Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
These soft, chewy pumpkin oatmeal cookies feature toasty brown butter, warm spices, and hearty oats topped with sweet brown sugar glaze. Perfect for fall baking with no mixer required!
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (200g) brown sugar, firmly packed
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup (160g) pumpkin puree
- 2 large egg yolks room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2⅓ cups (291g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 2 cups 160g old-fashioned oats
For the Glaze:
- 1¼ cups (160g) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar firmly packed
- 1½-3 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Brown the butter: Melt 1 cup butter in a skillet over medium heat, stir constantly until deep brown and toasty, then pour into a bowl to cool completely.
- Preheat oven: Heat oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper so cookies won't stick.
- Blot pumpkin: Spread ⅔ cup pumpkin on a plate, press paper towels firmly into it until the moisture absorbs and the pumpkin sticks.
- Mix wet ingredients: Add cooled butter, 1 cup brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar, blotted pumpkin, 2 egg yolks, and 2 teaspoons vanilla, stir well.
- Combine dry ingredients: Whisk 2⅓ cups flour, 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, and 1 teaspoon salt together.
- Make dough: Gradually add dry ingredients to wet mixture, stir until no flour streaks remain without overmixing the dough.
- Add oats: Fold 2 cups oats into the dough until evenly mixed throughout for a hearty texture in every bite.
- Shape cookies: Scoop 3 tablespoons (66g) of dough, roll into balls, space 2 inches apart on baking sheets.
- Bake: Place on center rack, bake 12 minutes until edges set but centers look slightly underdone.
- Cool: Let cookies rest on the sheet 5-10 minutes, transfer to a cooling rack, and cool completely before glazing.
- Make glaze: Whisk 1¼ cups powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1½ tablespoons milk, 1 tablespoon corn syrup, and ¼ teaspoon vanilla smooth.
- Drizzle and serve: Use a whisk to drizzle glaze over cooled cookies, let set 15-20 minutes before enjoying.
Notes
- Brown butter must cool completely before adding other ingredients, or it melts the sugar and causes spreading issues.
- Blotting pumpkin removes excess moisture that would make cakey cookies instead of the chewy texture you want here.
- Cookies keep baking on a hot sheet after removing from the oven, so slightly underdone centers mean perfectly chewy cookies.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days or freeze unbaked dough balls for 3 months.
- Adjust glaze thickness by adding milk gradually until it ribbons smoothly off your whisk and holds its shape.