Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies — These pumpkin oatmeal cookies are bursting with chocolate chips in every bite! They’re thick, hearty, perfectly chewy, and not at all cakey.
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Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
These pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are soft, thick, hearty, perfectly chewy and not cakey, which is a problem that often plagues pumpkin cookies. I love pumpkin cake, muffins, and bread but I don’t like cakey cookies.
To combat the cakiness, there’s no egg in the recipe. Eggs make things fluffier, but pumpkin puree does that naturally much like bananas do.
There’s oodles of chocolate in every bite, and the rich pumpkin flavor just shines. Between the molasses and pumpkin pie spice, these oatmeal pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are bursting with fall flavors.
Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients
For these oatmeal pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Pumpkin puree
- Granulated sugar
- Light brown sugar
- Molasses
- Vanilla extract
- Old-fashioned oats
- All-purpose flour
- Pumpkin pie spice
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Chocolate chips
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
These oat pumpkin chocolate chip cookies come together in no time! Just make sure to allow time for the dough to chill before baking it.
Here’s a look at how the cookies are made:
- Whisk together the wet ingredients with the two kinds of sugar.
- Stir in the dry ingredients, then gently fold in the chocolate chips.
- Scoop the cookie dough into balls and place on a tray or plate. Cover the cookie dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or up to 5 days.
- Once the cookie dough has chilled, bake on a parchment paper-lined baking tray for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the edges have set.
- Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking tray before removing them to cool on a wire rack.
Recipe FAQs
I’ve only made this recipe as individual pumpkin oatmeal cookies, but I think they’d be fine to bake as bars. You’d likely need to use an 8×8-inch pan, but I can’t say for certain.
No, do NOT use blackstrap molasses as it’s far too strong in flavor. You want to use a mild to medium flavored molasses to make this recipe. Grandma’s brand or something similar is ideal.
No, you should use old-fashioned (rolled) oats in these pumpkin chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and not instant oats. Instant oats have a different texture and they’d dry out the cookie dough.
Be my guest! So far, readers have said they’ve made these pumpkin oatmeal cookies with white chocolate chips, raisins, chopped nuts, craisins, and cinnamon chips — all of which sound amazing! Just make sure to add only 1 cup of mix-ins total, otherwise these cookies won’t be the right texture.
If you want to make regular pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, follow this recipe. I’ve made those cookies so many times and know they work perfectly as written.
For classic pumpkin oatmeal cookies, follow this recipe. Again, I’ve made it many times and know that it works.
Most likely, yes. However, homemade pumpkin puree usually contains more moisture than canned. To fix this, thoroughly blot the pumpkin puree with paper towels before adding to therecipe.
Yes, you can freeze both raw cookie dough and baked cookies.To freeze the cookie dough, shape the dough into balls and then seal in a freezer bag. You can bake the dough from frozen (do not thaw), but you’ll likely need to add an extra few minutes to the total bake time.
To freeze the baked cookies, let them first cool completely before sealing them in a freezer bag. When you’re ready to enjoy them, either reheat them in the oven or microwave, or set them on your counter to thaw.
Tips for Making Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips
Pumpkin puree: Make sure you’re using pure pumpkin puree for these pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and not canned pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling is sweetened and will throw off the flavor of these cookies.
Spice amounts: I thought these cookies were perfectly spiced as is, but you’re welcome to add additional pumpkin pie spice to the dough if you find the flavor lacking.
Bake time: You’ll want to take these cookies out of the oven while the tops still look a little glossy. The residual heat from the oven will finish cooking the inside without making these cookies dry or cakey.
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Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup pumpkin puree, use the remainder in these recipes
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon mild or medium-flavored molasses, not blackstrap, too intense
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla or pumpkin pie spice extract
- 1 ½ cups old-fashioned whole-rolled oats, not quick-cook or instant
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, a mixture of cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg if you don’t have pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- To a large, microwave-safe bowl add the butter and heat on high power to melt, about 1 minute.
- Add the pumpkin puree, sugars, molasses, vanilla or pumpkin pie spice extract, and whisk to combine until smooth.
- Add the oats, flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, salt, and stir until just combined.
- Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine.
- Using a large cookie scoop, 1/4-cup measure, or your hands, form approximately 13 equal-sized mounds of dough and flatten slightly.*
- Place mounds on a large plate or tray, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, up to 5 days. Do not bake with unchilled dough because cookies will bake thinner, flatter, and be more prone to spreading.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray. Place dough mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet) and bake for about 12 to 14 minutes (12 1/2 minutes is perfect in my oven), or until edges have set and tops are just set, even if slightly undercooked, pale, and glossy in the center; don’t overbake. Cookies firm up as they cool.
- Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes before serving. I let them cool on the baking sheet and don’t use a rack.
- Cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Pumpkin Dessert Recipes:
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies — Between the molasses, pumpkin pie spice, and pumpkin pie spice extract that I used, these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies beautifully showcase the flavors of fall!
Iced Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies — Soft and pillowy pumpkin cookies that are chock full of pumpkin spice and everything nice! The icing takes these cookies over the top. An EASY pumpkin oatmeal cookie recipe that does NOT require any dough chilling, making these a FAST treat to whip up!
Buttery Pecan Pumpkin Spice Cookies – Buttery soft dough with big chunky pecans in every bite! Salty-and-sweet and so hard to resist!
Soft and Puffy Pumpkin Spice Honey Cookies – Super soft cookies that just melt in your mouth! You’re going to love these puffy cuties!
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies – Soft, tender cookies with a sweet buttercream filling! Easy and irresistible!
Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Cookies — Soft, chewy, loads of white chocolate, and so much pumpkin flavor!! A pinch of salt balances the sweet white chocolate for a salty-and-sweet treat!!
Cooking With Pumpkin: Recipes That Go Beyond the Pie is my second cookbook and was released October, 2014. There’s over 50 pumpkin recipes including sweets, savory, drinks, and a photo for nearly every recipe. I’d be super grateful if you headed over to Amazon.
Originally published September 25, 2015. Updated for clarity September 20, 2019.
I make a TON of fall cookies, and this is by far my favorite recipe! I make several batches every year, and they always turn out perfectly. Alll of her cookie recipes have been winners, but this one takes the cake.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad these are by far your fave fall cookie! Thanks for the compliments on my recipes in general as well!
To make it a little healthier I used 3/4 cup of maple syrup instead of 1 cup of white sugar, coconut sugar instead of brown sugar and coconut oil instead of butter and added walnuts. It came out awesome!! No guilt eating these cookies
Wonderful!
These cookies truly were the best soft (not cakey) banana oatmeal chocolate chip I’ve ever made. Definitely a keeper. It is great that you can freeze the chilled mounds of dough and bake fresh as needed later. Not too sweet and not much butter is used, a somewhat healthy treat.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad they’re the best banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies you’ve ever made!
Hello!
I found your recipe on Pinterest and it looks delicious! I have all the ingredients on hand except the molasses. Would pure 100% maple syrup work as a replacement? Or would it mess with the consistency of the cookie?
Thanks for your help!
I haven’t tried with maple but it would probably be an ok swap in a pinch.
I made a twofold group of these treats included cranraisins and white chocolate chips conveyed them to a work prepare deal
They were gone in minutes. Rave surveys all around. A debt of gratitude is in order for an astounding pumkin treat formula.
Regards
Marie Pierce
These turned out great. I made the dough into balls then flattened slightly and made sure they looked nice and round. When I baked them they did not spread very much at all and had a perfect shape. They also freeze excellent as I like to bake about 3 to 6 cookies at a time I just pop these out of the freezer and bake them. Mine took about 12 minutes. If you like a superstrong pumpkin flavor I’d recommend upping the pumpkin pie spice.
Thanks for sharing such a nice recipe, gonna try it soon like your way.
Wow.. Looks so cracky & Crispy… Love to make this for my kids they will definitely love this mouth watering snack..!!
@Averie Sunshine
Looks yummy! I love oatmeal and pumpkin together in cookies! Love to try all. Can’t wait Thanks for sharing.
regards
Tina
I only have quick oats. Would it work if I ground them up into oat flour? I’m really excited to try these because I love pumpkin and oats!
For this recipe, you want to make it as written with the whole-rolled oats. Quick oats, or oats ground into oat flour, will make the dough base overly dry unless you do some tweaking to that amount, or to the wet ingredients, but I haven’t tested those options and can only speak to the way it’s written with whole-rolled oats.
Since I am of the belief that pumpkin does NOT end with Halloween….. I searched recipes last weekend as we wanted to give our Thanksgiving guests goody bags filled with water (it was a long flight for them), Satsuma’s and a little treat…..enter the soft and chewy pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies : )
After I dropped them at their hotel I was flooded with texts telling me how outrageously wonderful they were!!!! Thank you so much for helping to make our Thanksgiving just a bit sweeter.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! That’s wonderful that you both baked for your guests and that you were flooded with great texts! And I’m with you about pumpkin not ending at Halloween!
i made these tonight and they came out awful. I’m not sure what went wrong, but when they came out of the oven, they just had no depth of flavor to them. I added all the right amounts of ingredients and even a little extra spice and just was not pleased with the outcome. After the first batch went in the oven, i threw the rest of the dough away.
I’m not sure how or why they lacked depth of flavor but baking is an interesting thing sometimes. They’re adapted from my https://www.averiecooks.com/2015/09/soft-and-chewy-pumpkin-chocolate-chip-cookies.html and are basically the exact same cookie with the spices, sugars, etc. but with just some oats added in addition to the flour and everyone has been leaving comments raving about those. Thanks for trying these and I wish I could think of what happened to help you troubleshoot.
I made a double batch of these cookies added cranraisins and white chocolate chips brought them to a work bake sale
They were gone in minutes. Rave reviews all around. Thanks for an excellent pumkin cookie recipe.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! The craisins and white chocolate chips sound heavenly in them! Glad that a double batch disappeared in minutes!
I don’t like pumpkin but this recipe is awesome and
rich flavor of chocolate and oats.Sounds Interesting. I would love to try this.
These look great. If I wanted to make them into bars instead would you suggest adding an egg or leaving them just as they are?
I haven’t tried as bars so can’t say for sure, but I’d leave the egg out because if you add one, then you’ll probably need more flour, less leavener…but I haven’t tried personally so just guessing.
It’s 90 degress in SoCal but it is fall and I was craving fall flavors…my kids, my neighbors and I all loved these cookies. Just the right amount of chewiness and crisp edges. Thanks for another great recipe!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! I live in San Diego and yes, it’s been crazy hot here and all of these ‘fall’ recipes, I baked in a 90F kitchen, no a/c. But it’s worth it for pumpkin recipes, right! :)