Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies With Oatmeal are the most delicious seasonal treat! They’ve got crisp edges and a soft, chewy center.
author’s note
No Cakey Cookies Here!
Don’t get me wrong, I love a classic puffy pumpkin cookie, but they’ve always felt a little more like a soft, round pumpkin cake than a true cookie to me.
So with these, I wanted an actual cookie. Crisp around the edges and on the bottom, with a soft, chewy center and none of that cakey texture.
And these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies with oatmeal totally deliver. They’re thin, crisp, chewy, and packed with pumpkin flavor. If you’ve been looking for a pumpkin cookie that isn’t cakey, this is the one!
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Tip / Swap |
|---|---|
| Unsalted butter | Use room-temp butter for the best creaming. |
| Brown sugar | I tested with light and dark brown sugar here and preferred light. |
| Pumpkin puree | Use 100% canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling). If it seems overly wet, pat it with paper towels first. |
| Egg yolk | Creates richness without adding too much moisture. Save the white for meringues. |
| Quick oats | Essential for the chewy bite. Don’t swap for another oat. |
| Spices | I use cinnamon and nutmeg. Add pumpkin pie spice if you want more punch. |
| Chocolate chips | I love a mix of semi-sweet and milk but you can use all of one or dark chocolate as well! |
How To Make Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep: Preheat the oven and line a baking sheet.
- Cream: Beat room-temperature butter and sugars until creamy.
- Mix: Add pumpkin, egg yolk, and vanilla; mix well.
- Combine: Stir in spices, baking agents, oats, and flour; fold in chocolate chips.
- Chill: Refrigerate dough for about an hour. Don’t rush this!
- Shape: Roll into large balls and place on the baking sheet. Bake and enjoy!
Featured Comment
“I followed the directions and ended up with some of the best cookies I have ever made/eaten. I used a baking sheet, topped with a silicone mat then wax paper and the bottoms came out perfect. Thank you for the recipe.”
– Kevin
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies With Oats Baking Tools
- Silicone baking mats: For even baking and no burnt bottoms.
- Cookie scoop: Ensures consistent size for chewy texture.
- Food scale: Accurate measuring = perfect results.
chelsea’s testing notes
Chill the dough twice: First after mixing, then again after rolling into balls. Cold dough prevents spreading and creates the perfect cookie texture.
Pan bang: Drop the tray on the counter right after baking to flatten and keep cookies chewy.
Storage
While most cookies taste best fresh from the oven, these taste even better at room temperature and have a richer pumpkin flavor the next day. Leave them not covered on a plate to keep them dry.
After baking, let these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies with oatmeal cool on a wire rack to stop the bottoms from getting soggy.
Use Leftover Pumpkin In One Of These:
Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Video
Equipment
- Large sheet pan (15" x 21")
- Parchment paper or a silicon baking mat
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, see note 1
- 1 cup light brown sugar lightly packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons canned pumpkin not pumpkin pie filling
- 1 large egg yolk discard or save the whites for another recipe
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice see note 2
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1-1/2 cups quick oats see note 3
- 1-1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Add room-temperature butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar to a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Beat until creamy, scraping the sides as needed. Add pumpkin, egg yolk, and vanilla, and mix to incorporate.
- Add cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and quick oats to the mixture. Beat until combined. Add flour and mix until no streaks remain, then fold in both chocolate chips and mix.
- Cover and place the bowl of dough in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Roll chilled dough into large, 3-tablespoon balls or 58 grams (see note 4). Roll to be taller instead of wider and place on a parchment-lined tray. Batter should make 18–20 cookies. Chill dough balls in the fridge for 15–20 minutes. While dough balls are chilling, preheat oven to 350℉. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.
- Add only 6 dough balls to a sheet pan at a time, spacing them out well. Bake 12–15 minutes or until lightly browned at the edges and slightly gooey in the center. These cookies are best slightly underbaked! Right out of the oven, bang the sheet pan on the counter a few times to flatten the cookies slightly.
- Optionally, right after banging the pan, quickly press cookie edges inward with the back of a spoon, then press a few extra chocolate chips on top.
- Let cookies rest on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Repeat this process to bake all cookies. These cookies taste best at room temperature and even better the next day—the pumpkin flavor has intensified by then!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi Chelsea, I’m mid-chill on this recipe, and am very excited! One question, though. How big are the individual balls supposed to be? I have them stacked and they’re pretty tall. I’m worried they won’t flatten enough or that I made the balls too large?
Do you have a gluten free version of this recipe?
This is the closest thing I have to it 🙂 https://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/flourless-healthy-pumpkin-chocolate-chip-cookies/
Do you think these would work as a bar?
No I don’t think this would do well as a bar unfortunately.
I followed the directions and ended up with some of the best cookies I have ever made/eaten. I used a baking sheet, topped with a silicone mat then wax paper and the bottoms came out perfect. Thank you for the recipe.
I’m so happy to hear that! What a compliment 🙂 Thanks so much for leaving a comment Kevin!
These look great, I’m so excited to try baking them tomorrow night. I have regular old fashioned oats and not quick oats… am I overthinking this or do I need quick oats?
Thanks!!
Thanks for the comment Katie! I hope you enjoy these! The quick oats will absorb more liquid than old fashioned which is why you need them in this recipe. 🙂
Hello! Should the dough be pretty sticky? Regular cookie dough does not stick to my fingers when I roll it out.
I have not refrigerated it yet. If not what should I add?!
Thank you!
It sounds like you may need a bit more flour if its super sticky 🙂 Not too much though as that will make the cookies more cakey. As you refrigerate the dough it will firm up and the oats will absorb a lot of liquid.
Thank you for this cookie recipe & how to properly assemble them so they turn out crispy & chewy all at once. Wonderful recipe ?
You are so welcome! I’m thrilled you enjoyed these! Thanks for the comment Julia 🙂
Hi Chelsea,
These cookies are amazing and may be my new favorite cookie! I freeze all my baked goods and these just get better and better with time. I may need to take a bath in them, lol!
HAHA!!! A bath in these cookies sounds awesome 🙂 As much as I love regular cookies, oatmeal ones are always my favorite! Glad you enjoyed these 🙂
I have been searching for a non-cakey oatmeal cookie! Would I wreck these if I left the chocolate chips out?
You will likely need to add some more flour to compensate 🙂
Hi Chelsea, I love this recipe and your blog! I am thinking about starting a blog and have a hand-me-down DSLR camera from my brother who upgraded to a different model. I want to capture foods in the style like your cookies (not sure how to describe it, but super high resolution I guess). Can you share what camera lens you use for that effect? Thanks!
You are so sweet; thank you Lexi! I have a few different lenses, I have a 50 mm 1.8, a 24-70 mm 2.8, and a 100 mm 2.8. I believe the pictures of these cookies I used the 100mm 🙂 Hope that helps!