Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Hey there, cookie lovers! I’m excited to share this recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies with you. These cookies are soft and chewy with just the right amount of pumpkin spice and chocolate flavor. They’re the perfect fall treat, and they’re sure to become your new favorite. So what are you waiting for? Give this chewy pumpkin cookie recipe a try today!
Oh tis the season for all things pumpkin – like a pumpkin cheesecake perhaps? Or maybe a big old stack of pumpkin pancakes drizzled with maple syrup? Or how about an easy, chewy pumpkin chocolate chip cookie.
When it comes to pumpkin cookies, I usually skip over them because they are TOO cakey. I want a chewy chocolate chip cookie that happens to be made with pumpkin and full of pumpkin spice.
After a few test batches I finally landed on a winner! A pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe worthy of living on this little old food blog. This cookie dough is so soft and chewy, and the chocolate chips add the perfect touch of sweetness. But what really makes these chewy pumpkin cookies special is the pumpkin puree. It gives them a warm, autumnal flavor that I just love.
I like to make these cookies in the fall, when pumpkins are in season. But I also make them year-round, because they’re just so delicious and full of pumpkin flavor. I love to share them with my friends and family, and they always get rave reviews.
So if you’re looking for a delicious and easy-to-make cookie recipe, I highly recommend trying this one. You won’t be disappointed!
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See Also:
- Pucker up and enjoy one of these homemade lemon cookies with easy lemon glaze drizzled over them!
- Coconut macaroons are an easy gluten free chewy coconut cookie. Dip in chocolate for an easy chocolate treat!
- Grab a jar of peanut butter and make these wonderfully easy old fashioned peanut butter cookies with criss cross pattern on top!
- Make these brown sugar chocolate chips cookies made with 100% brown sugar making them wonderfully chewy!
Why You Will Love Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- It’s a delicious and classic combination of pumpkin and chocolate. Who doesn’t love the combination of these two flavors? The cookies are chewy and gooey, with just the right amount of sweetness and full of pumpkin flavor.
- It’s easy to make. The recipe only requires a few simple ingredients and steps, so anyone can make it. No need to be a professional baker!
- It’s perfect for any occasion. These cookies are delicious for any occasion, from a casual weeknight snack to a holiday party. They’re also a great way to show someone you care.
Ingredients Needed for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
For full recipe and instructions, head to the recipe card at the bottom!
Dry Ingredients-
- 3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour- For perfect texture be sure to measure your flour correctly otherwise you will end up with a cakey cookie.
- 2 teaspoons baking powder – Baking powder will help give the cookies a little lift.
- 1 teaspoons baking soda – Helps cookies spread and create browning. You can read more here about baking powder vs baking soda.
- 1 teaspoon salt- I like to use fine sea salt for its pure salt taste that blends in easily to the dough, but kosher or table will work just fine.
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
Wet Ingredients
- 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature- It should be softened to room temperature so that it can be easily creamed together with the sugar. I recommend unsalted, because salted butter contains more water and can make your cookies spread more.
- 1/3 cup (79 g) pumpkin puree- Do NOT use pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling has added ingredients like sugar and can affect the texture. Here are 40 Ways to use up the rest of that leftover pumpkin puree.
- 3/4 cup (158 g) brown sugar (light or dark) packed- Helps create a chewy texture. If you don’t have any, make your own homemade brown sugar.
- 3/4 cup (144 g) granulated sugar- This will help crispy edges, and make for a tender cookie, so you might be tempted but don’t reduce the amount or your cookies might come out dry!
- 3 teaspoons real vanilla extract- Pure vanilla or imitation vanilla will work just fine.
- 1 large egg, room temperature- Make sure your eggs are at room temperature otherwise the butter will seize up in the bowl and squeeze out all the air you added during the creaming process.
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature- It’s necessary to add an extra egg yolk to bind the cookie dough together but without making the cookie dough overly cakey in the end. It makes for a chewier texture.
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips- You can use also use regular chocolate chips, or swap for white chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips or chopped chocolate!
How to Make these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Prepare the dry ingredients.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Set aside.
Cream together the wet ingredients.
In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Beat in the egg and egg yolk until smooth and combined. Scrap down the bowl as needed.
Add the pumpkin and vanilla.
Beat in the pumpkin puree and vanilla until well combined.
Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed until just combined.
Stir in the chocolate chips with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Make sure the chocolate chips are thoroughly mixed into the cookie dough.
Chill the dough.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour, or overnight.
Preheat the oven and line baking sheets.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.
Scoop and bake the cookies.
Allow the cookie dough to soften slightly before scooping (especially if you have let the dough rest overnight!). Scoop 1 ½ tablespoons of pumpkin chocolate chip cookie dough and roll into a ball in your hands. I like to use a small cookie scoop so they are all the same size.
Place the cookie dough balls onto baking sheet spaced 2 inches apart to allow for cookies to spread.
Bake one large baking sheet at a time in the center of the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges are set and the tops are just beginning to turn golden brown. When they come out of the oven I like to top the cookies with a few more chocolate chips to make for a pretty cookie!
Let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring the prepared baking sheets to a rack to finish cooling.
Recipe Tips
- Don’t overmix the dough. Overmixing can develop the gluten in the flour, which will make the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies tough.
- Scoop the cookies before they get too soft. If the dough gets too soft, it will be difficult to scoop and the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies will spread too much.
- Let the cookies cool completely before storing. This will help prevent them from becoming soggy.
Recipe Variations
- Other Spices. You can add other spices besides to the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, such as allspice or cardamom. Or try swapping the spices for homemade pumpkin pie spice!
- Use Applesauce or Bananas. If you don’t have pumpkin puree, you can substitute applesauce or mashed banana.
- Switch up the chocolate chips. I like to use mini chocolate chips so I get more chocolate flavor in every bite! But you could also swap and use any type of chocolate chips, like milk chocolate, or white chocolate chips. Or chop up a chocolate bar for chocolate in every bite!
- Make gluten free. You can always swap out the all purpose flour and use a 1:1 gluten free flour. I like Bob’s Red Mill.
Recipe FAQs
Most likely this is because your butter was too warm. You want softened butter that is at a cool room temperature about 68oF. You should be able to indent your finger into the butter slightly but not push all the way through and there should be NO melting.
Another reason is that you might not have chilled the dough before baking. Chilling the dough helps it hold its shape and prevents it from spreading too much.
There are a few reasons why your cookies might be dry and crumbly. Most likely you used too much flour. Be sure to scoop the flour into your cup and level it off. Do not pack it down or too much flour will result in dry crumbly cookie that won’t spread.
Another reason is that you might have overbaked the cookies. Overbaking will dry out the cookies and make them crumbly.
There are a few things you can do to prevent your pumpkin mixture and cookies from sticking to the cookie sheet. The best thing to do is line the sheet with parchment paper. Parchment paper will help to prevent the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies from sticking and make them easier to remove. Another thing you can do is to use a silicone baking mat.
Cookies will keep for up to 3 days at room temperature in an airtight container or up to 1 week in the refrigerator (but this can dry them out).
If you want to keep the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies for longer, you can freeze them. Frozen pumpkin chocolate chip cookies will keep for up to 3 months. Store cooled baked cookies in an airtight container or freezer bag. Thaw at room temperature when ready to enjoy.
You can also freeze unbaked cookies. Freeze cookie dough balls then transfer to a freezer bag. When ready to bake, do not thaw and bake. Just add a few additional minutes of baking time.
If you have stale pumpkin cookies now, you can revive them by putting them in a 350°F oven for a few minutes. This will soften the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and make them taste fresh again.
More Recipes to Try
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Pumpkin chocolate chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups (360 g) all purpose flour *spooned and leveled
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 16 tablespoons (2 sticks, 226 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1/3 cup (79 g) pumpkin puree
- 3/4 cup (158 g) brown sugar (light or dark) packed
- 3/4 cup (144 g) granulated sugar
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk room temperature
- 1 cup (170 g) mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat together on medium high speed the softened butter adn sugars until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Beat in the egg and egg yolk until smooth and combined. Scrap down the bowl as needed.
- Add the pumpkin and vanilla beating well with each addition until thoroughly blended.
- Add flour mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Cover and and refrigerate for at least one hour, or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350oF (177oC) and line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Allow cookie dough to soften slightly before scooping (especially if you have let the dough rest overnight!)
- Scoop 1 ½ tablespoons of cookie dough and roll into a ball in your hands. I like to use a small cookie scoop so they are all the same size. Place onto baking sheet spaced 2 inches apart to allow for cookies to spread
- Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for 10 to 12 minutes. When they come out of the oven I like to top the cookies with a few more chocolate chips to make for a pretty cookie! Let them cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes and then move to a rack to finish cooling.
Notes
- Storage: Cookies will keep for up to 3 days at room temperature in an airtight container or up to 1 week in the refrigerator (but this can dry them out).
- Freezing: If you want to keep the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies for longer, you can freeze them. Frozen pumpkin chocolate chip cookies will keep for up to 3 months. Store cooled baked cookies in an airtight container or freezer bag. Thaw at room temperature when ready to enjoy. You can also freeze unbaked cookies. Freeze cookie dough balls then transfer to a freezer bag. When ready to bake, do not thaw and bake. Just add a few additional minutes of baking time.
Ooh these are yummy! I love anything pumpkin so I was not going to pass up a pumpkin cookie. They are perfectly chewy and have great pumpkin flavor.
aw thank you Adrienne! I’m so glad you enjoyed them as much as I did!
The recipe is very good. I made accidental mistakes, which I will keep making. I added extra salt and it’s like the extra salt with salted caramel. I used dark chocolate chips and it was good. I think any chocolate chips would be good though. I didn’t have cloves and I did miss the taste so I will add it next time.
aw thank you Patti I’m so glad you loved them!
I made these as written for the October baking challenge and they did not disappoint! I scooped and frozen some of the dough for next time I want fresh cookies fast.
aw that’s awesome Melissa!! I’m so glad you loved these and thank you for taking part in the challenge 🙂