Step one: Close your eyes and take a deep breath in. Can you smell the pumpkin spice? Do you feel the chill in the air? Can you hear the leaves crunching? That’s right, it’s October, the most magical month of the year (in my humble opinion). I think L.M. Montgomery wrote it best in Anne of Green Gables: “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” Everything is a mess right now, but I’m still holding on (clenching, may be more appropriate) to gratitude for Octobers and pumpkin-flavored everything. So bust your cozy sweaters out of hibernation, put folklore on full blast, and get ready to make some autumn sustenance: Oatmeal Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.
About My Favorite Fall Cookies
These cookies are soft and cakey, gently spiced, and with bursts of rich chocolate and added texture from the oats. Although I was skeptical the first time I had chocolate and pumpkin together, it’s now one of my favorite combos.
The oats pair nicely with the pumpkin, almost like the crust of a pumpkin pie. In fact, these cookies reminded me so much of both oatmeal cream pies and pumpkin pie that I couldn’t not try combining all of those things into pumpkin pie sandwich cookies…stay tuned!
These cookies come together fast and use ingredients you probably have on hand. Don’t have pumpkin spice? You can make your own! There are a million recipes out there, but I like this one from Taste of Home. Minimalist Baker also has a good one that calls for allspice, which I don’t always have on hand. See what’s in your pantry and go from there!
Tips to Make Fall Favorite Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- You’ll start by creaming the sugars and butter together until the mixture is light and fluffy. I like to give this process at least three solid minutes in the stand mixer, no more than six (depending on how cold your butter is). It’s a fine balance between under and over creaming, but if you think your mixture is still a little gritty and could maybe be a little fluffier, it probably could be.
- We beat the egg in advance to be extra certain that it will become fully incorporated. After you add the pumpkin or the egg, the mixture may look a little curdled, but don’t worry, it will all come together once the dry ingredients are added.
- Dry ingredients to the rescue! The oats give these cookies great texture. Mix your spices, salt, and leavening agents to the oats and flour.
- When you’ve added your last addition of the dry ingredients, mix until just barely combined. You may see a little flour around the edges of your bowl; that’s okay. We’ll get that incorporated with the next step with the chocolate chips.
A Few Notes About These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies:
- I like using a cookie scoop, but it works just as well to use two spoons to drop your mixture onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper or a baking mat. (Don’t have either? A lightly buttered cookie sheet will work, too. But I would also encourage you to look into the wizardry that is parchment paper.)
- I’m a baker who doesn’t like to use more dishes than necessary, so you’ll often find me cheating and adding my dry ingredients straight into my wet without combining them separately. (Shhh, don’t tell.) In this case, even I will admit it’s worth dirtying an extra bowl to mix the dry ingredients together first.
- I store my extra canned pumpkin in a glass container in the fridge and try to use it within the next week. (Whenever I have leftover pumpkin from another recipe, I like to whip up a batch of these cookies.)
- Gauging doneness can be a little tricky with pumpkin-colored food, but they should be pretty set/firm when touched and have a tinge of extra brownness.
- Store baked cookies in an airtight container or freeze. These are best enjoyed while pondering the wonderful things about October, gazing at the changing leaves, or savoring a crisp autumn breeze.
- Looking for a delicious dinner that pairs well with these cookies? Check out our Lentil Soup You Will Actually Want to Eat (Vegetarian/Vegan).
