Oatmeal cookie recipe

Butternut squash in oatmeal cookies? Yes! Whether you’re trying to sneak more veggies in your diet or just trying to use up some frozen butternut squash, these cookies are delicious. The candied ginger adds a great flavor. And nope, these cookies do NOT have a squash flavor.

Recipe makes about 2 dozen cookies

Butternut Squash Oatmeal Cookie Ingredients

1½ cup BUTTERNUT SQUASH
2 cups ROLLED OATS
1 cup FLOUR
2 tsp CINNAMON
½ tsp BAKING SODA
¾ tsp SEA SALT
10 Tbsp UNSALTED BUTTER (1 stick plus 2 Tbsp), softened
½ cup packed BROWN SUGAR
1 large EGG YOLK, room temperature
1 tsp VANILLA EXTRACT
¾ cup CANDIED GINGER, chopped
1 cup chopped WALNUTS

How to Make Delicious Butternut Squash Oatmeal Cookies

1. Take out butter and eggs.
2. Cook squash. Squeeze out excess moisture, then “smush” any large squash pieces.  Set aside.
3. Chop ginger and walnuts. Check out prices for Candied Ginger and Walnuts on Amazon.
4. Separate egg yolk.
5. In a medium bowl, stir together oats, flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.  Side aside.
6. In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.  
7. By hand, add squeezed squash and combine well.
8. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
9. Stir flour mixture into wet mixture until just combined. Fold in ginger and nuts.
10. Drop cookies onto prepared baking sheets. We use an 1/8 cup measuring cup to scoop the batter and get similarly-sized cookies. Gently press the top fingers to flatten into discs. The cookies will not spread while baking.
11. Bake one pan at a time until the edges of the cookies are lightly browned. Check after 11 minutes, and every 2-3 minutes – as needed. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes.
12. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling. 
13. Allow cookies to totally cool. Store cookies in an airtight container.

Additional Tips for Making Your Cookies Great

You can choose from several cook squash methods.  In the video, we microwaved frozen cubed squash(+ 1 Tbsp water) for 4 minutes.  You can also buy squash that is already cooked, or roast the squash like we did for our breakfast hash recipe.

Don’t have butternut squash? Instead, you can use pumpkin, acorn squash or sweet potato.

To remove the excess moisture, in the video we allowed the cooked cubed squash to cool in a collander, then simply used hands to squeeze out the extra moisture. You can use coffee filters, cheesecloths or other straining cloths. Paper towels can also be used but be careful not to leave little pieces in with the squash.

Leaving out the egg white makes the cookies chewier. You can freeze egg whites, if you can’t think of something to do with it in the next couple of days.

This recipe is very versatile. You can use raisins or cranberries instead of candied ginger. You can use other nuts and/or or seeds instead of walnuts. Try browning the butter, instead of just softening it. Or, if you don’t want to use butter, use extra virgin olive oil. What about adding 1/2 tsp ground ginger and/or ground cardamom?

You can freeze the uncooked batter or the baked cookies. Use 2 Tbsp of black strap molasses instead of brown sugar.

If you want to bake two sheets at a time, rotate sheets halfway through baking.

Still got some Butternut Squash? Try this Butternut Squash Hash recipe.

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