Few fruit cookies offer the simple tasty pleasure of these yummy pumpkin oatmeal cookies. These aren’t your run of the mill pumpkin spice cookies. No, no. These little babies combine the warm rich flavor of pumpkin with moist hearty oatmeal cookies under a generous topping of sweet cream cheese icing. Hungry yet??
The fall weather typically ushers in some of our favorite sweet treats, like banana chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin-flavored confections. People pull out their coconut cookies recipe along with any other favorites to whip up.
Cookies are fantastic for spreading the love because you can serve them up to the fam, give them out as gifts or even use them at cookie swaps.
Let’s get to it!
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What I Love About This Recipe
I love everything about these pumpkin cookies. It’s really easy to make but you can’t tell by tasting these little gems. They’re sweet and crunchy and altogether wonderful. Plus, the icing on top is just to die for!
Here are some of their best cookie qualities….
- Warm pumpkin spice
- Sweet crunchy cookie flavor
- Homemade cream cheese icing
How To Make Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies Recipe
Whipping up these crazy delicious cookies is easier than you think.
All you have to do is mix up the batter and use a small scoop to drop the cookies on a prepared baking sheet. Bake them up in the oven and whip up the icing while your cookies are cooling. Ice, garnish, and enjoy!!
Recipe Notes
You’ll notice the directions call for you to mix the dry ingredients separately in this recipe. Don’t skip this step! It helps disperse leavening agents evenly and ensures a soft melt-in-your-mouth texture.
Mixing strengthens wheat gluten producing a tougher chewier product. So, mixing wet and dry ingredients separately means they require less mixing to incorporate ingredients once combined. This is the best way to ensure a soft indulgent crave-worthy cookie outcome.
If the cookie dough seems to stick to your scooper, clean it off and dampen it just a little. You don’t want to get water into your cookies, but a damp cookie scooper helps the dough slide right out!
Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies Ingredient Notes
This oatmeal pumpkin cookies recipe calls for soft butter, but you don’t want it melted. It should be pliable but still hold its shape. This will help distribute the butterfat evenly throughout the cookie dough for a consistent flavor and texture.
I also typically opt for unsalted butter so I can control the amount of salt in the recipe. In small concentrations, salt suppresses bitterness for a deep rich flavor so adding the right amount is essential whether you’re making peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, chocolate oatmeal bars, or pumpkin oatmeal cookies.
Using fresh baking powder is always best. I know, this stuff has a pretty long shelf life, but it tends to degrade after being opened. A quick and easy way to test it is to drop a little (half a teaspoon) into some hot water. If it bubbles or fizzes, it’s still good!
Tools to Make
Whipping up these awesome cookies only requires about 20 short minutes of prep time and no crazy gadgets (thank goodness!). One thing that does make it easier is an electric mixer or some sort. You’ll want to use it to cream the butter and sugar together.
Incorporating plenty of air into the batter helps ensure the cookies bake up light and fluffy.
How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge?
Your yummy iced oatmeal cookies will stay fresh and ready to eat for up to a week in the fridge if you store them in an airtight container. You can actually keep them on the counter for up to 2 weeks if you don’t frost them straight away.
It only takes a minute or two to whip up a fresh batch of icing come serving time.
Can You Freeze Them?
Absolutely! You can freeze the baked cooled cookies, or you can freeze the ray cookie dough (my preferred method). Then just move the cookie dough to the fridge to slow thaw overnight the day before you want to bake them up.
The USDA says these cookies will be good in the freezer for up to 8 months, but I like to err on the side of caution and stick with 3 (call me old school).
Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Cookies Make Ahead Tips
When I whip up these pumpkin spice oatmeal cookies, I like to whip up a double batch of the batter and throw one of them in the freezer. That way I’ve got one of them ready to move to the fridge when I want to bake more.
The only thing is that when you store these baked cooled pumpkin oatmeal cookies with icing on them, you’ll have to store them in a single layer. Trying to stack them or store them in a freezer bag after they’re iced almost always results in an iced sticky mess!
Serving Recommendations
These little babies are so good, they can even take the place of pumpkin pie on your holiday table, silverware optional.
If you want to serve something bigger than pumpkin oatmeal cookies, you can always go with a pumpkin crunch cake instead but don’t dismiss the decadent pleasure of an afternoon cookie and cup of coffee!
Recipe Variations
There are so many delicious things you can do with these cookies recipe it’ll make your head spin. Here are a few yummy suggestions.
- Trade the pumpkin puree and oats for orange zest and white chocolate chips to create some awesome orange creamsicle cookies.
- Use blackberries and sour cream to whip up some 5-star blackberry pie bars that are simply irresistible!
- Substitute lemon for the pumpkin to make incredible iced lemon ricotta cookies fit for any dessert or cookie swap.
- Grab those tart little cranberries to turn these babies into sweet and tangy cranberry bars that tend to disappear quickly.
- A few simple swaps will give you insanely delicious strawberry chocolate chip cookies they’ll request over and over again.
Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 1 1/2 cups butter softened
- 2 cups packed brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups quick-cooking oats
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Frosting:
- 1 (8-ounce) block cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 4 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Cookies:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment;set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, cream together butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in pumpkin, egg, and vanilla until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, mix together flour, oats, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Gradually beat into butter mixture until combined.
- Use a medium cookies scoop to form dough into balls. Drop onto prepared baking sheets and bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until cookies are just slightly beginning to brown on edges. Cool for 5 minutes on baking sheets then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting:
- In a medium mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer set on medium speed, beat together cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice until smooth and creamy. Beat in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until smooth.
- Frost completely cooled cookies and finish with a dash of pumpkin pie spice.
Fans Also Made:
Nutrition
More Pumpkin Desserts Recipes
Here are even more scrumptious pumpkin desserts for your family to enjoy. Try them all and choose your favorite.
- Pumpkin Pie Bars – Sweet rich pumpkin pie flavor packed into delicious little bars.
- Pumpkin Pie Fudge – Silky decadent melt-in-your-mouth fudge bursting with rich sweet pumpkin flavor.
- Pumpkin Lasagna – The easiest most intensely delicious no-bake layered pumpkin dessert to cross your table.
- Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting – Sweet simple cakey pumpkin bliss covered in sweet cream cheese frosting.
Conclusion
These unusually delicious pumpkin oatmeal cookies combine the rich warm flavor of pumpkin with insanely scrumptious oatmeal cookies to produce a crave-worthy little treat worthy of crowning in cream cheese glory. This recipe may just be your new favorite fall dessert and it definitely dresses up a cold-weather cookie swap.
I can’t wait to see what you think of these little gems!
Why do you have stars rating your recipes yet one cannot access those reviews? I searched everywhere on your page, clicking on anything clickable and could no find any of these 4 out of 5 ratings, (reviews). Before I try a recipe, I like to read reviews. That can save me time and money.
Hi Leah. They are part of the comments.
Good morning! Have you made these delightful cookies gluten free? I would love to have a recipe for my daughter, Thank you.
Hi Mary. I’m so sorry but I haven’t! I wish I could help but I’m at a loss!!
Oh my, that frostinggg! <3
Hello
I really like your style of recipes! How may I be added to your email list? Thank you.
Hi Dominique! You can subscribe by saving the recipe you like or getting my e-book for free on top of the site. Hope this helps!