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.
These are sooo goooooood. I’m eating my 3rd one as I write this.
I used a stevia/maltodextrin blend in place of white sugar (SUPER cheap at Aldi).
I also try to avoid dried cranberries because they have SO much sugar (sugar makes my face break out), & my house is full of raisin haters. I used Plum Amazins instead, and I think they work really well with the pumpkin.
Could I use banana in place of the egg? Or just up the pumpkin puree as the binder? I want to make these vegan for a coworker without stocking my pantry with vegan substitutes for butter and eggs. Thanks for any suggestions!
I’ve made a version similar to that before and they were very dense and a little dry. Almost more granola bar-like. I would at least try using coconut oil in place of the butter. You need a little fat in there to soften them up.
I made these last night. I had raisins in the pantry, so I used that instead of buying dried cranberries. They were great!
These look delicious! We’ll be trying them out real soon. Each Monday, I host a Meatless Meal link up party. I would love it you’d share this recipe with my readers. If you’re interested, you can find the link party at http://www.littlestsweetpea.com
Thanks!
I have never seen canned pumpkin here, so would just cooking a regular squash and mashing it up do the trick? Or is there other things I would need to add to it?
Sarah, I used pumpkin I had processed myself and frozen. It really doesn’t change much except maybe the moisture content. I don’t used canned pumpkin, so I can’t really tell you much about any other differences. We prefer home processed.
Yep, that’s all canned pumpkin is – cooked pumpkin flesh that has been pureed until smooth. If making it yourself, just make sure that you get it really smooth so that it blends into the cookie batter well.
Could these be made with whole wheat four? I feel like they could.
They probably could, yes, but I think it would make them heavier (that might not bother some people).
These look delish! I don’t have any canned pumpkin in the pantry, but I do have a jar of pumpkin butter–do you think that I could sub? Would I reduce/eliminate butter from recipe?
If I am correct, pumpkin butter is just pumpkin puree that has been cooked down until the moisture content is much lower. It might also have some sugar and spices added to it. Because it has a different moisture content, I’m not sure how the substitution would affect the end product. I think it would take some experimenting to get it right.
What would happen if you used whole wheat flour?
I think they would just be more dense and perhaps more dry.
I made a double batch of these and made them in a bar pan (only change I made was subbed choc chips). They were great, kids loved them. I think next time I will add more pumpkin….they were just a tad on the dry side. But the pan didn’t last long at all! Thanks for all of the great recipes :). I’m in love with this site!!!!
Nice! Thanks for letting us know how that worked out! :D
If I did want to have 30 cookies lying around, would just doubling up the recipe do it? I know sometimes with baking doubling the amount of ingredients just doesn’t cut it. What do you think?
Yep! It should work exactly the same if the ingredients are simply doubled. :)
I had a REALLY big can of pumpkin, so made this recipe times 6. It turned out great! I also used half unbleached white flour and half whole wheat flour along with an egg substitute. Even my junk foodie friends won’t know the difference. Since I made such a huge batch, I froze a lot of the dough. It’ll be great to be able to bake up a batch or two with very little fuss for the next several months. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
These look absolutely gorgeous! I’m definitely going to make them as soon as canned pumpkin goes on sale in my area in another couple weeks or so :9
In the meantime, do you think that the basic frame would work well for other fruit puree, like bananas?
Yes, probably! Just make sure to get those bananas mashed really smooth.
If you have a dollar store near you check it out for canned Pumpkin. Mine just got some in and doesn’t expire till 2015!
These look delicious and I’ll probably make them – but they are crying out for chocolate chips. I’m going to leave out the cranberry and add the chocolate :)
I made them with chocolate chips like you said, they’re amazing! I made a batch without chocolate chips (and no craisins) and I didn’t think they were sweet enough but the chocolate really helped.
These are SO GOOD. I made them and brought them to bible study… people were coming back for 3rds and 4ths! I found the amount of sugar to be just right – a lot of people commented that they liked them because they didn’t seem too sugary like most cookies.
Ugh, thank god these have dried cranberries. I hate raisins, but these sound FANTASTIC with cranberries. Perfectly autumnal.
Could these be made into bars or squares, do you think? I think I’ll try that and also add some chopped pecans.
Yes, I think they probably could!