Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
’tis the season for all things pumpkin and I. Am. HERE FOR IT. With that being said, I am SO excited to share the recipe for these delicious, healthy-ish Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with you today! Not to toot my own horn, but they are the bomb.
These cookies are perfect for any fall or winter parties you are attending (or hosting), or keeping all to yourself at home! (Pssst – they freeze well, too!)
I will have you all know that I’m a “pumpkin year round” kinda girl, but I especially love it during the fall.
pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies: step-by-step
Here are some photos of the making of these cookies! They are super easy to whip up!
Whisk the melted ghee, maple syrup, brown sugar and plain Greek yogurt together in a medium bowl until no brown sugar lumps remain. Whisk in the vanilla and blotted pumpkin until smooth. (More details on this below!) Set aside.
Whisk the whole wheat flour, oats, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice together in a large bowl.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon or rubber spatula. The dough will be very soft.
Fold in 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips and 1/4 cup pepitas (if desired). The chips may not stick to the dough because of the melted butter, but do your best to combine them. Cover the dough and chill for 30 minutes or up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Remove dough from the refrigerator. Line one large or two medium baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (I was able to make around 24-28 smaller cookies.)
Use a cookie scoop to make the dough into balls, about 1.5 Tbsp per cookie. Using the back of a spoon, slightly flatten the tops of the dough balls. (Without doing so, the cookies may not spread.)
Bake for 10-14 minutes or until the edges appear set. (Mine were perfect right around 10 minutes.) The cookies will look very soft in the center. Remove from the oven. If you find that your cookies didn’t spread much at all, flatten them out with the back of a spoon when you take them out of the oven.
Cool cookies on the baking sheets for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Sally’s Baking Addiction Says: “The longer the cookies cool, the even better they taste! The flavor gets stronger and the texture becomes chewier. I usually let them sit, uncovered, for several hours before serving. Chewiness and pumpkin flavor are even stronger on day 2.”
Store cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days, or transfer to the freezer in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag. They thaw well if you reheat in the microwave! Enjoy!
How I Made These Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies A Little Healthier
Don’t get me wrong here — I love straight up sugary cookies & desserts and fully believe in allowing yourself to enjoy those all throughout the year, including the holiday season. BUT, I also love finding ways to make treats a wee bit healthier while still tasting delicious! Because that’s just a win-win if you ask me.
I modified these cookies from the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies on Sally’s Baking Addiction — by the way, she’s a cookie and baking QUEEN. Highly recommend checking out her blog for more recipes.
In this recipe I removed the granulated sugar, added plain Greek yogurt, used whole wheat flour and some whole grain oats. I finished them off by adding pepitas and dark chocolate chips. And let us not forget about the nutrition that comes from the pumpkin itself (although there isn’t a massive amount of pumpkin in these cookies – we’ll count it anyway). 😉
Cookie Baking Tips from Sally’s Baking Addiction
Sally recommended blotting the pumpkin puree with a paper towel to get rid of excess moisture in order to make these cookies more chewy and dense, rather than cake-like. (They are definitely dense, and not overly sweet, which I personally like!)
Make sure you check out her post for more details on this & extra pictures if you need them! Again, click here and scroll down to “My 4 Tricks to Apply In This Recipe”.
Other steps I followed, per Sally’s recommendations:
- Chilled the cookie dough for 30 minutes in the refrigerator (covered) before baking
- Used a cookie scoop to make even(ish) balls of dough
- Slightly flattened the balls of cookie dough with the back of the scoop
Mine were perfect right around the 10 minute mark. Keep in mind everyone’s ovens are a little bit different, so I suggest checking around 10 minutes and adding additional time as needed.
looking to use your leftover pumpkin? try these recipes!
- Pumpkin Butter Stuffed Dates
- Pumpkin Spice Banana Baked Oatmeal
- Healthy Carrot Pumpkin Muffins
- Pumpkin Protein Overnight Oats
- Quick and Easy Beef Chili
- Healthy Pumpkin Banana Bread
- Easy Pumpkin Trifle Dessert
Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup ghee or butter, melted, cooled
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup or honey
- 1/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 Tbsp pumpkin puree moisture removed, see note above
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1.5 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips optional
- 1/4 cup pepitas or chopped walnuts/pecans
Instructions
- Whisk the melted ghee, maple syrup, brown sugar and plain Greek yogurt together in a medium bowl until no brown sugar lumps remain. Whisk in the vanilla and blotted pumpkin until smooth. Set aside.
- Whisk the whole wheat flour, oats, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice together in a large bowl.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon or rubber spatula. The dough will be very soft. Fold in 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips and 1/4 cup pepitas (if desired). The chips may not stick to the dough because of the melted butter, but do your best to combine them. Cover the dough and chill for 30 minutes or up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory.
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Remove dough from the refrigerator. Line one large or two medium baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Use a cookie scoop to make the dough into balls, about 1.5 Tbsp per cookie. Using the back of a spoon, slightly flatten the tops of the dough balls. (Without doing so, the cookies may not spread.)
- Bake for 10-14 minutes or until the edges appear set. The cookies will look very soft in the center. Remove from the oven. If you find that your cookies didn’t spread much at all, flatten them out with the back of a spoon when you take them out of the oven.
- Cool cookies on the baking sheets for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Sally's Baking Addiction Says: "The longer the cookies cool, the even better they taste! The flavor gets stronger and the texture becomes chewier. I usually let them sit, uncovered, for several hours before serving. Chewiness and pumpkin flavor are even stronger on day 2."
- Store cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days, or transfer to the freezer in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag. They thaw well if you pop them in the microwave!
Nutrition
I hope you love these Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies as much as I do! More fall-inspired recipes will be coming soon, so keep your eyes peeled. : ) If there is anything specific you want me to create, please let me know in the comments or DM me on Instagram!
Enjoy!
Shanna
These cookies are delicious, my new favorite recipe!
Aw thank you so much! I’m so happy to hear that!