The Beginning: Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Recipe: http://www.chow.com/recipes/30456-spiced-pumpkin-oatmeal-cookies

Spiced Pumpkin-Oatmeal Cookies

by CHOW Test Kitchen

• Difficulty: Easy |
• Total Time: 1 hr 50 mins |
• Makes: 32 cookies

Pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie may be the most obvious ways to enjoy pumpkin, but the warm spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger found in both translate into a delicious cookie, too. The dough here is made with pumpkin purée, oats, and spices, baked until soft and chewy, and finished with a drizzle of maple syrup glaze. Enjoy these treats as the autumn weather arrives, as well as through the holidays.

Game plan: These cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

This recipe was featured as part of our pumpkin sweets photo gallery.

Watch the CHOW Test Kitchen’s Christine Gallary make these easy pumpkin cookies in an episode of our Easiest Way video series.

Ingredients

For the cookies:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/3 cups rolled oats (not instant)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin purée (not pie filling; about 1 3/4 cups)

For the glaze:

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon milk (not nonfat), plus more as needed
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

Instructions

For the cookies:

1. Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange the racks to divide the oven into thirds. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
2. Whisk the flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and nutmeg in a medium bowl to aerate and break up any lumps; set aside.
3. Place the butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until lightened in color and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the paddle and the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
4. Add the egg and vanilla, return the mixer to medium speed, and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Stop the mixer and scrape down the paddle and the sides of the bowl.
5. With the mixer on low speed, add half of the reserved flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Add half of the pumpkin and mix until just incorporated. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and pumpkin.
6. Drop 8 dough rounds per baking sheet by the scant 1/4 cup, staggering them 2 inches apart on the prepared sheets. Place the remaining dough in the refrigerator.
7. Place both sheets in the oven and bake for 12 minutes. Rotate the pans from top to bottom and front to back and continue baking until the cookies are golden brown on the bottom and around the edges, about 12 minutes more.
8. Place the baking sheets on wire racks and let the cookies cool on the sheets for 3 minutes. Using a flat spatula, transfer the cookies to the wire racks to cool completely. Let the baking sheets cool to room temperature and then repeat with the remaining dough (you can use the same parchment paper). When all of the cookies are baked, set the pieces of parchment paper aside.

For the glaze:

1. Place all of the ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until evenly combined. (You may need to add more milk by the 1/2 teaspoon if the glaze is too thick to drizzle.)
2. Place all of the cooled cookies on the reserved parchment sheets. Dip a fork into the glaze and drizzle it over the cookies in a zigzag pattern. Let the cookies sit at room temperature until the glaze has set, about 20 minutes.

MY NOTES:

1. Did not make the glaze. Used this recipe to make pumpkin sandwich cookies to use up leftover cream cheese frosting that I had from a carrot cake I made for the DH's birthday. 

2. Used Libby's Pumpkin instead of the usual TJ's brand, and I have to say that it was a lot smoother instead of solid packed like the Trader Joe's one. 

3. Dough was very sticky. I flattened them a bit after I dropped them onto the parchment paper, and they did spread some, but not a lot. They were more cookie like than most pumpkin cookies I've made, which tend be pretty poofy and cake-like. 

Here's the picture: