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.
Just made these for my profoundly picky family for dinner. (Yes dinner, I was desperate to get them to eat something and I only had food storage items to cook with). I used gluten free flour with psyllium husks, reduced sugar to 4tbs white sugar and 3 tbs brown sugar. I left out cinnamon and cranberries. Before baking I sprinkled them all with sugar. I pressed dried cranberries into mine and sprinkled with cinnamon. They were wonderful. Everyone ate, it’s a miracle. I served with a meal sized spinach salad.
Just made a batch of these and they are so good! Really flavorful and fluffy. Definitely will make again!
oh and used coconut oil for half the butter
these are delicious. I added two scoops protein powder, used egg whites, whole wheat white flour and added 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice…. because of the protein powder addition, I added 1/4 extra pumpkin. These are so delicious, even better right out of the freezer! Thank you
Made these with olive oil because butter is really expensive where I live, and they turned out pretty good!
Oops, I posted my comment on the wrong recipe. XD
I doubled the batch and they are great! I used a 15oz can on pumpkin and softened coconut oil for the butter. They are very sweet so I will probably reduce the sugar next time to maybe a total of 3/4 cup of sugar. Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi Beth,
Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe! As you suggested at the end of the post, I modified your recipe slightly to make these a slightly sweet, fiber-rich version for breakfast! I loved them so much that I shared them on my blog. I hope you’ll like them too :) Here’s the link:
http://cestsibonmd.blogspot.com/2014/01/pumpkin-oatmeal-breakfast-rounds.html
Thanks again for sharing this!
Can you possibly give any sugar free options?
I am from a family of diabetics and i have a hard time finding good stuff that is sugar free. Thanks :)
Hmm, aside from just leaving the sugar out, I don’t think I have any suggestions. I’m not familiar with any of the sugar substitutes on the market today.
Made these last night! Very delicious. I used 1/2 whole wheat flour and 1/2 all purpose white flour, instead of a full cup of white flour. It definitely made them more dense. I also added 1/4 cup of chocolate chips, chopped up (so they go a little further). YUM! I personally think the sweetness is the right amount, even for a breakfast cookie..very very very satisfying with a cup of black coffee. I also think that with the whole wheat flour, they are probably better warm, to soften them up a bit. I don’t have a microwave so I’ve only been able to eat room temp cookies, which I can NOT complain about. Still a wonderful little treat! Great recipe!
Hi Beth, something went wrong with mine, i don’t think the texture is right :( mine are a little dry and dense…they’re not that beautiful medly of crunchy exterior/soft interior…but then again i’ve never made oatmeal cookies before. i followed the recipe exactly, except for two things: 1) i live abroad and tehre’s no canned pumpkin, so i made my own puree fresh. perhaps it melted the butter too quickly? 2) i mixed it by hand (no hand mixer). could this be a problem too? please help!
Ah yes, those two things probably did affect the texture. Using an electric mixer will definitely whip more air into the batter, but if you’re good enough with your arm, you can do just as well. If your homemade puree was warm or hot it would have melted the butter and prevented it from trapping any air (solid butter will get fluffy, melted butter just stays flat) :) Also, homemade puree tends to have a bit more moisture, which could have caused them to be more dense? That’s a guess, though.
Also, mine weren’t crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside like normal cookies, they were kind of soft all around. :)
Very good very soft.. more like bread…
Does it matter if it is semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips??
Nope, either will work, but if you like it more on the sweet side use milk chocolate.
Thank you!!
Can the oats be Quaker Old Fashioned or do they have to be Quick Oats? Thanks!
I used old fashioned oats, so you’re good to go. :)
Wonderful! I used white chocolate chips instead of cranberries, quick oats instead of rolled (what I had) but everything else I kept the same. Came out soft and chewy. Everyone that tried them loved them- even the pumpkin hater took seconds. Thank you so much for this recipe!
These turned out awesome! I added a small amount of pecan pieces. To my taste, I wouldn’t reduce the amount of sugar. They’re perfect!! Thank you!!