Why choose between brown butter, pumpkin, and butterscotch when you can have all three flavors? These brown butter pumpkin butterscotch oatmeal cookies are not just a mouthful to say out loud; they are actually soft and chewy melt in your mouth flavor bomb cookies!
Warm nutty flavor notes from the browned butter, complimented perfectly by the pumpkin flavor, and a finish of sweet butterscotch - I cannot even explain how good these are. Soft and chewy oatmeal cookies with a twist! I am now making these on rotation because even my pickiest toddler absolutely loves these cookies!
As soon as fall creeped around the corner this year, I immediately had to start baking with pumpkin. September hits and I just want to brown all the butter and put pumpkin in everything! If you'd like to learn how to make pumpkin puree at home, check this article out: How to Make Homemade Pumpkin Puree.
These brown butter pumpkin butterscotch oatmeal cookies were inspired by my love for fall dessert recipes and all the flavor combinations and warm spices that come with fall baking.
Cookies are one of my favorite things to bake. I knew a spiced cookie was going to be first on my list, but not just any spiced cookie - spiced pumpkin cookies. I also loved the idea of oatmeal and then knew I needed to add butterscotch to play on a unique version of an oatmeal scotchies.
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A soft and chewy fall cookie recipe that is packed with alllllll the things including fall spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, pumpkin, butterscotch, and oatmeal. These truly are a uniquely flavored cookie full of amazing texture. They're soft, chewy, sweet, and flavorful.
Ingredients Needed for Brown Butter Pumpkin Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies
- All Purpose Flour: Be sure to measure the flour accurately. The best most accurate way to get consistent results when measuring flour is by using a scale. I like to use this digital scale. If you only have measuring cups, be sure to spoon and level off the flour. So you'll mix the flour gently to aerate it, then lightly scoop the flour into the measuring cup and level it off.
- Old Fashioned Oats: Must be old fashioned rolled oats and not quick oats. The texture will be completely different if you do not use old fashioned oats.
- Baking Soda: Used as a leavener to help give the cookies rise.
- Brown Butter: See details below for how to make brown butter.
- Pumpkin Puree: Not pumpkin pie filling. Be sure to get plain pumpkin puree. You'll need to strain the pumpkin puree before using it in these cookies.
- Egg: Be sure to use a large egg.
- Sugar: Use pure cane sugar for best results.
- Brown Sugar: Light or dark brown sugar will work.
- Spices: Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Salt
- Vanilla Extract
What is brown butter and how do I make it?
So glad you asked. Brown butter is literally just that - browned butter. It is one of those flavors that you have to experience and once you just can't go back. It is SO easy to make and brown butter adds so much flavor into any baked dessert. I especially love brown butter in cookies because the warm nutty flavor notes are extra noticeable. Brown butter is perfect to use in fall desserts.
To make brown butter, all you need to do is toast butter on the stove until it's a light medium brown. I like to use unsalted for this. This process creates a warm nutty flavor and makes your house smell absolutely amazing. Be sure to not walk away from the stove and avoid turning up the heat because once the butter starts to toast, you can go from perfect golden brown to burnt milk solids real quick!
Be sure to remove the butter from the pan and place into a heatproof container to stop the butter from continuing to cook.
Scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. This is all flavor! I use a flexible silicone spatula that really scapes every little bit of brown butter out of the pot. Brown butter liquid gold is not something you want to leave behind!
You'll see it better if you use a light bottom pan, but I tried to capture what I'm referring to in this picture below:
How to Make Brown Butter Pumpkin Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies
After browning the butter, which is perhaps the most important step in terms of flavor - these cookies are simple to make and come together quickly.
- Step 1: After making the brown butter (see steps above for reference), let it cool at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before using. You'll have a little over half of a cup. It will still be liquid when you use it, but it won't be as hot so it will mix better with the other ingredients. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees farhenheit. Line 2 large baking sheeets with parchment paper.
- Step 2: Add in all of the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix until combined. This includes the flour, old fashioned oats, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
In a separate mixing bowl, add in brown butter, sugar, brown sugar, and whisk until thoroughly combined. Then whisk in the strained â…” cup pumpkin (see instructions), egg, and vanilla extract.
- Step 3: Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until combined.
- Step 4: Add in butterscotch chips and fold in until combined.
5. Step 5: Scoop cookies with a cookie scoop or spoon at least 2" apart and bake for 14 minutes. Rest on the pan for a few minutes then transfer the baked cookies to a cooling rack to finish cooling. Rest on the pan for a few minutes then transfer the baked cookies to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Enjoy your finished brown butter pumpkin butterscotch oatmeal cookies!
Top Tip
Don't walk away from the stove when you are browning butter! Butter cooks down quickly and switches from the most perfectly toasted golden brown butter solids to burnt little butter bits very quickly! Keep an eye on it, stir, and resist the urge to increase the heat.
Using a lighter colored pan such as a stainless steel one can help with keeping an eye on the color of the butter. Keep in mind that the butter will continue to cook in the hot pot even when removed from the heat. Avoid overcooking by transferring the brown butter to a heat proof bowl to cool for a half hour before using in this recipe.
FAQs
Can I reduce the sugar in these cookies?
Yes! But only by a little bit. I highly recommend following the recipe exactly as this is already a pretty unique cookie. I tested these cookies with ⅓ cup brown sugar instead of ½ cup and they still turned out great. My son loves these cookies, so I wanted to test minimizing the sugar. The cookies will still be delicious but will be a little less chewy and more fluffy/soft if that makes sense.
How much water should I strain out of the pumpkin puree?
Pumpkin puree contains around 90% water depending on the brand. I tested this recipe with two different brands: Libby's and Kroger brand. When testing this recipe with Libby's pumpkin puree, I needed 1 cup of the pumpkin puree. It strained out to be exactly ⅔ cup, as needed for this pumpkin cookie recipe. When using Kroger brand pumpkin puree, I need 1 ¼ cups puree to equate to ⅔ cup pumpkin strained.
Do I need to strain the pumpkin? How to strain pumpkin puree?
Yes! You absolutely need to strain the pumpkin puree because pumpkin puree is around 90% water! This can be good for pumpkin cakes and cupcakes, but not for pumpkin cookies!
To strain the pumpkin puree, take at least 3 pieces of paper towel and place them over the top of a bowl (you could also use cheesecloth). Place the pumpkin puree on top and fold up the sides of the paper towels creating a little sack. Gently squeeze the pumpkin puree and water will quickly start to strain out. You may need to do this a couple of times until very little water remains.
Depending on the brand of pumpkin puree, you'll need around 1 to 1 ¼ cups of pumpkin puree to start and this will reduce down to around ⅔ cup of pumpkin puree. I tested this recipe with two different kinds of pumpkin puree - Kroger brand and Libby's. I needed 1 ¼ cups of the Kroger brand pumpkin puree and 1 cup of the Libby's pumpkin puree. Once these amounts were strained, I had exactly ⅔ cup strained pumpkin puree - exactly what this cookie recipe calls for. If you're ambitious, you can even make your own homemade pumpkin puree for this cookie recipe!
Be sure to measure out the â…” cup from the strained pumpkin so you use the correct amount in the recipe!
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Brown Butter Pumpkin Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons or a digital food scale
- whisk and rubber spatula/wood spoon
- medium 2T cookie scoop or large spoon to scoop even sized cookies
- paper towel or cheesecloth to strain the water content out of the pumpkin puree
- small sauce pot to brown the butter
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups all purpose flour (160g)
- 2 cups old fashioned oats (200g)
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup strained pumpkin (Depending on the brand, you'll need between 1-1¼ cups of pumpkin. After straining the water out, you'll need ⅔ cup of the remaining pumpkin for this recipe.*)
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (1½ sticks reduces down to a little over ½ cup brown butter*)
- 1 cup sugar (200g)
- ½ cup brown sugar (107g)
- 1 large egg
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup butterscotch chips
Instructions
How to Make Brown Butter
- Start by making the brown butter first so that it can cool a bit before using in this cookie recipe. Place ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter into a pot on medium heat. After a few minutes the butter will be melted and start to bubble up. The water content will evaporate and the milk solids will separate. Begin stirring the butter every 30 seconds or so. After a few more minutes the milk solids will begin to toast and brown. Stir continuously once the color starts to change from yellow to amber. Do not walk away! Keep a close eye on it because it can burn very quickly from this point. Once butter has browned, immediately remove from the heat and pour into a heat proof bowl to stop it from cooking. Scape all of the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. This is flavor! The butter amount will also have reduced due to the water evaporation. You should have a little over half of a cup. Set aside for 20-30 minutes to cool at room temperature before using.
Brown Butter Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees farhenheit. Line 2 large baking sheeets with parchment paper
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, old fashioned oats, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
- Set a few stacked paper towels over top of a bowl (you can also use cheesecloth). Place about 1 to 1¼ cups pumpkin puree over the paper towels and then wrap the pumpkin puree completely by pulling the edges of the paper towel up and around the puree. Gently squeeze the pumpkin puree until he water starts to strain out into the bowl. You may need to do this a couple of times until very little water comes out when squeezing. Measure out ⅔ cup of the strained pumpkin. Set aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the brown butter with the sugar and brown sugar until thoroughly combined. Whisk in the large egg. Then, whisk in the strained pumpkin and vanilla extract.
- Add the dry ingredient mixture into the wet ingredients bowl and fold together until combined. When a few flour streaks remain, finish the cookie dough off by adding in 1 cup of butterscotch chips and mixing until just combined.
- Using a medium sized cookie scoop or large spoon, scoop cookies onto prepared baking trays at least 2 inches apart.
- Bake for about 14 minutes. Let cookies cool for a couple minutes on the baking sheet, then gently transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool all the way. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
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Tricia L. says
This was a fall flavor combo I didn't even know I needed 🤤.