Celebrating Fall With Pumpkin-Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF FALL! I don’t know about you, but I personally wait for this season all year long – the crispness in the air, the breeze, the leaves, the apples and pumpkins, the excess of pumpkin flavored products and ability to wear scarves…I love it ALL (what can I say, I’m a bit of a “basic white girl” – and while I don’t love the term, I have to admit it’s shockingly accurate sometimes…)

…Not gonna lie, this would TOTALLY work on me.

But ok – seriously – now that it’s FALL and all things apple/pumpkin/autumn can OFFICIALLY commence, I thought the best thing to do would be to kick things off with a twist on a favorite cookie – Oatmeal Chocolate Chip – with PUMPKIN!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies are so great – it’s like the Chocolate Chip Cookie’s crunchier cousin (and slightly healthier cuz it has oats in it? maybe?) – and they are my husband’s favorite of all time – and so when I came across this fall-infused variation, I knew they would be the perfect way to kick off Autumn

Pumpkin-Oat Chocolate Chip Cookie
(Recipe Courtesy of Cooking Classy)

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups quick oats
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 cup unsalted butter , softened
1 1/3 cups packed light-brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin puree
1 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Instructions
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, oats, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger for 30 seconds, set aside
-In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until creamy (occasionally stop and scrape down sides and bottom of bowl throughout entire mixing process). Blend in egg then blend in vanilla extract and pumpkin puree
-With mixer set on low speed, slowly add in dry ingredients and mix until combined. Mix in chocolate chips and pecans (if you want some chocolate to show through set some aside to press into tops before baking)

The Beauty that is raw cookie dough – just slightly more orange tinted thanks to the canned pumpkin

-Let batter rest 5 – 10 minutes (this just gives the oats some time to absorb the liquids so batter isn’t so sticky and cookies don’t spread so much)
-Scoop dough out 2 Tbsp at a time (I used a 1 1/2-inch cookie scoop, which I recommend using for evenly shaped cookies and fill it heaping), and drop onto Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheets, spacing cookies 2-inches apart
-Bake in preheated oven 12 – 14 minutes. Allow to cool on baking sheet several minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container

 

Cookies – pre and post oven

Couple of things that are great about these cookies – they stay super moist thanks to the pumpkin, and the combo of pumpkin and chocolate is pretty great. Also, even if you’re not a huge pumpkin fan, you’ll still like these – the pumpkin isn’t overpowering, and the cinnamon/nutmeg/ginger just lends a nice spice to them

Best of all – they are easy to make. Cookies generally are, and these are no exception (ease of creation is probably one of the reasons why I love baking cookies so much!)

(No – I don’t say Y’all – I am not Southern, not even a little – but I just love the saying “Happy Fall Y’all – so – whatever. It’s happening)

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Chewy Oatmeal M&M Cookies For The Win

I came across these beauties on Pinterest – and I knew immediately that I NEEDED them in my life – as I love oats, and I much prefer a chewy/gooey cookie to the crispy variety. Oh, and M&M’s rule – so there’s that too. So it was for sure a win on paper, and I wasted no time in figuring out if it was going to be a win in my mouth, too:

Chewy Oatmeal M&M Cookies (Recipe Courtesy of Sally’s Baking Addiction)

Ingredients:
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
¾ cup brown sugar
¼ cup white sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla
1 2/3 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup flour
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 cup mini M & M’s (regular size may be substituted)

Ingredients? Check! Oh, and I am making a double batch, because, well – why not?

Directions:

Cream Together the softened bugger and both sugars until smooth using a hand or stand mixer. Add egg and vanilla and mix on high until combined, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides/bottom of bowl as needed

In a separate bowl, mix together the oats, flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Add this to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Fold in the M&M’s (the dough will be very thick at this point). Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator

Ok – the dough is pretty and all – but let’s get down to business

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper

Roll out balls of dough (about 1 Tablespoon per cookie) and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 10-11 minutes until very lightly browned on the sides (the centers will still look soft). Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack

Cover and store the cookies at room temperature for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months

Aren’t they pretty? And they taste great too – the texture of the oats and mini M&M’s is perfect – and my family loved them too, which means I will definitely be making them again! They were great warm out of the oven, and they defrosted well from the freezer too, which makes it a great recipe to double (or triple!) and freeze some away for a rainy day…or a cookie emergency (you’d be surprised how often those occur, at least in my house anyway!)

Give Some Love This Valentine’s Day With These Chocolate Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Valentine’s Day is only 12 days away (not that I’m counting…)! I know it’s not exactly everyone’s favorite holiday – but I personally love it – cards, flowers, candy, chocolate – what’s not to love, right? OK – maybe you need some convincing – and I have just the thing. COOKIES! That’s right, cookies – who doesn’t love them? They come in about a million varieties, are easy to make, and are the perfect gift to give to your loved ones, because not only do they show you care enough to bake for them, but they taste delicious too!

These chocolate chocolate chip oatmeal cookies have it all – oats (one of my favorite things), a chocolate cookie, and plenty of chocolate chips

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies (Recipe Courtesy of Something Swanky)

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

The various stages of dough-ness

Instructions
In a stand mixer, beat together the butter and the shortening. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar, beat until creamy.
Add the eggs, one at a time and mixing in between each addition.
Add the sea salt and the vanilla. Mix well.
Mix in the cocoa powder, flour, oats, and baking soda until dough forms, but don’t over mix.
Add the chocolate chips and mix.
Scoop onto a parchment or silicon lined baking sheet by rounded tablespoons. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-14 minutes, until edges are set and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Look at that huge pile of dough – isn’t it amazing? I gave them the full 14 minutes in the oven and they came out perfectly. I also used my handy scoop so that the cookies were all the same size.

Nothing better than a huge tower of fresh cookies…

They were Andrew approved, and I have to say I really enjoyed them as well – chewy on the edges and the middles were nice and soft. There were plenty of chocolate chips in the cookies, and the oats added a really nice texture to them too. I would definitely make these again – they were easy, quick, and delicious

This Valentine’s Day skip the generic heart shaped box of chocolates and bake some chocolate chocolate chip oatmeal cookies for your sweetie – they will be so ecstatic that they might just share them with you (or you can always hoard a few aside for yourself before you wrap them up…just sayin’…)

 

For The Love Of OATS

I eat plain oatmeal for breakfast pretty much every day – and people always ask me “don’t you get tired of it?” and I really don’t – it is nice and warm, and filling, and can be changed to suit your mood with different toppings and mix ins (craisins, maple syrup, apples, applesauce, pumpkin puree, cinnamon – to name just a few of my faves!). Oats are great – they are good for you, and they can be used in lots of different ways

I like to use this breakfast food when I bake, and there are TONS of amazing recipes out there, so to help you narrow down what you can use delicious, heart healthy oats for, here are my faves:

My Top 3 Oat Recipes

 

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies – These are my husband’s favorite, and what’s funny about that is that he HATES oatmeal raisin cookies, and will only eat an oatmeal cookie if he is sure there are chocolate chips in them! I like them because you can pretend you are being healthy by eating a chocolate chip cookie with oats in it

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose or unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 oz)
1 cup chopped nuts, if desired

Directions
1 Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir brown sugar and butter until blended. Stir in vanilla and egg until light and fluffy. Stir in oats, flour, baking soda and salt; stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
2 2 Onto ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart.
3 3 Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Apple Crisp – This is a fall favorite, I like to eat it warm, with or without ice cream, and sometimes with a drizzle of caramel on it too if I’m feeling naughty!

INGREDIENTS:

10 cups all-purpose apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup quick-cooking oats

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degree C).
2. Place the sliced apples in a 9×13 inch pan. Mix the white sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and ground cinnamon together, and sprinkle over apples. Pour water evenly over all.
3. Combine the oats, 1 cup flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter together. Crumble evenly over the apple mixture.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 45 minutes

Oatmeal White Chocolate Craisin Cookies – I made a ton of these two years ago for Christmas – and they were a hit! Packed full of fruit, chocolate, and oats to give them a great texture – these are a winner for sure

Ingredients:
2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 5-ounce package Ocean Spray® Craisins® Original Dried Cranberries
2/3 cup white chocolate chunks or chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter or margarine and sugar together in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well. Combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt in a separate mixing bowl. Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition. Stir in dried cranberries and white chocolate chunks.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

Makes approximately 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

 

If you aren’t sure about oatmeal, or oats in general, then I suggest you try one of the above recipes to ease yourself into it, and hopefully you will discover just how delicious and versatile oats really are!