These soft and chewy brown butter pumpkin oatmeal cookies are the perfect choice if you’re looking for a fun, flavorful, and satisfying fall cookie recipe. To simplify the entire process, brown the butter for both the cookies and the icing at the same time. This recipe has a HUGE fanbase!
I originally published this recipe in 2016 and have since added some new photos, a video tutorial, and more helpful success tips. You’ll also find this recipe in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
There is no question that fall is the best baking season. We’re talking homemade pies, warm and cozy spices, comforting desserts, and of course, a few pumpkin treats. Pumpkin pie is always top of the list, but I usually like to kick off the fall baking season with cookies—I’ve done maple brown sugar cookies, apple cinnamon oatmeal cookies, pumpkin snickerdoodles, apple spice whoopie pies, pumpkin crumb cake cookies, and the constant favorite… brown butter pumpkin oatmeal cookies. You’ll love the double dose of brown butter… in the cookies and the icing.
One reader, Brittany, commented: “The absolute best cookie recipe ever. I’ve made this recipe twice and both times people have obsessed over them. It’s child and husband approved. I leave a few without the glaze for those who don’t like sweets and even they still taste fabulous. It makes a lot of cookies, so I always share with family and coworkers. Everyone raves about them! ★★★★★“
These are by far one of the best cookie recipes to come out of my kitchen. Let’s get started!
Tell Me About These Brown Butter Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
- Texture: We love the soft, yet dense centers and chewy crisp edges. You’ll appreciate that this is a CHEWY pumpkin cookie as opposed to a cake-like pumpkin cookie. If you love the texture of these, you’ll also love these pumpkin oatmeal cream pies. Or if you’re looking for a cakey pumpkin cookie, try these soft pumpkin cookies.
- Flavor: Brown butter is a massively underused ingredient. Browning butter takes about 5–10 minutes and the result promises extra flavor. And not just regular flavor—a deep toffee-like, toasty, nutty flavor that pairs wonderfully with pumpkin and fall spices.
- Ease: This simple recipe makes fall baking quick and easy. (With big flavorful results!) Browning the butter takes a little extra time, but there’s no dough chilling or mixer required. Here are more cookie recipes that don’t require chilling; shortbread cookies are another quick favorite.
I include directions for browning the butter below, but feel free to review my How to Brown Butter page, which includes a helpful video. You can also go ahead and prepare a batch of homemade pumpkin pie spice, because you WILL be making these on repeat.
The Secrets to Chewy Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
Pumpkin is a really moist ingredient, which makes it useful in cakes, pumpkin muffins, and quick breads. But it poses a texture problem when we’re trying to make dense and chewy oatmeal cookies.
Here’s what I’ve learned:
Blot the pumpkin. More moisture = cakier cookies. To prevent overly cakey cookies, blot some of the moisture out of the pumpkin. I know it sounds odd, but gently soaking liquid out of the pumpkin puree with paper towels is a trick that works. Take a look at the difference below.
- Left: Blotted the pumpkin—the cookie is denser and chewier.
- Right: Did not blot the pumpkin—the cookie is cakey.
Use only an egg yolk. Pumpkin acts like an egg in cookie dough and this is something I learned when testing pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Testing today’s pumpkin oatmeal cookies, however, proved that an egg—or at least part of an egg—is necessary. The cookies were a little dry and crumbly without it because of the oats in the dough. Use just 1 large egg yolk in the dough because that little extra bit of fat makes a difference.
Use a cookie scoop. I like to use a medium cookie scoop for this cookie dough. Why? This is a sticky dough, and a cookie scoop makes things a little more manageable. Once you scoop the dough, slightly flatten the tops of the dough mounds. The cookies don’t expand much but flattening them first encourages spreading, which helps seal in that chewy texture. Just like this:
Overview: How to Make Brown Butter Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
The full printable recipe is below, but let’s walk through it so you understand each step before getting started.
- Brown the butter. You’ll use browned butter in both the cookie dough AND the icing, so it’s helpful to brown the butter all at once. When you’re finished browning the butter, set aside 2 ounces for the glaze topping. Use the rest in the cookie dough.
- Whisk dry ingredients together. This includes whole oats, all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.
- Whisk the brown butter you need for the dough with granulated sugar and brown sugar. Then whisk in the egg yolk + vanilla extract.
- Blot the pumpkin, then whisk it into the wet ingredients. (By the way, here’s a list of recipes to make with leftover pumpkin puree!)
- Mix dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Combine to form a thick and sticky dough.
- Scoop & flatten. As noted above, scoop cookie dough onto baking sheets using a medium cookie scoop. Slightly flatten each cookie dough ball before baking.
- Bake until cookies are lightly browned and set on the edges.
- For the icing, whisk the reserved brown butter and the remaining icing ingredients together until smooth. Dip the top of each cookie into the icing.
Because it’s made with butter, which is solid at room temperature, the icing eventually sets, making the cookies a little easier to stack, store, and transport. This brown butter icing is also delicious on peach Bundt cake, apple blondies, pecan sugar cookies, and pistachio cookies. Or try it on pumpkin scones or apple cinnamon scones!
I love seeing all of your photos of these popular cookies. Thank you for sharing!
Brown Butter Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
- Yield: 24 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These soft and chewy brown butter pumpkin oatmeal cookies are the perfect choice if you’re looking for a fun, flavorful, and satisfying fall cookie recipe. To simplify the entire process, brown the butter for both the cookies and the icing at the same time. This recipe is also in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/4 cups (285g) canned pumpkin puree*
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces
- 2 cups (170g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats
- 1 and 2/3 cups (208g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons store-bought or homemade pumpkin pie spice*
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup (133g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Brown Butter Glaze
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
- 1 and 1/2 cups (180g) confectioners’ sugar
- 3 Tablespoons (45ml) milk
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- optional for garnish: sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Blot the pumpkin: Line a medium bowl with a double layer of paper towels. Place the pumpkin puree in the bowl. Using another paper towel, press down to blot excess moisture from the pumpkin. You may need to repeat a couple of times with new paper towels. After blotting, you will have about 1 cup (225g) of pumpkin. Set aside.
- Brown the butter: Brown the 16 Tablespoons of butter for the cookies together with the 4 Tablespoons for the glaze. Place all 20 pieces of butter in a light-colored skillet over medium heat. (Light-colored helps you determine when the butter begins browning.) Stir or whisk the butter constantly as it melts. Once melted, the butter will begin to foam. Keep stirring. After 5–8 minutes, the butter will begin browning—you’ll notice lightly browned specks begin to form at the bottom of the pan and it will have a nutty aroma. As soon as the butter has browned, immediately remove from heat and pour it into a large heat-safe glass bowl or liquid measuring cup. Scrape up the browned solids at the bottom of the skillet and add them as well. Divide and set aside 2 Tbsp (28g) of the brown butter to use for the glaze in step 8. The rest of the brown butter will go in the cookie dough in step 5. Allow to slightly cool while you continue.
- Make the cookies: Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.
- In another large bowl, whisk the brown butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until combined. Whisk in the egg yolk and vanilla extract until combined, then whisk in the blotted pumpkin. Slowly stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined. The cookie dough will be soft and sticky.
- Scoop the cookie dough, about 2 Tablespoons (45g) of dough each, and arrange them 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 14–15 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are lightly browned and set. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Make the glaze: Give the brown butter you reserved for the glaze a quick stir. If it’s no longer thin and liquid, warm it on the stove or in the microwave. Whisk in the confectioners’ sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth. Lightly dip the top of each cookie into the glaze. Sprinkle a pinch of pumpkin pie spice on top of each glazed cookie, if desired. Return the cookies to the cooling rack and let sit until the glaze has set. Store covered tightly at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Iced cookies stay fresh covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Allow to come to room temperature then continue with step 6. Baked and frosted or unfrosted cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Here are my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Mixing Bowls | Light-Colored Skillet or Stainless Steel Skillet (for browning butter) | Stand Mixer | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mat | Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: You can find pumpkin pie spice in the baking aisle of most grocery stores or make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice. If you don’t have either and want to use individual spices, use 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, and an extra 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Do not leave out the 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon that is also called for in this recipe.
- Pumpkin: Make sure to use the can labeled “pure pumpkin puree,” not “pumpkin pie filling.” Blot as much of the moisture out of the pumpkin puree as you can before using it in the cookie dough. I simply squeeze the puree with paper towels and repeat with new paper towels until I can’t get any more moisture out. See photo in the post for a visual. This will help produce a less cakey cookie. Less moisture is a good thing in these cookies!
- Chocolate Chips: Instead of icing (or in addition to!), you can add 1 heaping cup of chocolate chips to the cookie dough. Or 1 cup of chopped nuts, dried cranberries, raisins, white chocolate chips, butterscotch morsels, etc.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Can cream cheese can be added to the cookie recipe? How would I go about it?
Hi Mia, these cookies are already very soft, so it would take some recipe testing to figure out how best to incorporate cream cheese into the cookies with good results. However, you could top them with the maple cream cheese icing from our soft pumpkin cookies instead!
Hi! I’ve made so many of your recipes, & all have been delicious & a huge hit with my family (especially my grandchildren). I was wondering if putting the pumpkin in the fridge, in a strainer lined with cheesecloth (covered of course) overnight, or longer, would remove too much liquid?
Hi Michelle! We haven’t tested that so can’t say for sure, but I do fear that that method may rid the pumpkin of too much moisture. The blotting method detailed above is what has worked best for us. Let us know if you give it a try!
I made these for my coworkers and they all loved them. When I tasted them right after baking, I was a little hesitant to bring them to work. But these cookies are amazing the next day! The flavors really melded together and tasted like fall. Perfect for the first day of fall!
This is the second recipe I’ve tried from this website and both were spot on delicious! Measurements were perfect and the flavors yummy. I love to bake and enjoy trying new recipes but hate when they don’t turn out—so disappointing and an expensive mistake—not with Sally’s! These will be going with me to our family reunion.
Thank you so much for your positive feedback, Cate! We’re so happy to hear that you’re enjoying our recipes. Happy baking!
I’m curious: why doesn’t this recipe call for the whole egg, just the yolk? An egg is very important as a baking ingredient and I hesitate making these with only “1/2” of the egg. Just wanted to know why this recipe specifically only uses the yolk?
thanks!
Hi Diana, pumpkin also acts like an egg in cookie dough. In some pumpkin recipes, this means we don’t need an egg at all (like in our pumpkin chocolate chip cookies). Testing today’s pumpkin oatmeal cookies, however, proved that an egg – or at least part of an egg– is necessary. The cookies were a little dry and crumbly without it because of the oats in the dough. Use just 1 large egg yolk in the dough because that little extra bit of fat makes a difference. Hope you enjoy the cookies!
One of the best cookies I have made in a long time. I couldn’t stop eating them.
Fantastic! One of the best cookies I have ever had. Everyone loves them and I have already shared the recipe several times. This certainly looks like the ones Jennifer Garner just made on her “pretend cooking show” which is why I tried them. Baked up just as described. Will incorporate these tips in other recipes. Great work!
These were delicious! My family and I blew through the entire batch in about 24 hours. I could not stop eating them! Can’t wait to make them again.
I made these yesterday. They were so good. Past tense because they are already gone! I can’t wait to make them again. The flavor is delicious.
Fantastic, a new family favorite! Mine turned out exactly as pictured. Thanks for the weight measurements, so helpful!!
Just a comment/question on the cookies not spreading… mine did ALOT!
why would this be?
I ended up with giant cookies bahahaha
These are so good as promised! Received rave reviews from everyone who has tried them. Can’t wait to bake another batch soon.
For someone with an egg allergy, Can you leave out the egg yolk?
Thanks!!
Hi Samantha, we haven’t tested this recipe with any egg substitutes, but let us know if you give anything a try. Or you might enjoy our Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies instead, which don’t require any eggs.
Hi Samantha! I found this post from Erin from 9/18/21:
Best fall cookie! Absolutely delish 10/10. Made them egg free by leaving them out and skipping the blotting of the pumpkin purée part. Turned out perfect.
★★★★★
Hopefully this helps! Good luck & happy baking!!
These cookies are outstanding! I’ve made them with AP flour and then just this morning made them using King Arthur measure for measure gluten free flour and they’re still outstanding! The browned butter is a game changer. Thanks for another fantastic cookie recipe to add to my favorites!
Best fall cookie! Absolutely delish 10/10. Made them egg free by leaving them out and skipping the blotting of the pumpkin purée part. Turned out perfect.
Made these today. Came out great, despite my accidental use of the egg white instead of the yolk. The icing is delicious, but I’m looking forward to the next time I make them correctly with egg yolk and will try one of the variations, without the icing, as it is very sweet!
Delicious! The icing is a must. They taste like Fall – pumpkin and spice!
I only have quick oatmeal, not old fashioned. Will the amount need to be changed or any other changes to accommodate the quick oats?
Hi Kate, those will work in a pinch. No other changes to the recipe necessary.
Just made these today .. along with your vanilla cupcakes (a fav!)
These cookies scream fall and are so yummy! I’m so glad I tried them. I hesitated because of the browned butter but you made it so easy to follow. I just drizzled the icing over them though. Thinking of trying with white chocolate chips next time.
Thx for your recipes Sally! You’ve helped me to love baking/cooking.
Delicious!! Has anyone used these for Whoopie pies??
I would love to make this, however I need a dairy free adaptation. Any recommendations on substitutes for the butter? Usually we do 1:1 sub with Vegan Buttery sticks (margarine), however I’m wondering about the browning step. Thanks in advance for your advice!
Hi Jamie, I’m really unsure about that. My team and I have only tested this recipe using butter. I’ve only worked with vegan butter substitute a handful of times, so I’m not equipped to give the best advice on that swap for this recipe. Perhaps try melted coconut oil instead? Skip the browning step.
Do you have a recommendation on an eggless version of the browned butter pumpkin cookies?
Hi Iris, we haven’t tried any egg substitutes in this recipe. If you do, let us know how it goes! Or you might enjoy our Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, which do not include an egg.
Saw Jennifer Garner and her mom make these cookies and I cannot wait to make them with my granddaughter!
Has anyone tried icing these with the maple cream cheese icing from the soft pumpkin cookie recipe?
Yes! One of my favorites. In case anyone wants to try, here is the soft pumpkin cookies recipe where you can find that frosting.
Is the glaze considered shelf stable? Do you need to refrigerate or can the cookies stay at room temp after glazing? These look amazing!
Hi Amy, we recommend storing the iced cookies in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Hope you’ll give them a try!
These look so good. Bc I love bourbon and brown butter, I was thinking about adding some bourbon to the flavor profile (not that it’s needed I just love baking with bourbon). Any suggestions on where I should add it?
Hi Amy, we haven’t tried it ourselves, but you could add it in step five when mixing all the other wet ingredients. Start off small, so that you’re not adding too much additional liquid to the dough, and then adjust for future batches. Let us know how it goes!
You are amazing. I was dreaming of browned butter and pumpkin because I miss the fall. Thank you!
Have you tried substituting canola oil for half of the butter? Do you think it would work?
Hi Judy! We suggest sticking with the brown butter in this recipe. Oil tends to make cookies much too greasy and lacking flavor.
Hello! Made these and they were so delicious! I loved the taste. Have gotten family asking to make them again but with no pumpkin. Do you have any suggestions for this or another recipe close to this but without the pumpkin? Thank you!
Hi Patrica, We’d recommend the Dark Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies. Just let the browned butter cool and solidify first. You can also omit the chocolate chips if you prefer. Let us know if you give it a try!
So so so good, yummy and unique…. Everyone I have given them to just loves them.