Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are easy to make with crisp edges, with a soft, chewy center! With a few tips, you can create bakery-quality cookies!
Want pumpkin oatmeal cookies without chocolate chips? Give this glazed Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies a try!
Table of Contents
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Don’t get me wrong—I love a traditional puffy pumpkin cookie, but in my opinion, those recipes produce more of a thin, round cake than a crisp, chewy cookie.
The goal for these cookies was to create an actual cookie with a crisp bottom and edges and a soft, chewy interior. No cakey consistency here!
These cookies are perfection—thin and crispy with the ideal soft and chewy center! So, if you’ve been searching for a pumpkin cookie that isn’t cakey, this is your recipe!
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter: Ensure butter is at room temp for easy creaming with sugars.
- Sugars: Lightly pack brown sugar for accurate measuring, and adjust the total sugar amount to suit your taste.
- Canned pumpkin: Use 100% pure pumpkin for the best flavor and texture.
- Egg yolk: Save the egg whites for another recipe like meringues.
- Vanilla extract: Use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.
- Baking Agents: Help cookies rise and spread.
- Spices: Adds warmth, enhances pumpkin flavor.
- Quick oats: Don’t substitute with old-fashioned oats, as they may alter texture.
- Flour: Spoon and level the flour when measuring to avoid compacting it.
- Chocolate chips: Mix different types of chips for varied flavor.
How To Make Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep: Preheat the oven and line a baking sheet.
- Cream: Beat room-temperature butter and sugars until creamy.
- Mix: Add pumpkin, egg yolk, and vanilla; mix well.
- Combine: Stir in spices, baking agents, oats, and flour; fold in chocolate chips.
- Chill: Refrigerate dough for about an hour. Don’t rush this!
- Shape: Roll into large balls and place on the baking sheet.
- Bake: Bake until edges are browned and centers are gooey. Let cool slightly on the pan.
Quick Tip
Chill the dough twice: first after mixing, and again after rolling into balls. This prevents the dough from being too soft initially and too warm after rolling. Cold dough balls in a hot oven create the perfect cookie texture.
Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Tips
- Roll the Right Size: Use 3 tablespoons (58 grams) of dough per cookie for the best texture.
- A Bit Soft: Keep cookies a bit soft for a chewy feel and strong pumpkin flavor. Look for firm edges and a slightly gooey top.
- Hit the Pan: After baking, hit the baking pan on the counter to flatten and avoid a cake-like texture.
- Push Edges In: Quickly push the edges in with a spoon or spatula right after baking for crispy edges and a chewy center.
- Garnish Tops: Press more chocolate chips into the tops for flavor and looks, and sprinkle with Maldon Sea Salt Flakes for a finishing touch!
- Use Room-Temp Ingredients: Let butter and eggs sit out for about 45 minutes for better mixing.
Favorite Cookie Baking Tools
- Silicone Liner: Bake cookies on a silicone tray liner for baking evenly and to prevent too-crispy bottoms.
- Food Scale: Use a food scale for the same cookie sizes and better flour measurements for better results.
- Mixer: A hand or stand mixer is important for getting the dough to the right consistency.
Storage
Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Storage
While most cookies taste best fresh from the oven, these taste even better at room temperature and have a richer pumpkin flavor the next day. Leave them not covered on a plate to keep them dry.
After baking, let them cool on a wire rack to stop the bottoms from getting soggy.
Use Leftover Pumpkin In One Of These:
- No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake with a graham cracker crust
- Pumpkin Spice Latte Steamer pumpkin spiced hot drink
- 7-Layer Pumpkin Bars with a yellow cake crust
- Pumpkin Creme Brûlée spiced creamy custard
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars with a caramel drizzle
Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are easy to whip up with crisp edges, a soft, chewy center, and plenty of chocolate. With tips to guarantee bakery-quality cookies, they’ll be your go-to fall treat!
Equipment
- large sheet pan,
- Parchment paper or a silicon baking mat
- Cooling Rack
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, see note 1
- 1 cup light brown sugar lightly packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons canned pumpkin not pumpkin pie filling
- 1 large egg yolk discard or save the whites for another recipe
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice see note 2
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1-1/2 cups quick oats see note 3
- 1-1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Add room-temperature butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar to a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Beat until creamy, scraping the sides as needed. Add pumpkin, egg yolk, and vanilla, and mix to incorporate.
- Add cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and quick oats to the mixture. Beat until combined. Add flour and mix until no streaks remain, then fold in both chocolate chips and mix.
- Cover and place the bowl of dough in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Roll chilled dough into large, 3-tablespoon balls or 58 grams (see note 4). Roll to be taller instead of wider and place on a parchment-lined tray. Batter should make 18–20 cookies. Chill dough balls in the fridge for 15–20 minutes. While dough balls are chilling, preheat oven to 350℉. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.
- Add only 6 dough balls to a sheet pan at a time, spacing them out well. Bake 12–15 minutes or until lightly browned at the edges and slightly gooey in the center. These cookies are best slightly underbaked! Right out of the oven, bang the sheet pan on the counter a few times to flatten the cookies slightly.
- Optionally, right after banging the pan, quickly press cookie edges inward with the back of a spoon, then press a few extra chocolate chips on top.
- Let cookies rest on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Repeat this process to bake all cookies. These cookies taste best at room temperature and even better the next day—the pumpkin flavor has intensified by then!
Video
Recipe Notes
Note 1: It’s really important that the butter is at room temperature to cream with the sugars properly. Melted butter won’t trap air effectively. It’s also important to have room-temperature eggs, which allows them to trap air and disperse more evenly into the batter. Leave these ingredients out at room temperature for 45 minutes to an hour.
Note 2: Pumpkin pie spice can be found among other spices in the grocery store, or you can make your own pumpkin pie spice!
Note 3: Although it would make sense that any oats would work, they aren’t interchangeable here. Quick oats act more like flour since they are smaller, denser, and more compact.
Note 4: 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 58 grams (3 packed tablespoons) of dough. Big, I know, but totally perfect for ensuring crisp edges and soft, chewy center!
Storage: Most cookies are the best right out of the oven, but these are best at room temperature—and even better (with a much more pronounced pumpkin flavor) the next day! I 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).
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 273kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 145mg | Potassium: 121mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 1544IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi Chelsea, I’m mid-chill on this recipe, and am very excited! One question, though. How big are the individual balls supposed to be? I have them stacked and they’re pretty tall. I’m worried they won’t flatten enough or that I made the balls too large?
Do you have a gluten free version of this recipe?
This is the closest thing I have to it 🙂 https://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/flourless-healthy-pumpkin-chocolate-chip-cookies/
Do you think these would work as a bar?
No I don’t think this would do well as a bar unfortunately.
I followed the directions and ended up with some of the best cookies I have ever made/eaten. I used a baking sheet, topped with a silicone mat then wax paper and the bottoms came out perfect. Thank you for the recipe.
I’m so happy to hear that! What a compliment 🙂 Thanks so much for leaving a comment Kevin!
These look great, I’m so excited to try baking them tomorrow night. I have regular old fashioned oats and not quick oats… am I overthinking this or do I need quick oats?
Thanks!!
Thanks for the comment Katie! I hope you enjoy these! The quick oats will absorb more liquid than old fashioned which is why you need them in this recipe. 🙂
Hello! Should the dough be pretty sticky? Regular cookie dough does not stick to my fingers when I roll it out.
I have not refrigerated it yet. If not what should I add?!
Thank you!
It sounds like you may need a bit more flour if its super sticky 🙂 Not too much though as that will make the cookies more cakey. As you refrigerate the dough it will firm up and the oats will absorb a lot of liquid.
Thank you for this cookie recipe & how to properly assemble them so they turn out crispy & chewy all at once. Wonderful recipe ?
You are so welcome! I’m thrilled you enjoyed these! Thanks for the comment Julia 🙂
Hi Chelsea,
These cookies are amazing and may be my new favorite cookie! I freeze all my baked goods and these just get better and better with time. I may need to take a bath in them, lol!
HAHA!!! A bath in these cookies sounds awesome 🙂 As much as I love regular cookies, oatmeal ones are always my favorite! Glad you enjoyed these 🙂
I have been searching for a non-cakey oatmeal cookie! Would I wreck these if I left the chocolate chips out?
You will likely need to add some more flour to compensate 🙂
Hi Chelsea, I love this recipe and your blog! I am thinking about starting a blog and have a hand-me-down DSLR camera from my brother who upgraded to a different model. I want to capture foods in the style like your cookies (not sure how to describe it, but super high resolution I guess). Can you share what camera lens you use for that effect? Thanks!
You are so sweet; thank you Lexi! I have a few different lenses, I have a 50 mm 1.8, a 24-70 mm 2.8, and a 100 mm 2.8. I believe the pictures of these cookies I used the 100mm 🙂 Hope that helps!