Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies
Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are a classic. So are chocolate chip and pumpkin cookies—so why not make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies WITH oatmeal? Two classics combine in these chewy chocolate chip oatmeal pumpkin cookies that are out-of-this-world delicious, full of pumpkin flavor, melty chocolate chips, and oatmeal!
I love all things pumpkin. I literally start baking pumpkin treats in the summer because I love them so much! For more pumpkin cookies, you have to try my easy Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies and Glazed Pumpkin Cookies. If you love the combination of pumpkin, chocolate chip, and oatmeal, my Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins are for you. Can’t get enough of pumpkin? Then check out this roundup of my best pumpkin recipes! Now, let’s get to these pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies!
Why This Recipe Works
- Chewy chocolate chip pumpkin cookies. While I love the thick cakey texture of classic chocolate chip pumpkin cookies, they’re not everyone’s favorite. Adding old-fashioned oats makes for chewy cookies, rather than producing a cakey cookie.
- Easy pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. While these cookies do require some chill time, they’re simple to put together. Cream your butter and sugar, add the rest of the wet ingredients, add the dry ingredients. Easy!
- Perfect fall cookies. Obviously I love cookies all year round, but there’s something about both oatmeal cookies and pumpkin cookies that feels very autumnal to me. While these cookies are welcome in my house any time, baking them in the fall will give you all the cozy feelings.
Ingredient Notes
- Brown sugar: Using brown sugar in cookies helps them to have a moist texture and slightly caramelized flavor.
- Granulated sugar: White sugar has the opposite effect of brown sugar in cookies, typically making cookies drier and more crisp. We use both sugars for the best of both worlds.
- Vanilla extract: Honestly, would it even be a cookie without a hint of vanilla?
- Pumpkin puree: Can’t have pumpkin chocolate chip oatmeal cookies without the pumpkin! This recipe only uses half a cup of pumpkin puree, which helps these cookies be less cakey. Make sure to always use pure pumpkin puree, never pumpkin pie filling!
- Old-fashioned oats: Using old-fashioned oats instead of quick oats or instant oats gives a better chewy texture to these oatmeal pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.
- Spices: We’re adding traditional pumpkin spice ingredients including cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves for a warm, cozy taste that complements both pumpkin and oatmeal so well.
- Baking soda: Using just baking soda in a cookie typically leads to cookies that are a bit flatter and more crisp, whereas using just baking powder typically leads to fluffier cookies. Often, I use both in my cookie recipes. Here, I’m just using baking soda to really get that dense, chewy texture from these chocolate chip oatmeal pumpkin cookies.
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips: Slightly dark and bitter chocolate is generally my preferred pairing with pumpkin. However, I’m sure milk chocolate or white chocolate chip pumpkin oatmeal cookies would also be delicious.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Combine wet ingredients. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer, cream together ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature with ¾ cup of brown sugar and ¼ cup of granulated sugar for 1-2 minutes. Once combined, scrape down the sides of your bowl and add 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and ½ cup of pumpkin puree. Mix on medium speed until combined, then scrape down the sides of the bowl once more.
- Add dry ingredients. To the pumpkin puree mixture, add 1¾ cups of old-fashioned rolled oats, 1¾ cups of all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon of ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon of ground cloves, ½ teaspoon of baking soda, and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Mix until partially combined.
- Add chocolate chips. Add 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips and mix the batter on low until no streaks of flour remain. Don’t overmix.
- Chill dough and preheat oven. Portion dough into dough balls, 2 tablespoons of dough per each ball. You may wish to use a cookie scoop for this, since the dough is fairly wet. Place them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet or on a plate and pop them in the fridge to chill for 15 minutes. They only need to be slightly chilled. While the dough chills, preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Bake cookies. Arrange chilled pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between each dough ball. I was able to fit about 12 dough balls on my cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges and tops of the cookies are set. This will produce soft pumpkin cookies. For a crisper cookie, add an additional 1-2 minutes of baking time.
- Cool cookies. Remove baked cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely (or transferring them directly to your mouth, because who can resist a warm cookie?).
Recipe Tips
Feel free to experiment with the kind of chocolate you add to these cookies! White chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips would both be delicious. You can also mix two or even three kinds of chocolate. For another twist, do half chocolate and half dried cranberries!
If you bake these cookies soft, they’ll stay soft for several days. For crisper cookies, bake them 1-2 minutes longer (or, if they’re still not crisp enough, keep adding time—but only add a minute at a time).
Try not to chill these cookies for longer than 15 minutes. We’re only going for partially chilled dough to avoid some spreading. If they chill much longer than that, the cold dough will likely need a longer baking time.
To make these pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies gluten-free, use your favorite gluten-free flour and ensure you are using certified gluten-free rolled oats.
Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing
Make Ahead: These cookies keep well, so you can make them up to a week in advance if you store them in the fridge. If you make the dough and don’t have time to bake the cookies, keep the dough in the fridge overnight. Before baking, let the dough warm up on your counter for at least half an hour.
Storing: Store leftover chocolate chip oatmeal pumpkin cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days, or in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.
Freezing: Freeze baked cookies for up to 2 months or cookie dough up to 3 months. For more information on how to do this, check out my How to Freeze Cookies and How to Freeze Cookie Dough guides.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! These pumpkin chocolate chip oatmeal cookies freeze well for up to 2 months.
Quick oats have a finer texture than rolled oats, so 1¾ of quick oats is a lot denser than 1¾ of rolled oats. While packing more oatmeal into your cookie may sound like a good thing, quick oats will absorb a lot more moisture and leave you with a dry cookie that won’t spread.
Store leftover pumpkin puree in the fridge for a few days to use in another recipe like Pumpkin Pecan Coffee Cake. Or, portion it out and flash freeze the portions, and store frozen pumpkin puree in a ziptop bag or freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
More Pumpkin Recipes
- Pumpkin Bundt Cake
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake
- Starbucks Pumpkin Scones
- 2 Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins
- No Bake Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter - softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup brown sugar - packed (can use light or dark brown sugar)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 3/4 cup old fashioned oats
- 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Equipment
Instructions
- In a large bowl, or bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium speed for 1-2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and add the egg, vanilla extract, and pumpkin puree. Mix on medium speed until combined. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the old-fashioned oats, all-purpose flour, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp ground nutmeg, ½ tsp ground cloves, ½ tsp baking soda, and ¼ tsp salt. Mix until partially combined. Add the chocolate chips and mix on low until combined and no flour streaks remain.
- Portion the dough into 2 tablespoon sized balls. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet (or plate) and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes (we just want the dough slightly chilled so there isn’t excess spreading). While the dough balls are chilling preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Once preheated, bake the cookies (about 12 per baking sheet… leaving 2 inches between each cookie dough ball) for 10-12 minutes or until the edges and tops are set.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Storing
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days, or in the fridge for 1-2 weeks. You can also freeze the baked cookies for 2 months. See my freezing cookie post for more information on freezing cookies and cookie dough.
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