Step-by-step tutorial
Step 1
First, we added added the oats, raisins, sugar, salt, ginger, nutmeg, and chocolate chips into a bowl. My oldest (5) liked to do all the measuring of the ingredients, and my daughter (3) liked to do all the "dumping."
Step 2
Once the dry ingredients were mixed, we added the pumpkin puree and vanilla. Then we mixed everything together.
Step 3
Next for the fun part! We used a spoon to scoop up about a small handful of dough and rolled the scoops into balls. My son loved this part since his hands got to get dirty. My dainty daughter passed on this step...
Step 4
While the kids were busy rolling the balls, I whipped together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and whipping cream to create a little topping for the cookies. (This step is totally optional but, in my opinion, there is nothing better than pumpkin and cream cheese...) I put the creamy mixture into small plastic bags and snipped off the corners.
Step 5
Then the kids squeezed the cream topping onto the cookies. This was my daughter's favorite part, since it was mess free and "artsy."
Final result!
We enjoyed our cookies right away, but you could also pop them in the fridge for a few hours. (This will firm them up a bit more and make them cool and refreshing.) The kids adore this recipe. And since the cookies are loaded with pumpkin, oats, and raisins, they're a great go-to after-school snack that makes everyone happy.