Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

I'll preface this by saying that until December 21, it is still technically fall. So, you know... pumpkin treats are still totally appropriate. And if I'm being totally honest, I wouldn't think twice about making pumpkin treats at any time of year. Because, c'mon! It's pumpkin!

I've been wanting to make some kind of oatmeal cookies for a while, so when I saw this recipe for pumpkin oatmeal cookies on Annie's Eats, it was just the thing to push me over the edge.

There are a bunch of ingredients, but most are just spices, so this dough comes together easily. I threw these together on Saturday afternoon and the only hard part about it was trying to keep them from making their way into my mouth as they came out of the oven.

I skipped the dried cranberries, and almost skipped the white chocolate chips, too (when it comes to pumpkin stuff, I'm kind of a purist), but oh my gosh, I'm so glad I didn't skip the white chocolate chips. They are the perfect mix-in for this cookie.

The finished cookies are chewy and spicy. Good for dessert, or, you know, for breakfast (not that I would know anything about that). After we enjoyed our share of these over the weekend, I brought the remainder of the batch into work this morning, at which point they were devoured by my coworkers in no time.

Hurry up and make these before fall is officially over! :)

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
(Source: Annie's Eats)

Ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg
- Dash of allspice
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 & 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup white chocolate chips (optional)
- 1 cup dried cranberries (optional) - I omitted

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, spices and salt. Whisk to blend.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Blend in the egg and vanilla. Beat in the pumpkin puree until well incorporated.

4. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Beat in the oats until combined.

5. With a rubber spatula, fold in the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries until evenly mixed.

6. Drop in small scoops (about 2 tablespoons) onto prepared baking sheets, spaced 2-3 inches apart. Bake 12-14 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned, rotating the sheets halfway through baking.

7. Allow to cool on the sheets about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Makes about 36 cookies