Healthy Pumpkin-Oatmeal Cookies

These tender pumpkin-oatmeal cookies are absolutely perfect for anyone craving something sweet but wholesome! Your family will love how these cookies taste like fall in every bite, plus they’re made with nutritious ingredients that won’t leave you feeling guilty. The best part is they have just the right amount of sweetness from brown sugar and raisins, with a lovely nutty flavor from almond butter.

Recipe Details

Timing & Servings: Prep Time: 10 minutes, Additional Time: 40 minutes, Total Time: 50 minutes, Serves: 20 people, Yield: 20 cookies.

Nutrition Profile: Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Vegetarian.

Nutrition Facts (per serving): 93 Calories, 3g Fat, 16g Carbs, 2g Protein.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Pumpkin puree: You’ll need ½ cup of unseasoned pumpkin puree, which gives these cookies their amazing moist texture and fall flavor. Make sure to use plain pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling!

Brown sugar: ½ cup of packed light brown sugar adds the perfect sweetness and helps keep the cookies tender. I love how brown sugar gives them that cozy, caramel-like taste.

Almond butter: ¼ cup of unsweetened almond butter brings a lovely nutty flavor and helps bind everything together. You can use any natural almond butter you have on hand.

Egg: One large egg helps hold the cookies together and gives them structure. Make sure it’s at room temperature for best mixing.

Vanilla extract: 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract adds that warm, sweet flavor that makes these cookies smell amazing while baking.

Oat flour: ¾ cup of oat flour gives these cookies a hearty, wholesome base. You can buy it or make your own by grinding old-fashioned oats in a blender.

Spices: 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon ground ginger create that perfect fall spice blend that makes your kitchen smell incredible.

Leavening agents: ½ teaspoon baking soda and ¼ teaspoon baking powder help the cookies rise just enough to be tender and soft.

Salt: ¼ teaspoon of salt brings out all the other flavors and balances the sweetness perfectly.

Rolled oats: 1½ cups of old-fashioned rolled oats give these cookies their classic chewy texture and extra fiber. Don’t use quick oats here – you want that hearty bite!

Raisins: ½ cup of raisins add little bursts of natural sweetness throughout each cookie. They’re like tiny treats hiding in every bite!

How to Make Healthy Pumpkin-Oatmeal Cookies

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, almond butter, egg, and vanilla extract. Mix everything together until it’s nice and smooth, then set this bowl aside.

Step 2: In a medium bowl, whisk together the oat flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and ginger. Make sure all the spices are evenly distributed – this is what gives your cookies that amazing flavor!

Step 3: Pour the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture and stir until everything is just combined. Don’t overmix here – you want tender cookies, not tough ones!

Step 4: Gently fold in the rolled oats and raisins until they’re evenly distributed throughout the dough. The dough will be a bit sticky, but that’s exactly what you want.

Step 5: Drop 10 heaping tablespoonfuls of dough about 1 inch apart on your prepared baking sheet. You can slightly flatten them with the back of a spoon if you want, but it’s not necessary.

Step 6: Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. Don’t overbake them – they’ll continue cooking on the hot pan even after you take them out!

Step 7: Let the cookies cool on the pan for 3 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely for about 20 minutes. Repeat this whole process with the remaining dough to make your second batch.

Easy and Quick Healthy Pumpkin-Oatmeal Cookies Version

Want to make these even faster? You can skip the wire rack cooling step and just let them cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before enjoying! Also, if you don’t have oat flour, just toss ¾ cup of old-fashioned oats into a blender and pulse until it becomes flour-like. This saves you a trip to the store and works perfectly!

Serving Ideas

These cookies are amazing as an after-school snack with a cold glass of milk, or enjoy them as a healthy dessert after dinner. They’re also perfect with your morning coffee – several people have told me they love eating them for breakfast! Try them with a cup of hot apple cider or chai tea for the ultimate fall treat.

Storage

Store your cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. They’ll stay soft and chewy the whole time! If you want to keep them longer, you can freeze them for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container.

Substitutions

No almond butter? You can swap it for any nut butter you have – peanut butter or cashew butter work great! If you don’t have raisins, try dried cranberries or mini chocolate chips instead. You can also use regular all-purpose flour instead of oat flour if that’s what you have on hand.

Pro Tips

• Perfect texture: Don’t flatten the cookies too much – they’ll spread naturally and stay nice and thick
• Even baking: Make sure all your cookie scoops are about the same size so they bake evenly
• Fresh spices: Use fresh ground spices if you have them – they make a huge difference in flavor
• Room temperature ingredients: Let your egg come to room temperature for easier mixing

FAQs

Can I make these cookies vegan?

You bet! Just replace the egg with a flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons water, let sit for 5 minutes). They’ll turn out just as delicious!

Why are my cookies too dry?

This usually happens when the cookies are overbaked or if you packed the oat flour too tightly when measuring. Make sure to spoon the flour into your measuring cup lightly, and take the cookies out as soon as the edges start to brown!

Can I double this recipe?

Sure! This recipe doubles perfectly. You’ll just need to bake in more batches, but everything else stays exactly the same.

How do I know when they’re done baking?

Look for lightly golden edges – the centers might still look a tiny bit soft, but they’ll finish cooking on the hot pan. If you wait until the centers are completely set, they’ll be overbaked!

I hope you love these healthy pumpkin-oatmeal cookies as much as my family does! They’re such a wonderful way to enjoy fall flavors while still eating something nutritious. Let me know how yours turn out – I’d love to hear about any fun variations you try!