Yield: 8 pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies // Total Time: 1 hr. // Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links.
Thick and chewy brown butter pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
If your favorite cookie is an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie (like mine) and you’re ready for fall (also like me), these are the perfect cookies for you! These are super thick and chewy, filled with brown butter, pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice flavor, and have pools of melty chocolate throughout.
small batch cookies
Like most recipes you’ll find here, these cookies are small batch, yielding just 8 cookies. I love making small batch bakes because they are the perfect size myself and others who don’t have a lot of people to bake for in their home. But don’t worry! If you are in need of more cookies, you can double or triple this recipe as desired. Just be sure you’re using grams to measure for the best result. If you’re looking for an even *smaller* batch of cookies, check out my 20 minute chocolate chip cookies!
what is brown butter?
Brown butter is super simple to make so don’t worry! It’s just regular butter that is cooked on the stove until some of the moisture evaporates, allowing the milk solids in the butter to be toasted. The result is this butter with an amber hue and little speckles that has a toasted and slightly nutty aroma.
Because the butter gets cooked for a while, you do lose most of the moisture present in butter – just another reason I highly recommend weighing your ingredients! You should have 90g of butter left from the 113g at the start. Any less and you’ll want to add some water to the butter to bring it to 90g, or you’ll end up with some dry and crumbly cookies.
recipe tips
weigh your ingredients
Weighing your ingredients is important for getting the recipe perfect and getting consistent results. Not weighing your ingredients can lead to adding too much or too little of an ingredient which can give you some undesirable results. This kitchen scale is super cheap and worked well for me when I was starting out! If you don’t have access to a scale, here is the best way to measure flour: fluff up the flour with a fork, then use a spoon to scoop it into your measuring cup. Use a knife to level off the top of the cup, then use as directed.
pat the pumpkin puree dry!
We’re adding pumpkin puree into the dough which contains a *lot* of moisture. In order to get more pumpkin flavor into the dough without adding too much moisture, we’re going to remove a lot of the moisture from the pumpkin puree. You can use a napkin to wrap up and gently squeeze out some of the water, or pat the pumpkin puree. You’ll want to keep doing this until you are left with only 60g (half of the amount we start with!) What you’re left with is a more concentrated pumpkin puree that’s going to add a lot of delicious pumpkin flavor to the dough.
mix the dough carefully
When you’re mixing in your flour, you’ll want to make sure you only mix just until that last streak of flour disappears in the dough. Otherwise, you run the risk of overmixing the dough which will make the cookies more tough and chewy.
under bake for perfect cookies
This is one of the best tips for getting these small batch cookies to be perfect, and really for making any cookie perfect. Cookies will continue to bake on the hot cookie sheet after being taken out of the oven. When the edges are set and the middle of the cookies are just a little underdone, they are ready to be taken out of the oven! Let the cookies sit on the hot baking sheet for at least 5 minutes after baking before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.
cookie scooting
Do you want to know the secret to perfectly round cookies? It’s cookie scooting! Right when the cookies come out of the oven, take a bowl, cup, or biscuit cutter that is just slightly larger than your cookies and place it over one of the cookies. Gently swirl the bowl around the cookie to make the cookie perfectly round (and slightly thicker). And that’s all there is to it!
chill the cookies prior to baking
I know, I know – it’s frustrating to have to wait! However, because we’re using melted brown butter, we want to give the dough time to firm up. You’ll just need to pop the dough in the freezer for 15 minutes prior to baking.
ingredients and substitutions
All purpose flour: for structure and chewiness.
Rolled oats: I recommend rolled oats for the best texture.
Baking powder & baking soda: for helping the cookies rise.
Salt: to help balance and bring out the sweetness of the cookies
Pumpkin pie spice: for flavor! You can omit this if you’re not a fan.
Unsalted butter: for tenderness and flavor. You can use salted butter in place of the unsalted, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the cookies. We’ll also be browning the butter for some extra delicious toasty flavor. If you’re looking to make this dairy-free, Miyoko’s Creamery vegan butter has the ability to brown just like regular butter and works like a charm.
Pumpkin puree: make sure the puree is 100% pure pumpkin and is not pumpkin pie filling! The only ingredient listed should be pumpkin.
Granulated sugar & dark brown sugar: a combination of both gives us cookies with crispy edges and soft and chewy centers.
Egg: for binding and for moisture.
Vanilla: for flavor. I use and love this vanilla extract!
Semi-sweet chocolate: I recommend semi-sweet or dark chocolate. Please note that if you use all chocolate chips, the cookies will bake up a little thicker, and if you use all chopped chocolate, they will be a tad thinner.
how to make pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
Here’s a little look into the process of making these cookies. The full recipe is at the end of this blog post!
pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies q&a
can I double this recipe?
Of course! Obviously they will not be small batch anymore but small batch isn’t always what we need! Simply double all of the ingredients in the recipe to make 16 delicious cookies. I even more strongly recommend measuring by weight if you are going to double the recipe for the best results.
can I make these cookies ahead of time?
Definitely! Cookie dough only gets better with time. You can keep the stuffed cookie dough tightly covered in the fridge for up to 2 days before baking. For longer term storage, you can also freeze the cookie dough. Just be sure to take the dough out of the fridge a little bit before you want to bake, so that it becomes soft enough to scoop again!
how to store these pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
These cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. They will definitely taste the best on the day that they are baked, but will keep well for up to 3 days.
why do you measure in grams?
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
a note on oven temperature
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and aren’t always at the temperature they claim to be at. I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
tools and ingredients
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
did you make these pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies?
If you made these small batch brown butter pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (what a mouthful!) I would love to see them and know your thoughts! Please leave a comment and review down below, and tag me on Instagram @freshbeanbakery. If you have any questions about the recipe I will gladly do my best to answer them in the comments below!
Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 113 g unsalted butter (½ c.)
- 120 g pumpkin puree (½ c.)
- 100 g dark brown sugar (½ c.)
- 50 g granulated sugar (¼ c.)
- 1 egg room temperature
- ½ tsp. vanilla
- 130 g all purpose flour (1 c. + 1 ⅓ tbsp.)
- 80 g rolled oats (¾ c. + 2 tbsp.)
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- 130 g semi-sweet chocolate (discs, bar, chips) (¾ c.)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or with a silicone mat.
- In a small saucepan set over medium heat, brown the butter. Stir the butter occasionally until it turns amber in color and develops little brown specks. At this point, weigh your brown butter to make sure you have at least 90g. If you have a little less, mix in some water until you reach 90g.
- Transfer the brown butter to a medium sized mixing bowl and set it in the freezer for 5 minutes to chill. In the meantime, chop up your chocolate bar if using one and prep the pumpkin puree.
- Use a napkin or cheesecloth to gently strain water out of the pumpkin puree. (You may need multiple napkins) Continue to squeeze/pat water out of the puree until you are left with only 60g of pumpkin puree.
- Once the butter has cooled, whisk the pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, and dark brown sugar into it.
- Whisk in the egg and vanilla until well combined.
- Add in the flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Use a rubber spatula to fold the mixture together until a few flour streaks remain.
- Add in the chopped chocolate and fold just until no flour streaks remain.
- Scoop out heaping 3 tbsp. scoops of dough, setting them on the cookie sheet at least 2" apart to allow room for spreading.
- Top each cookie with additional chocolate (optional – but recommended!)
- Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the edges of the cookie have set.
- Immediately after taking the cookies out of the oven, you can take a bowl that is slightly larger than the cookies and swirl it around over them to make them a little more uniform and circular.
- Allow the cookies to rest on the hot baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Enjoy!
Heather J. says
These are so tasty! I love oatmeal cookies and they’re perfect for fall. Plus having a small batch is perfect for me since my partner isn’t a dessert person. Definitely recommend!