Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Super soft and irresistibly chewy oatmeal cookies flavored with the warmth of pumpkin, cinnamon, and butterscotch!

Fall is definitely in the air. The days are getting shorter, the air is getting crisper, the leaves are falling…and you can finally break out that cute fall wardrobe again. Woo woo!

But all clothes aside, there’s one thing in particular, or I should say flavor, that gets me the most hyped up when it comes to fall…

PUMPKIN.

It’s the time of year where pumpkin is plastered everywhere. Whether it’s that iconic drink from a pretty well-known coffeeshop (Do I even need to say it?), or those freshly baked pastries in the grocery store bakery. It’s everywhere.

Why do we love pumpkin so much?? Is it an American thing? I mean, if you think about it, it’s basically a funny looking squash. And it doesn’t smell that great, especially when you’re carving into one and it’s blood and guts (technical terms for a pumpkin’s insides) are spilling out everywhere. Are you hungry yet?

On that note, let’s get to the recipe I have to share with you today!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies!!!

Bold lettering was definitely appropriate. It’s my first pumpkin recipe of the year, people! So yes, it IS a big deal.

When it comes to oatmeal cookies, I definitely prefer chocolate chips over raisins. I mean, come on people. Shouldn’t it be obvious? Chocolate or dried up wrinkly fruit?

‘Nough said.

For this cookie, I used these fun, fall-inspired pumpkin spice morsels.

However, any kind of chip would be fantastic in these cookies…white chocolate, dark chocolate, butterscotch, or cinnamon chips! In fact, if you can’t find these pumpkin spice morsels in your area, the cinnamon chips would probably be the closest to resembling the flavor.

To keep these cookies extra soft, I used a simple, secret ingredient…instant butterscotch pudding mix! If you’ve ever seen cornstarch as an ingredient in cookies, it’s usually because it provides that perfect soft-baked texture. Instant pudding mix contains cornstarch, so it not only insures that these cookies remain soft forEVER, but it adds extra sweetness and butterscotch flavor to compliment the pumpkin. A higher ratio of brown sugar to white sugar also bakes up a softer cookie.

Although these cookies are soft, they are not cakey at all. They still have that chewy factor, thanks to the egg yolk. Why not just throw in a whole egg? Well, egg whites are mostly made up of protein which help provide structure, but they tend to dry out cookies. Egg yolks, on the other hand, provide moisturizing fat which aids in a richer, more flavorful, and tender texture without being cakey. 

For the oats, I decided to go with old-fashioned rolled oats. The flakes are larger than quick cook oats, which provides that extra hearty, thick, and chewy texture.

As for the pumpkin, 3/4 cup of canned pumpkin seemed to be the perfect amount in both flavor and moistness. To heighten that warm pumpkin flavor in these cookies, I added pumpkin pie spice (duh!) and cinnamon. If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, you can use 1/4 teaspoon each: ground cloves, ground nutmeg, and ground allspice.

And that’s it, folks! These are (dare I say) the BEST oatmeal cookies I’ve ever had. They taste just like pumpkin pie, and the pumpkin spice morsels add an extra layer of decadence. And as I mentioned earlier, these cookies have the perfect ratio of softness to chewiness. Nothing can beat these cookies. 

NOTHING.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Super soft and irresistibly chewy oatmeal cookies flavored with the warmth of pumpkin, cinnamon, and butterscotch!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 14 minutes mins

Total Time 44 minutes mins

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Servings 20 Cookies

Ingredients

  

• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice*
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 ¾ cup butter at room temperature
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ¾ cup pumpkin puree*
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 (3.4 oz) box instant butterscotch pudding mix, dry
• 2 ½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup Pumpkin Spice morsels

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350ºF and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, use a fork or whisk to stir flour, baking soda, salt and spices together. Set aside.
• In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and both sugars until smooth. Add the pumpkin, egg yolk, and vanilla and continue beating until combined. Blend in the instant pudding mix until light and fluffy. Dump in the flour mixture and continue beating until incorporated. Add the oats and mix on low until combined. Remove bowl from stand mixer and use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to stir in the pumpkin chips.
• Scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 1/4 cup of dough per cookie. Use greased fingers to slightly flatten the tops of each cookie to allow them to bake more evenly in the oven.
• Bake for 12-14 minutes*, or until lightly browned around the edges and still appearing soft in the centers--they will continue to bake as they cool. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely.
• Cookies will remain fresh and soft when stored in an airtight container for up to 10 days.

Notes

*If you don't have pumpkin pie spice, you can use 1/4 teaspoon each: ground cloves, ground nutmeg, and ground allspice.
*I used Libby's pure canned pumpkin.
*Making the cookies smaller than I did (less than 1/4 cup each) will result in less time in the oven.