The first cool mornings of pumpkin season always remind me to bake a batch of pumpkin breakfast cookies made with oatmeal. Pumpkin breakfast cookies are soft, chewy and made with real pumpkin, hearty oats and warm spices that make them perfect for pumpkin lovers any time of the year. They are also easy to make ahead and freeze well, so they are ready whenever you need a quick breakfast or snack.
While pumpkin gets most of the attention in the fall (as it should!), I like baking with it all year long. Canned pumpkin is easy to keep in the pantry, and it adds moisture, color and just the right amount of warm, fall flavor to baked goods. That's exactly why these pumpkin breakfast cookies stay in my breakfast recipe rotation no matter the season.
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Ingredients
- Canned pumpkin
- Pumpkin pie spice, homemade or store bought
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Almond butter
- Maple syrup
- Old fashioned oats
- Dried cherries
- Chopped dark chocolate
- Green pumpkin seeds or pepitas
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
- Gluten free - this recipe is naturally gluten free, so no substitutions are needed.
- Vegan - to make this recipe vegan, use vegan chocolate.
- Pumpkin pie spice - if you don't have pumpkin pie spice on hand, you could make your own. But if you want a super quick substitution, you could also just use cinnamon.
- Dried cherries - I love using dried cherries as they are tart like cranberries but tend to have a lot less added sugar. But if you prefer dried cranberries or have them on hand, they are a good substitution. You can also substitute a different dried fruit.
- Maple syrup - you can substitute another liquid sweetener like honey or agave syrup in place of the maple syrup.
- Almond butter - you can substitute peanut butter or another favorite nut or seed butter.
- Chocolate chunks - I love the flavor of dark chopped chocolate but you can substitute semi-sweet or other chips if you like those better. Chocolate chips are the easier route as there is no chopping, and you may already have those on hand.
Equipment
No special equipment is needed to make these pumpkin breakfast cookies with oatmeal.
Storage
Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature or up to 7 days in the refrigerator. You can also freeze these breakfast cookies. Allow frozen cookies to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before eating.
Next Level Tips
- If you are looking for a pumpkin free breakfast cookie, check out my oatmeal breakfast cookie recipe. Protein powder bites and peanut butter oatmeal balls also make tasty make ahead breakfast options that are no bake and perfect for summer.
- I've seen lots of breakfast cookie recipes with loads of added white sugar. To me, that's a regular cookie, not a breakfast cookie. There's really no need for lots of sugar in breakfast cookies. We use a little liquid sweetener just to sweeten them up a bit and then the liquid sweetener also acts as a glue to hold the cookies together.
- Love pumpkin? Yes me too! Try my pumpkin bread with streusel topping, gluten free pumpkin cake or my pumpkin pecan cheesecake to name a few!
FAQ
Breakfast cookies are usually made with more wholesome, filling ingredients than traditional cookies. Yes, breakfast cookies can replace regular cookies, but they are also considered healthy snacks. Regular cookies are often designed as a sweet dessert, whereas breakfast cookies typically include oats, seeds, nut butter and dried fruit. Breakfast cookies are also lower in sugar and are intended to be a convenient but healthy grab and go breakfast or snack.
Yes, but making fresh pumpkin puree is a process. Alton Brown from The Food Network has a good recipe for how to make pumpkin puree. It adds a straining step that is important but not listed on many pumpkin puree recipes. We're looking for fresh pumpkin puree that is the same consistency as canned pumpkin.
Yes, you can leave out the chocolate, seeds or dried fruit. Just add an equivalent amount of the chocolate, seeds or dried fruit that you are using. You can also add in nuts instead.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pumpkin Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice homemade or store bought
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 cup almond butter
- 1 ½ cups old fashioned oats
- ½ cup dried cherries
- ½ cup green pumpkin seeds or pepitas
- ½ cup chopped dark chocolate (or chips)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 ℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the canned pumpkin, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice and salt.
- Add the maple syrup and almond butter and stir until well combined.
- Add the oats, green pumpkin seeds, dried cherries and dark chocolate chunks. Mix just until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Scoop the dough into ¼ cup portions onto the prepared baking sheet. Gently flatten each mound with the bottom of a measuring cup or spoon. Bake for 14 to 15 minutes, or until the cookies are set. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
- Makes 15 to 16 cookies. Enjoy!
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