I was craving some oatmeal raisin cookies the other day when it hit me that pumpkin would probably taste pretty freaking good in an oatmeal cookie. So, I went to buy the ingredients. Then it hit me that I have some leftover dried cranberries in my pantry, so there was no reason to buy raisins when pumpkin and cranberries are practically made for each other. The end result? Total autumn yumminess.
Adding pumpkin purée to the cookie dough means adding a lot of moisture, so I had to cut back somewhere else. Fruit purées are a pretty common baking substitute for fat, so I just cut back on the butter. I left some in there because, well, this is a cookie after all. These cookies bake up light and fluffy and are nice and sweet. The oats give you something to sink your teeth into and the dried cranberries lend an occasional tart bite. I tend to prefer things a little less sweet, so I may try lowering the sugar in my next batch (because there WILL be a next batch).
I made a small batch because most cookie recipes make around 30/batch and I in no way need 30 cookies laying around. So, this mini cookie batch yields about 15 small-ish cookies.
It’s also important to note that I used only 1/2 cup of pumpkin purée. Pumpkin purée is pure gold, so please don’t toss the rest of the can. You’ll have just over a cup left from a 15 oz. can after using some for this recipe, with which you can make a batch of Baked Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal (it will just have a little less pumpkin, that’s okay), a Pumpkin Smoothie, some Pumpkin Cream Cheese Spread, or just freeze it for later. Puréed squash freezes beautifully.
Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies
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Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies
Servings 15 cookiesIngredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour ($0.14)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.03)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon ($0.05)
- 2 Tbsp butter (room temperature) ($0.29)
- 1/2 cup pumpkin purée ($0.48)
- 1/3 cup brown sugar ($0.11)
- 1/3 cup white sugar ($0.05)
- 1 large egg ($0.17)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract ($0.28)
- 1 1/2 cup rolled oats ($0.30)
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries ($0.51)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon until very well combined.
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter (room temperature), pumpkin, brown sugar, and white sugar on low speed. Once they’re well combined, add the egg and vanilla and beat until well combined again.
- Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and beat on low speed just until a thick, creamy batter forms. Add the dry oats and dried cranberries and stir them into the batter with a spoon.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spoon the batter onto the baking sheet in 2 Tbsp portions, leaving about 1.5 inches between each cookie. The cookies will not spread much during baking, so gently pat them down into flattened circles.
- Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 16-18 minutes, or until slightly browned on the surface. Allow the cookies to cool on a wire rack before eating.
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Nutrition
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Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon until they are well combined.
In a large bowl, beat together the butter, pumpkin, brown sugar, and white sugar on low speed until they are well combined. Make sure the butter is room temperature or else it won’t blend into the mixture well.
Add the egg and vanilla and beat until well combined again.
Add the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture and beat on low until it forms a thick, creamy batter (see next photo). Try not to over mix here.
See how thick and creamy the batter looks? Stir the dry oats and dried cranberries in with a spoon until everything is evenly incorporated.
Now you have your finished batter.
Spoon the batter onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet in 2 Tbsp clumps. The cookies don’t really spread as they bake, so press them down a bit into flattened discs.
Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 16-18 minutes or until the edges are just slightly brown. Allow them to cool on a wire rack before devouring.
I’m gonna reduce the sugar in the next batch and they’ll practically be a breakfast cookie… oooh, maybe I can use whole wheat flour, too. Time to experiment some more!
I wanted to show you the soft, fluffy interior, but it’s really hard to hold the camera steady with one hand. :P Total blurs-ville.
I’ve been making these for years and they turn out great every single time. I’ve tried adding raisins, pumpkin seeds, white chocolate and everything just works. Even smaller quick oats stand up to the full baking time as well. Not overly sweet, just a really nice pumpkin flavour.
A hearty cookie, a little on the dry side, but great with a coffee or milk. I subbed chocolate chips for cranberries and they made a satisfying treat/snack. I made them twice so far and they are both adult and toddler approved!
They are a bit bland. I don’t taste the pumpkin. They are more like biscuits than cookies.
Are the nutrition facts listed anywhere on this recipe? I really love these cookies but need to know those because I am on Weight Watchers. I would like to continue making them, but not until I know the point value! Lol thanks for the info if you know it or can send it.
We only recently brought on a Registered Dietician to our team. She’s working hard behind the scenes to update the entire recipe database, over 1500+ recipes, with nutritional information. She’s working her way from the newest recipes back and it takes some time to update them all. Stay tuned!
I modified this based on convenience and the dryness reviews. The starred changes affected the texture, the rest was flavor.
I doubled the recipe, * used an entire 15oz can of pumpkin, * nearly halved the sugar (added a tbsp of white sugar and a tbsp of molasses on top of half the sugar called for), and added about a cup of raw almonds, well toasted and chopped. I chopped the cranberries small, too. I also spiced it with the full array of pumpkin spice (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cloves) and added a tsp of spiced rum.
Baked golf ball sized cookies for 14 min. Soft, a bit chewy, sweet but not too sweet, and so good for Sunday breakfast or with coffee/tea! Thank you for the recipe, Beth!
I love this cookie. One of my favorite recipes. Quick question does it freeze well?
Yes it will be great!
Made with quick oats and turned out great! So light and fluffy!
Good to know! Thanks Sierra!
After seeing the reviews, I made my own artistic alterations to the recipe: I used whole wheat flour, added an additional 1/4 cup pumpkin plus 1/2 cup applesauce to lessen the dry factor, used steel cut oats since they were all I had in the house, included 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder + 2/3 cup chocolate chips instead of cranberries because well, #chocolate. Although they required an extra 5 mins of baking, these turned out pretty damn tasty. No ooey gooey, sugar infused chocolate bombs like a normal cookie, but I’ll take it.