Four years ago while still in school and preparing for a career in the pharmaceutical industry, one of my professors scheduled a rather large and important chemistry exam for the day after Halloween. As a good student, I skipped the costumes and trick-or-treating festivities to study instead.
I barely missed those parts of the holiday, seeing as I lived across the street from a grocery store and always took advantage of the 75% off sale on leftover chocolate Halloween candy the following day, but…
I really missed carving pumpkins.
The week before, I had bought a perfectly plump, bright orange pumpkin from the Trader Joe’s across town, and I had planned on carving it over the weekend a few days prior to Halloween when I had a free hour. However, memorizing chemical equations and reaction mechanisms for my midterm took much more time than I anticipated, so my pumpkin sat plain and faceless in the entryway.
My guy felt really badly for me, so the first weekend of November, he cancelled our movie theater date night, rented a cute animated DVD instead, and pulled out some nails and a sharp knife. He spread newspapers all over the floor before cutting the top off of the pumpkin, gutting the insides, and helping me carve a classic face into the side.
It was so sweet—and better late than never!
Just like our pumpkin carving that year, autumn around these parts waits to settle in until mid-October, or even the beginning of November some years. Although the calendar calls September 23 the first day of fall, we still wear shorts clear through the end of October to deal with the 80° temperatures!
Even though it doesn’t really fell like pumpkin season until right around Halloween where I live, I think that cookie season is all year round… So I baked a few batches of these Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies as a compromise! They’re soft and chewy—not cakey at all—and they just might be my favorite cookie recipe yet!
Have you tried any of my other clean eating oatmeal cookie recipes? They’re the most popular recipes on my blog—and for a good reason! All of these cookies are extremely soft and chewy, but they’re made with entirely wholesome ingredients and contain absolutely no butter, refined flour or sugar. Countless readers have called them the best cookies they’ve ever made!
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST HEALTHY PUMPKIN OATMEAL COOKIES
Let’s go over how to make the best healthy pumpkin oatmeal cookies! …with chocolate chips. Because I’m a huge chocoholic and think there’s no such thing as too much chocolate—especially when it comes to cookies!
Just like all of those recipes, this one starts with whole wheat flour and instant oats. Remember, instant oats are not the ones sold in the individual flavored packets! Instant oats are also called quick cooking or minute oats, and they’re sold right next to the old-fashioned oats in large canisters. You can also make your own from old-fashioned oats—see the Notes section beneath the recipe to find out how!
Tip: You can easily make these healthy pumpkin oatmeal cookies gluten free, if you’d prefer! Use certified gluten free oats (these are my favorite!), and then see the Notes section of the recipe for my recommended gluten free flour blend.
To create the pumpkin pie flavor, we’ll use pumpkin purée and homemade pumpkin spice made from cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Yes, that’s plain ol’ canned pumpkin purée, not pumpkin pie filling! The latter contains refined sugar, and we’re trying to avoid that in order to make these cookies clean eating friendly. You’ll sweeten these cookies with pure maple syrup instead!
Tip: The pumpkin actually replaces the eggs in this recipe! Then if you use the coconut oil option (or stick-style vegan butter like this!), then your healthy pumpkin oatmeal cookies are egg free, dairy free, and vegan!
As for the spices, I almost always prefer to blend my own instead of using pumpkin pie spice because it’s cheaper and I can control the ratio of spices. However, you’re welcome to substitute store-bought pumpkin pie spice, if you prefer, or even add a hint of allspice too. (I’ve started to do that in my pumpkin spice blend. It tastes fantastic!)
Now for one final note… These cookies do not spread while baking, so you must flatten the cookie dough to your desired thickness and width before popping the tray in the oven. I use these mini spatulas to flatten (aren’t they adorable??) because the cookie dough is somewhat wet and will stick to your hands. Then press a few extra chocolate chips into their tops, bake, and enjoy!
FAQS ABOUT HEALTHY PUMPKIN OATMEAL COOKIES
Can I use old-fashioned rolled oats?
Yes—but pulse them in a blender or food processor first! You want them to be about ⅛ of their original size. This is because instant oats are smaller and thinner than old-fashioned rolled oats, so they soften faster and create a better soft and chewy texture in these healthy pumpkin oatmeal cookies. By pulsing your old-fashioned rolled oats in a blender or food processor, you’ll get a much better taste and texture!
Can I substitute another flour?
Yes! You can substitute white whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour in place of the regular whole wheat flour. No recipe modifications necessary! (I’ve also included even more flour options on my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ Page!)
Are these cookies gluten free? Dairy free? Vegan?
Yes! These healthy pumpkin oatmeal cookies can be made gluten free with certified gluten free oats and gluten free flour. See the Notes section of the recipe, along with my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ Page, for more information! And if you use coconut oil or stick-style vegan butter, along with vegan-friendly chocolate chips (like these!), your cookies will be egg free, dairy free, and vegan too.
How should I store these pumpkin cookies? And how long do they last?
Keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They should keep for at least 5 days (if not longer!) when stored like that. These healthy pumpkin oatmeal cookies freeze and thaw really well too!
When you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy pumpkin oatmeal cookies!
Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (100g) instant oats (gluten-free if necessary and measured like this)
- ¾ cup (90g) whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (28g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- ¾ cup (183g) pumpkin purée
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120mL) pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp (28g) dark chocolate chips
- 1 tbsp (14g) miniature chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Whisk together the oats, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, pumpkin purée, and vanilla. Stir in the maple syrup. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in the dark chocolate chips and ½ tablespoon of miniature chocolate chips.
- Drop the cookie dough into 15 rounded scoops onto the prepared sheet, and flatten to the desired thickness and width using a spatula. Gently press the remaining miniature chocolate chips into the tops. Bake at 325°F for 11-14 minutes. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Soft & Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
♡ Healthy Flourless Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Protein Cookies
♡ Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡ Healthy Pumpkin Spice Latte Oatmeal Cookies
♡ Healthy Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
♡ Healthy Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Pie Brownies
♡ Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Energy Bites
♡ Healthy Pumpkin Pie Protein Overnight Oats
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy pumpkin recipes!
This recipe looks great!
Any chance for high altitude?
Thanks,
Teresa
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Teresa! From what other readers have shared, my recipes typically don’t require any changes when baking at high altitude. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these cookies!
Just reading the recipe…is it correct there is no egg? Thx.
Yes, that’s correct! I can’t wait to hear what you think of these cookies! 🙂
If I want to substitute brown sugar for the maple syrup, how much should I use?
Thanks!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Polly! I’ve actually answered that exact questions on my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ Page, which is linked to in the Notes section of the recipe. I know it can be easy to miss! 😉 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these cookies!
Could i add a banana for flavor (i usially make no bale oat cookies with two bananas) or would that mess with the consistency
If you prefer banana oatmeal cookies, then try this recipe of mine instead! If you just added banana to this recipe, you’d need to make modifications so the texture would turn out correctly. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try either oatmeal cookie recipe Lexi!
I wanted to love this healthier version of pumpkin cookies, but this recipe did not fulfill 🙁 I followed the recipe and the cookies turned out spongy with little/bland flavour. Would recommend adding sugar, and perhaps an egg.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Jade! That sounds disappointing — and not how the cookies are supposed to turn out at all! They’re supposed to be soft and chewy, not spongey, with a sweet and cozy spice flavor. I’d love to work with you to solve those issues that you saw! 🙂 How did you measure the flour and oats — with a kitchen scale or measuring cups? If the latter, can you describe in detail how you measured? Also, did you make any substitutions, including those listed in the Notes section? We’ll be able to solve those issues so your cookies turn out much better if you decide to try them again once I know the answers to these questions! 🙂
WOW!
these just came out soooo good!
I’ll definitely try them again!
I’m so glad you loved these cookies Alma! That means the world to me that you’d want to make them again. Thanks for taking the time to let me know! 🙂
Hi Amy,
Immediately after reading your recipe I headed for the kitchen to make a batch. I am seeing some friends today for lunch and wanted to bring something sweet.
I noticed the ingredients mention 1 cup of oatmeal but next to it said 100 grams. I figured this was a mistake. but then I saw the next ingredient if whole wheat flour noted at 90 grams.. I thought this odd and googled it because I use a special scale because I live in the Middle East and many recipe books use grams/liters to their recipe measurements. I found an online site that listed metric weights and discovered 1 cup translates into 340 grams and 255. I already poured my ingredients out and since you may not get to my comment right away I will make the pumpkin cookies hoping the 1 cup was the correct amount and that the “gram” amount was an error..Not everyone loves the metric way of measuring. I figured that is probably why no one mentioned this in your comment section. Like myself we just went with the first measurement we see..Thank you for the recipe..Keeping my fingers crossed it is a success!!!
Hi Amy it’s me again,
Meant to say 340 grams for the 1 cup of oatmeal and 255 grams for 3/4 cup of wholewheat flour.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Nofa! Both the grams and US cups are correct. I actually prefer measuring by grams with my kitchen scale, and that’s exactly what I do for my oatmeal cookie recipes — including this one! I’m not sure where you found that conversion for flour and oats, but I’ve never heard such high gram amounts for 1 American cup for oats or 1 cup of flour. (However, I’ve heard that not all cups are the same size! Some of my Canadian and Australian readers told me that their “cups” aren’t quite the same size as our American cups. 🙂 )
So in the future when trying my recipes, I definitely recommend following the metric gram measurements! I always use my kitchen scale with the gram setting for developing recipes, so I’m positive the gram measurements are correct. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear how your cookies turn out!
I run a Farm-to-School program and am always looking for ways to make food healthier and kid-friendly, so I made these cookies for a third grade class project. The kids LOVED them!! One said she gave them “infinity thumbs up”. I made my own squash puree using a honeynut squash (note – one small honeynut – or baby butternut – squash made exactly the right amount of puree for this recipe) and it turned out delicious – the sweetness of the squash really made the cookies taste exactly the right amount of sweet for kids. I love that there was no refined sugar and that the orange color really signified the vegetable aspect – I like them to know that what vegetables they are enjoying rather than hiding it. Thank you for this recipe – I’ll be sure to try more with the kids! They all asked for the recipe to make at home so I’ll print it out and be sure to credit you too!
Infinity thumbs up — that just completely melted my heart!! What a sweet boy! That means so much to me Molly!! 🙂 I’m truly honored that you’d print out my recipe for the kids to take home and make themselves again. Thank you for sharing that with me! I really appreciate you sharing about the honeynut squash purée too. I love hearing what recipe tweaks work!
I’m pregnant and want to bake these and freeze before I have my baby to eat postpartum. Do you know if they freeze well or have any recommendations on freezing? If not, what yummy healthy recipes similar may freeze better that I could try?
Congratulations on your new baby Ariel! 🙂 Yes, these cookies freeze really well! Almost all of my oatmeal cookie recipes freeze really well too (you can find all of them here!). To freeze these cookies, I line a baking sheet with foil (for easy clean up!). I put the cookies in a single layer (and freeze in batches, if it’s a small cookie sheet), and I place that in the freezer for about an hour. Then I slide them into zip-topped bags in layers (I can usually fit about 4 cookies per layer in a sandwich-sized bag) with a paper towel in between layers to soak up moisture.
When the time comes to thaw, I typically thaw individual cookies (mainly for temptation reasons! 😉 ) by placing one cookie in the microwave and reheating for 20-30 seconds on 30% power or until it’s warmed all the way through. They basically taste like they’ve been freshly baked when thawed like that!
I can’t wait to hear what you think of these cookies!!