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Brown Butter Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

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4 from 13 reviews

These soft and chewy brown butter pumpkin oatmeal cookies offer a perfect blend of warm spices, rich browned butter, and hearty oats for a flavorful fall treat. Enhanced with a luscious brown butter glaze and subtle pumpkin spice, this recipe delivers delightful texture and comfort in every bite, making it a favorite seasonal cookie.

Ingredients

For the Cookies

  • 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

For the Brown Butter Glaze

  • 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
  • 1 and 1/2 cup (180g) confectioners’ sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons (45ml) milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • Optional: sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice for garnish

Instructions

  1. Blot the pumpkin: Line a medium bowl with double layers of paper towels and add the pumpkin puree. Press down with another paper towel to remove excess moisture, repeating as necessary until you have about 1 cup (225g) of pumpkin. Set aside.
  2. Brown the butter: In a light-colored skillet over medium heat, melt all 20 pieces of butter (16 for cookies, 4 for glaze), stirring constantly. Watch for foaming and then lightly browned specks and nutty aroma after 5–8 minutes. Remove from heat immediately and transfer to a heat-safe bowl or measuring cup, scraping all browned bits. Separate 1 cup (226g/240ml) for the cookie dough and reserve the rest for the glaze. Let cool slightly.
  3. Preheat oven and prepare baking sheets: Set oven to 350°F (177°C) and line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
  4. Mix dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together oats, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.
  5. Mix wet ingredients: In another large bowl, whisk the reserved 1 cup brown butter with both sugars until combined. Add egg yolk and vanilla extract; whisk until smooth. Then stir in the blotted pumpkin puree.
  6. Combine wet and dry: Gradually fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined. The dough will be soft and sticky.
  7. Shape cookies: Using about 2 tablespoons (45g) dough each, scoop and place cookies 3 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
  8. Bake cookies: Bake 14–15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and set. Let cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
  9. Make glaze: Stir reserved brown butter for glaze; if thickened, warm slightly. Whisk in confectioners’ sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Lightly dip cookie tops in glaze, sprinkle pumpkin pie spice if desired, and return to cooling rack until glaze sets.
  10. Store: Keep cookies covered at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerate up to 1 week.

Notes

  • Make Ahead & Freezing: Dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days before baking. Baked or unbaked cookies freeze well up to 3 months. Bake frozen dough balls an extra minute without thawing.
  • Special Tools: Use a light-colored or stainless steel skillet for better butter browning, parchment or silicone mats for baking, and a cookie scoop for uniform size.
  • Pumpkin Pie Spice: Available store-bought or homemade with ground ginger, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and extra cinnamon. Don’t omit cinnamon from the dry mix.
  • Pumpkin Purée: Use pure pumpkin, not pie filling, and blot excess moisture to avoid cakey texture.
  • Variations: Add chocolate chips, nuts, dried cranberries, or butterscotch morsels to dough instead of or along with glaze.