Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips

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This small batch of Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips make 9 cookies that are soft, moist, and most importantly – taste like pumpkin!  The oatmeal, chocolate chips, and dried cranberries add texture – and go perfectly in a soft pumpkin cookie!

Fall Inspired Small Batch Cookies

We must have a pumpkin cookie in our fall baking repertoire!  We have a caramel apple oatmeal skillet cookie, pecan brown sugar cookies, and even double chocolate gluten free cookies.  But, truth be told, I have avoided making a pumpkin cookie for fear that the pumpkin flavor wouldn’t come through. 

However I feel confident in saying these pumpkin oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips do taste like pumpkin.  And, if I was going to take on a fall pumpkin cookie, it needed to have something a little extra than just pumpkin. 

Hence the oatmeal, chocolate chips, and dried cranberries.  Not to mention I wanted a reason to bring some cranberries into my fall baking since they are an easy transition to the holidays.  I mean, the cranberry pecan crumble bars are one of my favorites this time of year!    

Why You’ll Love These Pumpkin oatmeal Cookies

  • Pumpkin is the primary flavor – We have a lot of delicious textures and flavors in the cookies, but the pumpkin really shines.  Much like it does in the classic pumpkin spice whoopie pies and gluten free pumpkin whoopie pies.
  • The cookies are soft and chewy – Just like a good oatmeal cookie should be!
  • A generous amount of cozy spices – Pumpkin pie spice is needed in cookies, not just pumpkin pie!
  • Loaded with chocolate and cranberries – They both offer texture, plus a little sweet and tart.
A plate of pumpkin oatmeal cookies loaded with chocolate chips and cranberries.

The Ingredients you need For chocolate chip pumpkin oatmeal Cookies

  • Pumpkin pureepure pumpkin puree that comes in a can.  And not pumpkin pie filling in the can.  
  • Rolled oats – these can also be called Old-Fashioned Oats.  These are my go-to baking oats for treats like pumpkin spice latte overnight oats and citrus cream oatmeal tarts.  They are the right size and texture for baking.
  • Chocolate chips – I use semi-sweet, but use whatever flavor you prefer.
  • Dried cranberries – the kind you eat by the handful!
  • Pumpkin pie spice – we need all the spices for these little cookies.
  • Light brown sugar – makes the cookies chewy and adds moisture.  I recommend light because dark may impart a little too much moisture.
  • Egg yolk – partly because this a small batch. The whole egg would be too much.  But mostly because the egg yolk adds to the chew and texture.
  • Melted unsalted butter – unsalted so we can control the salt level.  And melted to contribute to the chewiness of the cookie.
  • Flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt … – the usual suspects in baking.
A pretty stack of pumpkin chocolate oatmeal cookies on a table.

Baking Equipment needed For Small Batch Cookies

Baking small batch cookies is pretty straight-forward.  I don’t use any fancy equipment to make the cookies.  As a matter of fact, for these pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, I didn’t even pull out the hand mixer.  Awe-Some!

  1. Two mixing bowls – one small, one medium.  
  2. Whisk or fork – to mix the dry and wet ingredients
  3. Spatula – to fold the the dry and wet ingredients together.  I only use a whisk to mix dry and wet when it is a wet batter.  I find cookie batter gets stuck in the middle of the whisk.
  4. Cookie scoop – I used a #40 size cookie scoop for these cookies.  In other words, the scoop is just about 2 tablespoons.  A cookie scoop is a bakers must have in my opinion – makes scooping and portioning cookies SO MUCH EASIER!
  5. Baking sheet + parchment paper 
  6. Cooling rack
Fall flavored cookies arranged on a table next to a glass of milk.

Tips For Making chocolate chip pumpkin oatmeal cookies

  • Light or dark brown sugar will work – Though I recommend light brown sugar, if all you have is dark, that will work too.
  • Use a cookie scoop – I highly recommend investing in a few cookie scoops if you like to bake a lot of cookies.  
  • Chill the dough – I’d love to tell you this is a no-chill cookie recipe, but I am a fan of chilling cookie dough – for most drop cookie recipes on the blog.  Especially if they are made with oil or melted butter.
  • Add more chocolate chips and/or cranberries – For a pretty presentation, dot the cookie dough balls with a couple extra chocolate chips and cranberries before you bake them.
Two fall cookies stacked on top of each other on a table.

faq’s for the pumpkin oatmeal cookies recipe

Can this recipe be doubled?

I haven’t tested it, so I can say for sure. But if you do, let me know!

Will different mix-in’s work instead of the chocolate chips and cranberries?

Certainly! White chocolate chips would be delicious. Or even a few different nuts would be great!

Do I really have to chill the dough before baking?

I highly recommend it since we are using melted butter. Otherwise the cookies may spread into little puddles.

Why 9 cookies? Why can’t I make more, or even less?

The number of cookies you get from the dough totally depends on how big you scoop the dough. I recommend a cookie scoop to get equal portions. But you can certainly make the cookies larger or smaller. Just watch the bake time to compensate for the size.

Any recommendations for what I use with the leftover pumpkin puree?

Of course! Check out my full collection of pumpkin recipes. Or for some of the most popular recipes on the blog, try the cinnamon swirl pumpkin bread or small batch gluten free pumpkin cupcakes.

A small stack of pumpkin oatmeal cookies on a mini cupcake stand.
Pumpkin oatmeal cookie with a bite
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4.60 from 5 reviews

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips

Yield: 9 Cookies
This small batch of Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips make 9 cookies that are soft, moist, and most importantly – taste like pumpkin!  The oatmeal, chocolate chips, and dried cranberries add texture – and go perfectly in a soft pumpkin cookie!
Prep10 mins
Cook12 mins
Chill20 mins
Total42 mins

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup +1 tablespoon rolled oats
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup pure canned pumpkin
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
  • 1/3 cup chocolate chips
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons dried cranberries

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350F degrees and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
  • In a small mixing bowl, add the flour, oats, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Stir with a fork or whisk to combine.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, add both the sugars, pumpkin, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Stir with a fork or whisk to combine. Stir in the melted butter.
  • Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the wet and use a spatula to fold the batter until no dry streaks remain. Fold in the chocolate chips and dried cranberries until just combined.
  • Refrigerate the cookie dough for 20 to 30 minutes – or you can freeze for half of the time.
  • Scoop (a #40 cookie scoop works great) equal portions of the batter, and place the cookie balls on the baking sheet at least 2 inches apart. Note – The number of cookies you get will depend on how big your cookie scoops are.
  • Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are golden brown. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet set on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then transfer the cookies to the wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
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Notes

  • Serving Size – The number of cookies will depend on how large you make your cookies.  I use a medium #40 cookie scoop
  • Larger Cookies – If you choose to make larger cookies, you will need two lined  baking sheets.  You can either bake both at the same time and rotate halfway through, or keep the cookie dough refrigerated until ready to bake the second batch.
  • Pumpkin – Depending on the brand, canned pumpkin can have different names, but is the same thing:  Pumpkin Puree, Pure Pumpkin, 100% Pumpkin, Organic Pure Pumpkin.  Just be sure it is not Pumpkin Pie Filling
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Author: Erin Cernich

3 thoughts on “Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips”

  1. 3 stars
    I had to bake them for over 20 min to get them firm enough. (Yes, my oven works. :). Interesting taste. I didn’t have cranberries, so I used walnuts. I would add more chocolate chips if I made it again.

  2. 5 stars
    Made these and even my extra picky teen son enjoyed them. Thank you for sharing the recipe! It’s nice to have a small batch so we can have fresh baked goodies and it’s a great, quick recipe for sharing with others.

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