Libby's Great Pumpkin Cookie

These oversized pumpkin cookies are shaped to look like actual pumpkins on the baking sheet. A quarter cup of dough per cookie gets spread into a round pumpkin shape with a small stem added on top, then baked until soft and cakey. They’re as much a craft project as they are a baking recipe, and they’re a hit at Halloween parties and fall gatherings.

Real pumpkin puree in the batter does two things. It keeps the cookies incredibly moist and soft (these will never be crunchy), and it adds a warm, earthy sweetness that pairs naturally with the cinnamon and brown sugar. Alternating the dry ingredients and pumpkin when adding to the batter ensures even distribution without overworking the dough.

The oats add chew and structure to what would otherwise be a very soft, almost cake-like cookie. Combined with chocolate chips (or morsels) scattered throughout, each giant cookie has enough texture variation to keep every bite interesting.

Kitchen Tips

• Use a thin spatula to shape the dough into pumpkin rounds on the sheet. Wet the spatula slightly to prevent sticking as you spread.
• Don’t overbake. These cookies should feel soft when you pull them. They firm up as they cool but will always be more cake-like than crispy. Overbaking dries out the pumpkin and makes them crumbly.
• Decorate after cooling completely. Orange icing for the body, green for the stem, and piped lines for the ridges turn these into proper pumpkin lookalikes.

Variations

• Add raisins or dried cranberries alongside the chocolate chips for a more fall-flavored cookie.
• Use butterscotch chips instead of chocolate for a sweeter, more autumnal flavor that matches the pumpkin.