These soft-baked pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are a delicious fall treat, so you’ll want to make a big batch to share. Each bite contains warm spices and gooey bursts of sweetness.
Recipe Science
- Bold spices enhance pumpkin’s mild flavor. Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, and cloves bring out its natural sweetness.
- For a soft, cakey cookie, start by creaming butter and sugar. Addair into the fat using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy.
- Both granulated and brown sugar not only sweeten but also help incorporate air into the butter for a tender texture.
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Why It Works
When the end of the year hits, it’s time to start cooking with one of the biggest seasonal ingredients: pumpkins. Pumpkins are so versatile that they can be baked and used to make snacks, like my homemade pumpkin seeds recipe. Their creamy consistency and neutral taste make them the ideal base desserts.
I’ve taken my classic pumpkin cookie recipe and added melty chocolate chips for a bittersweet cocoa flavor. This version yields a cakey, soft-baked texture with a lightly crisp exterior. The moisture in the pumpkin puree and brown sugar helps keep the interior from drying. This pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe has bold spices that fill your kitchen with incredible aromas as they bake.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Pumpkin: For convenience, I use Libby’s 100% pure pumpkin, known for its smooth texture, beautiful orange color, and mildly sweet flavor. It’s made from Dickinson pumpkins, which offer the best taste among processed options. Pumpkin selection
- Flour: All-purpose flour provides enough protein to give structure while keeping the cookies tender.
- Leavening Agents: I use three leavening agents: eggs, baking powder, and baking soda, to give the batter extra lift and create a domed shape during baking.
- Spices: Gourds alone have a mild and creamy taste with a very neutral squash-like flavor. Therefore, they taste pretty bland on their own. I use five bold spices to enhance the pumpkin flavor: cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, and cloves.
- Vanilla: The extract enhances the sweet baked aromas of the cookie.
- Butter: Unsalted butter is softened to help create tiny air pockets in the dough, giving these cookies their light, cake-like texture.
- Sweetener: Granulated sugar helps create crisp edges, while brown sugar adds a touch of molasses for extra flavor and moisture.
- Chocolate: I prefer semi-sweet chocolate chips for these pumpkin cookies. I like the balance of bitterness between cocoa and sugar. However, you can use other types of chocolate, such as dark 60% cacao or white chocolate, if desired.
See the recipe card below for all ingredients and measurements (US and metric).
Ingredient Substitutions
This chocolate chip pumpkin cookie recipe is easy to customize! Try these delicious options:
- Pumpkin Options: If you want to make homemade pumpkin puree from scratch, go for it. Avoid using pumpkin pie filling because it already contains spices and sweeteners that would overwhelm the taste.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: You can use homemade or store-bought pumpkin pie spice. For this cookie recipe, you’ll need 1 ¾ teaspoons.
- Chocolate Options: For a more rustic appearance, use chocolate chunks or other types of chocolate, such as white chocolate chips, milk chocolate, or dark chips. Otherwise, use a combination for a variety of flavor and color.
- Add Nuts: Chopped pecans, almonds, walnuts, or peanuts add extra crunch to the soft and chewy pumpkin cookie texture.
- Add Fruit: Dried fruit like raisins or cranberries adds a pleasant sweetness and chews.
How to Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Step 1: Preheat the Oven
Position the oven rack in the center for even heat distribution, and preheat to 350ºF (177ºC). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper—this helps prevent sticking.
Step 2: Combine Dry Ingredients
Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice. This ensures the leavening agents and spices are evenly distributed, giving the cookies a balanced flavor and perfect rise.
Step 3: Cream the Butter and Sugars
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. This step aerates the mixture, creating a smooth texture that helps the cookies rise and stay tender.
Ingredient Chemistry: I cream the butter and sugar together to make a soft, cakey cookie structure. Then, I use the paddle attachment on a stand mixer to whip air into the fat until it’s light and fluffy. The granulated sugar and brown sugar sweeten the base and push air into the butter.
Step 4: Add the Egg
Add the egg and mix on low speed until fully combined. This ensures the egg is evenly incorporated and emulsified, contributing to the cookies’ structure.
Step 5: Add the Pumpkin
Add the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract. Mix on low speed until thoroughly combined. The pumpkin adds moisture and flavor, while the vanilla enhances the overall sweet taste profile.
Step 6: Make the Dough
Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing at low speed until just combined. Use a spatula to gently fold any remaining pockets of flour, ensuring the dough is fully incorporated without overmixing. This helps maintain the cookie’s soft and tender texture.
Step 7: Add the Chocolate
Gently stir in the chocolate chips until combined, careful not to overmix. This ensures the chocolate is evenly distributed throughout the dough while maintaining a soft texture.
Step 8: Portion the Cookies
Scoop two tablespoon-sized mounds of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. With fingers lightly dipped in water, gently spread each mound into a circle, as the dough will be sticky.
Before baking, I recommend adding more chocolate chips on top of the dough so there are melty pieces that pop out when fresh from the oven.
Tips for Perfect Execution: This is a sticky dough, similar to a thick pancake batter. It has a high ratio of canned pumpkin puree and sugars, so it feels tackier. The cookies spread out and grow about three times their size, but they should not be flat.
Step 9: Bake
Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 14 to 16 minutes, until the edges and centers are set and the bottoms are golden brown. The top will be soft and spongy to the touch. When baked, the butter pockets thicken instead of spreading out and becoming chewy like classic chocolate chip cookies.
Pro Tip: If baking fewer than 12 cookies per sheet, reduce the baking time to 12 to 14 minutes to avoid overbaking. This ensures the cookies are perfectly baked with crisp edges and soft centers.
Step 10: Cool
Allow the cookies to set on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely. This helps maintain their soft texture while preventing overbaking on the hot sheet.
Experimentation Encouraged: My family loves to eat them warm, but if you wait a little longer and let the outside cool, the exterior will be slightly crisp. It’s delightful! Please don’t leave them on the tray too long, as the excess moisture will make them soggy on the bottoms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Use softened butter just below room temperature, between 65 and 67ºF (18 to 19ºC). This ensures that the needle-like beta prime fat crystals hold their shape during the creaming process with the sugars and that the batter can trap air. This process creates pockets of fat that, when baked, melt but keep an open crumb that provides a cakey, soft texture.
You can use solidified coconut oil instead of softened butter to cream with the sugars. Replace the egg with a flax egg for binding, combine 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water, and let it thicken for 10 minutes. The cookies will be slightly denser and nutty in flavor.
For a quick and convenient spice blend, use store-bought pumpkin pie spice. Each brand has different ratios of the main spices (cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, clove, and sometimes cardamom). I like to make my own homemade spice blend to control the amounts better and adjust to my taste.
More Pumpkin Recipes
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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to 65 to 67ºF (18 to 19ºC)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
Instructions
- Heat the Oven – Set the oven rack to the middle position. Heat to 350ºF (177ºC). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Combine Dry Ingredients – In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice.
- Cream the Butter and Sugars – In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or hand mixer), combine butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium-high speed (setting 8) until light and fluffy, 2 minutes.
- Add the Egg – Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the egg and mix on low speed (setting 2) until combined, 30 seconds.
- Add the Pumpkin – Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the pumpkin puree and vanilla. Mix on low speed (setting 2) until combined, 30 seconds.
- Make the Dough – Gradually add the flour mixture at low speed (setting 2) until combined, about 30 seconds. Mix the cookie dough with a spatula to incorporate any pockets of flour.
- Add the Chocolate – Stir in 1 ¼ cups of chocolate chips until just combined.
- Portion the Cookies – Spoon two tablespoon-sized mounds of cookie dough onto the baking sheets, spaced 2 inches apart. Use fingers lightly dipped in water to spread the dough into a circle. The dough will have a sticky consistency. Add the remaining chocolate chips to top each cookie. Repeat with remaining cookie dough, about 12 per baking sheet.
- Bake – Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the edges and centers are set, and the bottoms are golden brown, 14 to 16 minutes. If baking less than 12 cookies per sheet, reduce time to 12 to 14 minutes.
- Cool – Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
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Notes
- Storing: These cookies taste the best enjoyed the same day. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 4 to 5 days or in the refrigerator for 7 days. The cookies will become cakier and softer when stored overnight.
- Freezing: Store in the freezer for up to 30 days. Defrost at room temperature before eating.
- Spice Substitute: Use 1 ¾ teaspoon of store-bought or homemade pumpkin pie spice instead of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves.
- Make it Vegan: Use solidified coconut oil instead of butter. Make a flax egg by combining 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseeds with 3 tablespoons of water, let it sit for 10 minutes to thicken.
- Make it Gluten-Free: Use gluten-free flour. I recommend Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking Flour.
Nutrition Facts
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet. All nutritional information is based on estimated third-party calculations. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.
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