Soft, perfectly pumpkin spiced, and gluten-free using only oats and oat flour, these vegan pumpkin oatmeal cookies are ideal any time of day. Maple glaze optional!
2cups (180g)old-fashioned rolled oatsdivided (see below)*
1cup (260g)canned pumpkin puree
1/4cup (60 ml)olive oil
1/3cup (78 ml)pure maple syrup
1teaspoonpumpkin pie spice
1/2teaspoonbaking soda
1/2teaspoonsalt
For the maple glaze (optional):
1/2cup (56g)powdered (confectioner's) sugar
2Tablespoonspure maple syrup
Instructions
For the pumpkin oatmeal cookies:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place 1 cup (90g) of the rolled oats in a food processor or high-speed blender and blend on high speed until the oats become a flour-like consistency - you now have oat flour. Place in a large bowl.
Take the other 1 cup (90g) of rolled oats and place in the same food processor or blender, and pulse or blend on low speed until the oats are in small pieces - about 30 seconds. Do not grind them into a flour. Place in the same large bowl with the oat flour.
Add the pumpkin puree, olive oil, maple syrup, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt to the bowl and stir vigorously (I like to use a fork) until everything is well-blended.
Scoop batter using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon onto two baking sheets lined with parchment. Bake for 15 minutes, or until edges are golden and cookies are set. They will be soft!
For the maple glaze:
While cookies are baking, in a small bowl whisk together powdered sugar and maple syrup until smooth. Drizzle over cookies in whatever pattern you like!
Notes
*If you have commercial oat flour, you can use 1 cup (90g) of that in place of 1 cup (90g) of the rolled oats (skip step 1). You can also skip step 2 and just use the second cup of rolled oats as-is without chopping them, if desired. NOTE: steel-cut oats will not work in this recipe. Use the flat, old-fashioned rolled oats!
Storage: Cookies keep for 2-3 days well-wrapped at room temperature, 1 week in the fridge, or 3 months in the freezer. You can also freeze them wrapped individually in plastic wrap, and then microwave for 10-15 seconds any time the cookie craving strikes.
Spices: use all cinnamon in place of the pumpkin pie spice if you prefer, or a different blend of spices.
Add chocolate chips: you can add up to 1/2 cup (85g) of chocolate chips or chopped chocolate to the batter before scooping for pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies! Bake as directed.
Ingredient Substitutions: see "Variations and Substitutions" note in the post above, but generally, you can sub any oil in place of the olive oil, and any sweetener in place of the maple syrup.