Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies (12 weeks of Christmas Cookies)

One of these days I'm going to get t-shirts made. I'm going to wear them all superman-style under my clothes so that when I meet new people, I can rip open my shirt to reveal sayings like:

Yes, I only have one kid.

or

No, I'm not having any more kids.

or

My baby was full price and we couldn't afford another.

Starting a new school year means meeting new moms. 99% of the new moms I meet are great. They are nice, non-judgemental, caring, and are already or will become friends (and it doesn't matter to them how many kids I have).

Then there is that other 1%. The ones that totally judge everything about you and you know it. Because they let you know it, in not so subtle ways. It can be for several reasons; maybe you work and the judger is a SAHM who thinks you're unfit. Or maybe vice versa; you stay home and she works and thinks she's better than you.

In my case, often the judgers judge me because I have an only child. And she will always be an only child; we're not having any more kids.  My experience with this 1% happened just last week. Her first question to me was if I had other kids. Here is a summary of our conversation:

Me: "No, Jordan is our only one."

Judger: "Oh, my little Reggie (not his real name) always begs me to be the only child. He wishes he didn't have brothers and sisters."

{Note: her words are dripping with the tone of now I know your life is easier than mine. We all know that tone, don't we?}

Me: "Oh, Jordan is always begging for a sibling. That whole the grass is greener thing, you know."

Her (totally serious, because she knows better than me, of course): "Oh, she should come spend some time at my house. Her mind would change for sure!"

I "mmmhmmmed" when I wanted to say "Yes, well, we spent $20,000 to get our kid. Maybe if I could pop them out like a Pez dispenser, I'd have the same problems as you," but I didn't.  Maybe I should put that on a t-shirt.

You know what I should put on a t-shirt? Beware: Pumpkin & White Chocolate May Cause the Need for Rehab.

Because the combination of pumpkin and white chocolate is seriously addictive. Like, dangerous for your waistline. And when you add them to an oatmeal cookie? Watch out. If you put a plate of these in front of me I might go all Charlie Sheen on you.

So you need to make these cookies. Like, now. I've got some extra pumpkin if you need it.

And, did you know it's just over 12 weeks until Christmas? How do I know? Because this is the first week of the 12 weeks of cookies!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Recipe from My Baking Addiction

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour (you can also use wheat flour)

1 ½ cups old-fashioned oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 cup pure pumpkin puree

2 cups white chocolate chips

Directions

1.       Preheat oven to 350°. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

2.       Whisk together flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Set aside.

3.       Beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin and egg and mix well. Mix in flour mixture and beat until well combined. Stir in white chocolate chips.

4.       Drop by equal scoopfuls onto prepared baking sheets. (I used a two tablespoon cookie scoop.) Bake for 12-14 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned, rotating pans halfway through baking. Cool on baking sheet at least 2 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

Note: The original recipe called for dried cherries. If you’re into that, go ahead and add some (or raisins or whatever suits your fancy). 

Yield: about 4 dozen cookies

This recipe may be linked with:

Monday: Mingle Monday (Add a Pinch), Joy of Desserts. Tuesday: 2 Maids a Baking (2 Maids a Milking), Tea Party Tuesdays (Sweetology), Mushki Loves My Stuff (Mushki Loves), Totally Tasty Tuesdays (Mandy's Recipe Box), Talent Show Tuesday (Chef in Training). Wednesday: Cast Party Wednesday, Made It On Monday (Lark's Country Heart), This Chick Cooks.  Thursday: Sweet Treats Thursday (Something Swanky), Chic-and-Crafty (Frugal Girls), Turning the Table Thursdays (Around My Family Table), Tasty Thursday (The How-To Mommy). Friday: Sweet Tooth Friday (Alli-n-son), I'm Lovin' it Fridays (TidyMom), Friday Favorites (Simply Sweet Home). Saturday: Sweets for a Saturday (Sweet as Sugar Cookies), Seasonal Inspiration (Crumbs and Chaos). Sunday: A Well-Seasoned Life,Sharing Sundays (Everyday Sisters), Strut your Stuff Saturday (Six Sisters' Stuff), Pumpkin blog hop (Deelicious Sweets)