Soft Sweet Potato Oatmeal Cookies
Soft, spiced oatmeal cookies made with roasted sweet potato, warm cinnamon, and quick oats. One bowl, no mixer, and they stay tender for days.
Servings 12 cookies
Ingredients
Wet
- 1 cup mashed roasted sweet potato about 1 medium, cooled to room temperature
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 1 ½ cups quick oats
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips optional
Instructions
Prepare the Sweet Potato
- Prick a medium sweet potato all over with a fork and roast at 400F for 45 to 55 minutes, until a knife slides in with no resistance.
- Cool until it can be handled, peel off the skin, and mash the flesh smooth with a fork. Measure out 1 cup and let it come to room temperature.
Make the Dough
- Heat the oven to 350F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, stir the softened butter with the brown sugar and granulated sugar until creamy and slightly lighter in color, about 1 minute.
- Stir in the mashed sweet potato, egg, and vanilla until uniform. The mixture will look loose at this stage.
- Add the flour, quick oats, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt on top. Stir just until no dry flour remains, then fold in the chocolate chips.
Bake
- Scoop 2-tablespoon mounds onto the prepared sheets, spaced 2 inches apart, and flatten each gently to about ¾ inch thick.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers still look slightly underdone.
- Rest the cookies on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes
- Room-temperature mash: Warm sweet potato melts the butter and the cookies spread thin and greasy.
- Roast, do not boil: Boiled sweet potato carries too much water. If you must boil it, drain well and press the mash in a clean towel.
- Quick oats matter: They give a tender chew. Old-fashioned oats work but pulse them a few times first.
- Slack dough: Chill 20 minutes if the mounds will not hold their shape.
- Canned puree: Use 1 cup and blot with a paper towel to remove excess moisture.
- Freezing: Baked cookies keep 3 months. Raw dough balls bake from frozen with 2 to 3 extra minutes.