These Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies are melt-in-your-mouth morsels of fall comfort food! Soft, chewy and studded with chocolate chips, they’ve got everything you love about classic chocolate chip cookies with a tasty pumpkin twist.
Want to know what’s even better than a soft chocolate chip cookie made from scratch? A soft homemade chocolate chip cookie that’s full of spiced pumpkin flavor! Not only does pureed pumpkin help provide that drool-worthy taste, but it also acts a lot like a leavening agent and keeps your cookies moist.
I went through six or seven versions of these before I got the perfect one. And it was all 100% worth it – I am in love with this final recipe! All it took was some experimentation with the amount of pumpkin, flour and eggs.
Ultimately, I decided to forgo the eggs and use a little bit of baking soda instead. The pumpkin already does plenty of leavening on its own, but the pinch of baking soda gives your cookies an extra touch of lift without making them denser and adding excess moisture like an egg.
You’ll find that a lot of homemade pumpkin cookies come out cakey, but not these! I didn’t stop tweaking the recipe until they had the perfect texture every time. And the flavor is spot-on thanks to a classic medley of warm fall spices.
What You’ll Need
Perfect pumpkin spice cookies are only a few staple ingredients away! Here’s a list of what to have on hand:
- Unsalted Butter: Melted.
- Brown Sugar: Unpacked.
- Granulated Sugar: You’ll need 1/4 cup.
- Vanilla Extract: To help the pumpkin flavor stand out.
- Pumpkin Puree: Canned or fresh.
- All-Purpose Flour: Spoon the flour into your measuring cup to avoid packing too much in.
- Pumpkin Spices: You’ll need cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger for that quintessential pumpkin spice flavor.
- Cornstarch: Just a teaspoon.
- Baking Soda: To help the cookies rise.
- Salt: To add flavor.
- Chocolate Chips: I use semi-sweet.
These cookies are super easy to prepare. Everything combines in a single bowl!
- Heat Oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Combine Butter & Sugars: In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until well combined.
- Add Vanilla & Pumpkin: Add the vanilla extract and pumpkin puree and whisk until well combined.
- Add Dry Ingredients & Chocolate Chips: Add the flour, spices, cornstarch, baking soda and salt and mix together with a spatula until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Chill Dough: Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes to an hour.
- Form Cookies: Make balls of 1 1/2 tablespoons (or a heaping tablespoon) of dough and place them onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a non-stick baking mat. Pat the balls of dough to flatten them just a bit.
- Bake: Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges are firm. The centers may still look a touch undercooked, but they’ll continue cooking and firm up as the cookies cool.
- Let Cool: Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool for 5-10 minutes on the cookie sheet. Move them to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Tips for Success
These simple treats are great for busy weeknights when you’re craving something sweet. Be sure to check out the tips below before getting started on the recipe.
- Use Canned Pumpkin Puree: Fresh pumpkin puree would definitely work in these cookies, but it tends to hold a lot of extra moisture. If you’d like to use fresh pumpkin puree anyway, I recommend drying it out with a paper towel first.
- Don’t Skimp on the Chill Time: The cookie dough needs to chill for at least 30 minutes before it’s rolled into balls. This helps it stick together better.
- Avoid Overcooking: Take your cookies out of the oven once the edges are firm, even if the centers still look a little raw. As they rest on the cookie sheet, they’ll finish baking.
- Try Freezing the Dough: If desired, you can store your balls of cookie dough in the freezer for up to 2 months. Wrap each one in plastic wrap and keep them in a freezer-safe container. Bake the cookies straight from frozen, adding a few extra minutes to the cook time.
Add-In Ideas
As is the case with regular chocolate chip cookies, you can fold anything you’d like into the dough – just be sure not to over-mix it in the process. If you’re a big sweet tooth, you could even frost them! These ideas would all make yummy additions.
- Pecans
- Cranberries
- Cinnamon Chips
- Cream Cheese Frosting
- Walnuts
- Mini Marshmallows
- Toffee Bits
- Vanilla Buttercream
- Dried Apricots
Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies can be stored at room temperature. Just keep them in a single layer in an airtight container and enjoy them within 4 days.
Can I Freeze These?
Yes! These cookies freeze well in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. Their appearance may change slightly after they’re thawed, but they’ll taste the same! Be sure to set them on the counter the night before you plan to eat them.
Print
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 58 minutes
- Yield: 30
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies are melt-in-your-mouth morsels of fall comfort food! Soft, chewy and studded with chocolate chips, they’ve got everything you love about classic chocolate chip cookies with a tasty pumpkin twist.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (168g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup (144g) brown sugar, unpacked
- 1/4 cup (52g) sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp (203g) pumpkin puree
- 2 1/3 cups (303g) all purpose flour
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup (169g) chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).
- In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar and sugar until well combined.
- Add the vanilla extract and pumpkin puree and whisk until well combined.
- Add the flour, spices, cornstarch, baking soda and salt and mix together with a spatula until well combined.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Refrigerate for about 30 minutes to an hour.
- Make balls of 1 1/2 tablespoons (or a heaping tablespoon) of dough and place onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a non-stick baking mat. Pat the balls of dough dough to flatten them just a bit.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes. The edges should be firm and the center may still look a touch undercooked, but will continue cooking and firm up as it cools.
- Remove cookies from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes on the cookie sheet.
- Move cookies to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Notes
Makes 30-32 cookies.
Keywords: pumpkin spice cookies, healthy pumpkin cookies, easy pumpkin desserts
More Pumpkin Desserts to Try
Pumpkin goodies are a must-have for fall, and the following treats couldn’t be tastier! You’ll fall in love at first bite.
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
- Caramel Pumpkin Spice Blondie Streusel Cheesecake
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake
- Pumpkin Butterscotch Chip Cookies
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I’ve got your pumpkin layer cake out of the oven and cooling now. I was looking at these cookies, using just the right amount of pumpkin purée to finish the can.
Can you please explain why you melt the butter instead of creaming it at room temperature with the sugars.
It just creates a different resulting texture. In this case, it should give you a more dense and less cakey cookie.
Do you have any recipes for how to make pumpkin purée? I live in Australia and they don’t have it at any of the stores I’ve gone to! Just pumpkin soup 🙁
I don’t actually. I’m sure you could find one online though. I imagine you would cook the pumpkin and puree it.
These were so good! The ones I made tasted wonderful, but definitely didn’t look as beautiful as yours, but great recipe. I’ll just have to perfect it ;).
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! 🙂
These cookies look so soft and moist! I love all of your featured pumpkin recipes.