Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies are thick and soft, with warm pumpkin pie spice and chocolate chips in every bite. They're made with melted butter, so you don't need a mixer.
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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies are thick and soft, with warm pumpkin pie spice and chocolate chips in every bite. They are whisked and stirred together in a bowl with no mixer needed.
I always have canned pumpkin in the pantry, and when fall arrives, I’m inspired by ways to use it for sweets that aren’t pie. The combination of pumpkin, warm spices, and sweet chocolate in these cookies is one the most approachable ways to kick off the fall baking season.
I’ve been baking my whole life and developing recipes for beginner home cooks since 2018. This recipe started as an adaption of my chewy Chocolate Chipless Cookies. After several rounds of testing, these became their own thing. I switched to melted butter, used only an egg yolk to keep the wet ingredients in check, and cut back the baking soda so the centers puff just slightly. Fresh from the oven, these have just-done edges and soft centers.
They’re more cookie than pumpkin bread, but they certainly have that crossover appeal.
Ingredients You’ll Need
This is a simple drop cookie with a short ingredient list. You can find the exact measurements in the recipe card below.
- All-purpose flour: Measured by weight (240 grams of King Arthur all-purpose flour) for the most consistent results. If you’re measuring by volume, spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off rather than scooping from the bag. Whisking the flour in the bag first can help improve accuracy.
- Baking soda: Just half a teaspoon. These cookies are already verging on a cake-like consistency.
- Kosher salt: Balances the sweetness and brings out the spice.
- Pumpkin pie spice: Use store-bought, or make your own with the blend in the recipe card notes below.
- Unsalted butter, melted: Melted butter is why you can skip the mixer for these. All you need is a bowl and a whisk. Let butter cool for a few minutes before mixing.
- Dark brown sugar and granulated sugar: The molasses in dark brown sugar complements the pumpkin and spices. Granulated sugar helps the edges set and brown.
- Pure pumpkin purée: Use canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. I tested this recipe with Libby’s. You’ll use about half a can. If the pumpkin is extra watery, lightly press a paper towel onto the surface to absorb some of the watery liquid.
- Egg yolk, room temperature: Pumpkin already adds plenty of moisture, so I just use the yolk of one large egg.
- Pure vanilla extract: One teaspoon rounds out the flavor.
- Chocolate chips: Fold most into the dough and save a few to press on top before baking.
How to Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, kosher salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
Whisk the wet ingredients. Melt the butter and let it cool for about 5 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk the butter with both sugars until smooth. Whisk in the pumpkin, then the egg yolk and vanilla.
Make the dough. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, half at a time, if needed. Stir with a spatula until no flour streaks remain. The dough will be thick and soft. Fold in the chocolate chips, saving about a quarter cup for the tops.
Chill. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour, up to overnight. The pumpkin makes the dough soft, and chilling is what helps the cookies spread out just enough.
Scoop and bake. Portion the dough with a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop. If you don’t have one, use a spoon to measure about 2 tablespoons of dough and roll it into a ball between your hands. Place the dough balls on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart, 8 per pan, and press a few extra chips onto the tops.
Bake one pan at a time at 350 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are set and the tops are no longer shiny. In my oven, they take 10 minutes, so start checking then. The centers will still look soft and will finish setting on the pan.
Tips for the Best Results
- Weigh your flour. Flour is where precision matters most. I bake with King Arthur all-purpose flour, which weighs 120 grams per cup. Weighing it takes the guesswork out of how flour settles in the bag or cup.
- Don’t skip the chill. I tried shortcuts with other cookie doughs, but this one needs the full hour. Warm dough spreads, and you lose the thick, soft texture.
- Bake in batches. One pan at a time on the center rack gives the most even bake. A batch of 24 breaks into three rounds of 8. Keep the remaining dough in the fridge between batches.
- Pull them early. The tops should look set but the centers soft. They firm up as they cool.
- Expect them to soften. Fresh from the oven, the edges are just done and the centers are soft. After a day in an airtight container, the cookies turn softer and more cake-like. Store them at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freeze with caution. These don’t freeze as well as firmer cookies, and the texture changes the longer they’re frozen. If you do freeze them, freeze in a single layer first, then transfer to a zip-top freezer bag.
For more fall baking, my Caramel Apple Cookies are another classic flavor combination for the season.
If you make these, leave a star rating and let me know in the comments how they turned out.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ⅔ cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ½ cup pumpkin purée
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips, divided
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, kosher salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
- Melt the butter and let it cool for a few minutes. Add it to a large bowl with the brown sugar and granulated sugar, and whisk until smooth.
- Whisk in the pumpkin purée until combined. Add the egg yolk and vanilla, and whisk until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, half at a time. Stir with a spatula until no flour streaks remain. Fold in ¾ cup of the chocolate chips.
- Cover the bowl and chill the dough for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop (size #40) to portion the dough onto the prepared pans, 8 cookies per pan, leaving 2 inches between each. If you don't have a scoop, roll the dough into balls of about 2 tablespoons each. Press a few extra chocolate chips from the remaining ¼ cup onto the top of each cookie.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, swapping racks and rotating the pans halfway through, or baking in batches. The cookies are done when the edges are set and the tops are no longer shiny. The centers will still be soft.
- Let the cookies rest on the pans for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Pumpkin purée: Use pure canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling, which has added sugar and spices.
- Measuring flour: Weighing the flour at 240 grams gives the most consistent results. If measuring by volume, spoon the flour into the cup and level it off rather than scooping from the bag.
- Melted butter: Let the butter cool for a few minutes before mixing. Hot butter can cook the egg yolk and melt the chocolate chips.
- Chilling: Don’t skip. Refrigerating the dough for an hour, up to overnight, helps keep the cookies thick and soft.
- Spice blend: If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, you can make your own by mixing 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, and a pinch of ground cloves.
- Leftover pumpkin: This recipe uses about half a 15-ounce can. Refrigerate the rest in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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