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Overhead photo of Pumpkin Spice Cookies with cream cheese icing.
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Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Made from scratch, these Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies taste so much better than anything you can buy in the store. They are soft, flavorful and not overly sweet with a cake like consistency. The best part, they are made with wholesome ingredients.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Pumpkin Cake Cookies, Pumpkin Cookies, Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies, Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Cooling Time 1 hour
Servings 30 Large Cookies
Calories 297kcal
Author Heather

Ingredients

Cookies

  • 4 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp cloves
  • 1/2 tsp allspice *see Note #1 below
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 3/4 cup applesauce
  • 3/4 cup oil *I used avocado oil
  • 1 lg egg
  • 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cups canned pumpkin *16 oz
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Cream Cheese Icing

  • 3 tbsp butter *room temperature
  • 6 oz cream cheese *room temperature
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tbsp half and half * or milk (only if needed)

Instructions

Cookies

  • Preheat oven to 350℉.
  • Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and salt. Stir together with oatmeal.
  • In a seperate bowl whisk together applesauce and oil until formed into an emulsion. Transfer into a stand mixer and add egg, sugar, vanilla and pumpkin. Blend until light and fluffy.
  • Slowly add dry ingredients to wet and mix until just blended making sure to scrape down sides of bowl. Stir in nuts and raisins.
  • Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup measure dough and place onto greased cookie sheets. Flatten slightly with bowl scraper.
  • Bake for 20-25 mins or until cookies are firm and lightly browned. Once baked, immediately transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Let cool compleltey before frosting.

Cream Cheese Icing

  • In a stand mixer cream butter and cream cheese until smooth and uniform.
  • Add in 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time making sure to scrape down sides of bowl. Halfway though the addittion of sugar add vanilla.
  • Beat on high speed until light and fluffy, about 4-5 mins.
    *Note: Reserve adding half and half or milk and only add if frosting is too thick.
  • Frost each cookie with 1-2 tbsp of frosting and sprinkle with cinnaom or favorite Halloween candies.

Notes

Recipe Notes
Note #1- The cloves and allspice can be omitted. However, if doing so increase the cinnamon to 1 1/2 tablespoons.
Note #2- Here are some fun variations to these cookies:
  • Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies- Add chocolate chips to the dough for a delightful chocolate twist. Use about 1 cup of chocolate chips and fold them into the dough along with the nuts and raisins.
  • White Chocolate Pumpkin Cookies- Chop up some good quality white chocolate and fold into the dough.
  • Switch up the Nuts and Raisins– Replace the walnuts with your favorite nut such as cashews, pecans, slivered almonds or hazelnuts. Additionally, dried cranberries can replace the raisins.
  • Maple Glaze- Instead of cream cheese icing, drizzle the cooled cookies with a simple maple glaze made with powdered sugar, maple syrup, and a little milk. Mix until smooth and adjust the consistency as needed.
  • Pumpkin Spice Frosting- Mix in  pumpkin pie spice (or a combination of 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, and a pinch of cloves) to the cream cheese icing for an extra burst of fall flavor. When using pumpkin pie spice start with 1 teaspoon and adjust to taste.

Nutrition

Calories: 297kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 184mg | Potassium: 150mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 2655IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 2mg