them with some chocolate chips on top before baking.
- Coloring: For a more orange, pumpkin-hued cookie you can add a few drops of natural red and yellow gel food coloring when mixing in the pumpkin.
How to Store Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
- Store the cookies in an airtight container so they don’t dry out.
- They will be kept at room temperature for 3 days.
- For longer shelf life store in the fridge for 1 week or in the freezer for 3 months.
- The pre-baked dough could also be frozen for 1 month, and thawed overnight in the fridge before baking.
Possible Recipe Variations
Rolled oats: If you don’t have quick oats on hand you could blitz old-fashioned oats in the food processor in a few short quick bursts just until they’re smaller minced, not into a fine flour or dough will be too thick and will lack texture.
Raisins: In place of chocolate chips you could also try raisins instead for an old-fashioned style pumpkin oatmeal raisin cookie.
White chocolate chips: These cookies would also be delicious with white chocolate chips in place of semi-sweet chocolate chips. I would however suggest reducing the white sugar by 4 Tbsp if doing so as white chocolate chips are quite sweet.
More Pumpkin Cookie Recipes to Try
- Iced Pumpkin Cookies
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
- Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Follow Cooking Classy
Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups (319g) all-purpose flour (scoop and level to measure)
- 1 1/2 cups (140g) quick oats
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves (optional)
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter , softened
- 1 1/3 cups (266g) packed light-brown sugar
- 2/3 cup (133g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups (290g) canned pumpkin puree
- 1 3/4 cup (290g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup (130g) chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, oats, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger for 30 seconds, set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until creamy (occasionally stop and scrape down sides and bottom of bowl throughout entire mixing process).
- Blend in egg then blend in vanilla extract and pumpkin puree. With mixer set on low speed, slowly add in dry ingredients and mix until combined. Mix in chocolate chips and pecans (if you want some chocolate to show through set some aside to press into tops before baking).
- Let batter rest 10 minutes (this just gives the oats some time to absorb the liquids so batter isn't so sticky and cookies don't spread so much).
- Scoop dough out 2 Tbsp at a time (I used a 1 1/2-inch cookie scoop, which I recommend using for evenly shaped cookies and fill it heaping), and drop onto Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheets, spacing cookies 2-inches apart.
- Bake in preheated oven 13 - 15 minutes. Allow to cool on baking sheet several minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container.
Notes
- For a more orange pumpkin hued cookie you can mix in a few drops red and yellow natural food coloring when you add the pumpkin to the cookie dough.
- Nuts not included in nutrition estimate as these are optional.