A fall dessert using a fall favorite comes to life in this cookie. I don’t often think about cooking with pumpkin, but there is a lot of goodness pumpkins can bring to the culinary table!  I was in the mood for something chocolatey and cookies are always a winner at my house, so I made a variation of a Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe I found on Taste of Home.  I made a few tweaks to the recipe, like adding salt, using old fashioned oats instead of quick-cooking, and used dark chocolate chips.

I like the old fashioned oats vs. the quick-cooking, because they retain more of their texture once the cookie is baked.

One tip when making cookies is to use a cookie scoop or a tablespoon to dole out the cookies on the baking sheet, so they are uniform.  If the cookies are all different sizes, you’ll have some that are crispy and some that might be undercooked.  It’s also easier for people who need to track their foods (like my son, who is a type 1 diabetic,) if the cookies uniform.

I also always bake my cookies on parchment.  Then, I can slide the sheet of cookies off the baking sheet and allow them to cool on a cooling rack.  removing them from the hot baking sheet is one of the keys to not over-baking cookies.

I had never made these before and they were tasty cookies!  Since the recipe made 48, I made 1/2 the cookies and rolled the rest of the dough in shrink wrap to put in the freezer to bake down the road.

This fall dessert was a winner!  They hit the cookie craving.

Here’s my variation on the recipe…

• 1 cup butter softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 cups dark chocolate chips

1. Allow butter and egg to sit at room temperature until butter is softened.  Preheat oven to 350.
2. With a mixer, cream softened butter and sugar together until creamy.  Add in egg, pumpkin, and vanilla.
3. Create a well in the center of wet ingredients and add flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  Mix until combined with wet ingredients.
4. Fold in chocolate chips.
5. Drop dough in 1 tbsp-sized cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating pan halfway through to ensure even cooking.
7. Slide parchment from cookie sheet onto a cooling rack.

Makes 4 dozen cookies.

And here are some other delicious fall dessert recipes using pumpkin from some of my blogger friends…

Pumpkin Custard Pie with Gingersnap Crust by Ella Claire | Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Bread by Nest of Posies | Pumpkin Creme Brûlée by Maison de Pax | Pumpkin Cake with Creme Cheese Frosting by Dear Lillie | Pumpkin Tomato and Bacon Soup by Craftberry Bush

Spiced Pumpkin Pancakes by Boxwood Avenue | Paleo Pumpkin Chili by Nesting with Grace | Pumpkin Ginger Molasses Cookies by anderson + grant | Pumpkin Baked Brie en Croute by French Country Cotage | Nina Hendrick Design Co.

Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies by A Burst of Beautiful | Maple Glazed Pumpkin Hand Pies by Love Grows Wild | Pumpkin Patch Muffins by House 214 | Pumpkin Maple Pancakes by Finding Home Farms | Miniature Pumpkin Tarts by Zevy Joy

Oatmeal Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies by Miss Mustard Seed | Pumpkin Toffee Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting by My Sweet Savannah | Pumpkin Pan Pie by Inspired by Charm

Yummy!

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