Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies are slightly crisp on the outside with a perfect buttery center. They are a classic chocolate chip cookie with a delicious pumpkin spice twist.
I’m still over here baking all the fall things, and next up is this amazing Pumpkin Chocolate Chip recipe! They have the perfect pumpkin spice flavor.
This recipe turned out just perfect. A lot of pumpkin cookies have a cakiness to them, but not these! They are just like a perfect chocolate chip cookie, with a soft buttery center, while having a great pumpkin taste.
This is an incredible recipe! The cookies are so tender and cake like in texture, the pumpkin flavor really shines, and they’re full of chocolatey goodness.
How to Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
The piece that makes this recipe work is replacing some of the egg with pumpkin. This is just a brief overview of how to make this recipe, make sure you see the complete recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients – flour, spices, and baking soda.
- Mix together the the melted butter and sugars. Then mix in the egg, pumpkin, and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients to the went and mix until just combined.
- Stir in chocolate chips and bake.
Pumpkin Spice Flavor
Of course the pumpkin brings in the pumpkin flavor, but to really get the pumpkin vibe from these cookies, you need a pumpkin spice flavor. For that we use the following spices:
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Allspice
- Nutmeg
They are all great spices to have on hand during this time of year.
How to Measure Flour
As you know, flour is used in every cookie recipe. How much flour you add to your cookie dough will change it greatly. It affects the texture and how much it spreads. And even the slightest change in the amount of flour will affect this. That is why it is critical that you measure your flour properly.
While weighing flour is the most accurate way, not everyone has access to a kitchen scale. If you use the following steps, this recipe will work perfectly.
- Scoop the flour from the container you keep it in (or the bag you bought it in) using a spoon.
- Scoop it into a dry measuring cup.
- Use the flat edge of a handle (like that of a spatula) to level off the top of the measuring cup.
Measuring in this way will ensure that your flour is not packed into the measuring cup. This is something that can happen if you scoop right from the container with the measuring cup.
Cookie Making Tips
In addition to measuring your flour properly there are a few tips that will help this recipe turn out perfectly.
- Make sure that your butter is melted, but not steaming hot. Allowing it to cool a little prevents it from cooking the eggs that you add.
- Use fresh baking soda. You can test it by adding a little to vinegar, if it bubbles right away it will work in your cookies.
- Be sure to buy pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. They are not the same thing and will not work the same in these cookies.
Why Melted Butter
Though melted butter and room temperature butter taste the same in cookies, they act differently. Melted butter helps the cookies spread more. Additionally, it makes for a more chewy cookie.
Freezing Dough
This is a great recipe to form into dough balls and then freeze. Follow the recipe just up until placing them in the oven. Instead place the prepared dough balls on wax paper and freeze for one hour. Transfer to an airtight container.
When ready to bake place them right from the freezer onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 11 to 14 minutes.
Storing
After baking these cookies should be stored in an airtight container. Eat within one week of baking.
Freeze any left over cookies in an airtight container. They can stay in the freezer for up to three months.
Other Great Pumpkin Recipes
If you can’t get enough of pumpkin this time of year, you are not alone. Here are some of my other favorite recipes:
If you make these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies and love them, please leave me a note in the comment section! I love hearing from you!
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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon all spice
- 1/8 teaspoon cloves
- 16 tablespoons unsalted batter melted and cooled (for five minutes)
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3/4 cup 100% pureed pumpkin
- 2 cups milk chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside
- In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and all spice. Set aside.
- Mix together the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth, about one minute. Add in the egg yolk, then the vanilla, then the pumpkin, mixing a little until after adding each ingredient. Mix until well combined, about 30 seconds.
- Add in the flour mixture. Mix on low for less than a minute, just until the flour will not fly out of the bowl. Turn the mixer up, and mix for just a few seconds – just until the flour is fully integrated and no streaks remain.
- Stir in the milk chocolate chips.
- Form into 1 1/2 tablespoon dough balls. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pans half way through, until the edges just begin to brown. Be careful not to over bake.
- Let sit on the baking pan two minutes, then remove to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
Mir says
Speak no more of this, or you will totally jinx it. It’s magical. Accept its beauty, enjoy it while it lasts, and know that it will end. The glory and terror of childhood phases is that they all end. Just like a good cookie, sadly.
Speaking of…wow. Love these!
Renee says
It feels like those chocolate chips are begging me to take a bite. Love the inclusion of spices in this cookie recipe.
I hope you like them Renee!
Heather welch says
Making these now as i speak…my kitchen smells glorious and hubby keeps sneaking in to grab some already cooked…….apparently he loves them and says i can make some again in a coup;le of days lol…thankyou for this recipe…yummy yummy
I’m so happy to hear he likes them!
Brandice Roberts says
I certainly will not be on the judgey parent list! I have 4 kids ranging from 16-25, and there is definitely a favorites ranking that can change by the moment! Just last week, I couldn’t stand by 16 year old so I totally feel your pain… the good thing is-their good/wicked cycles are usually brief, and as long as they all get their turn on the top of the list once in a while-I think it’s all good :) Some days/weeks/moments-they even share the top spot!!
I love this comment so much, Brandice! Thank you!
Karen says
In both of your cookie recipes (which I’m planning on making) why do you just use the egg yolk? Just asking…
If you used the whole egg it would make it cakey :)
Liz zapola says
Can whole wheat flour be used as a substitute and agave instead of sugar
I haven’t tried that yet, but if you do, let me know how they turn out!
Lariss says
I cannot wait to make these. For the pumpkin can you use pumpkin pie filling?
It should be 100% pumpkin puree.
Betty says
Is it one or two teaspoons of vanilla
Hi Betty! This is an updated old recipe. I changed it from 1 teaspoon to 2 in the remake. I hope you like them!
Leah Lauener says
why with 16 tablespoons, can we convert that into cups?
I appreciate that, and if I had it in cups, someone would complain it wasn’t in tablespoons. For what it’s worth, 16 tablespoons is 1 cup.
IPnewbie says
These were delicious, but my cookies didn’t spread :(. They stayed in the same dough ball shape that I scooped. Any advice?
I’m so sorry that this recipe didn’t work out the way you were hoping for. With this recipe my best guess is that your flour was packed. The flour needs to be scooped into the dry measuring cup (the plastic kind, not the glass) and then leveled off. If you scooped right from the bag of flour, your flour could have gotten packed, meaning you could have ended up with 25% more flour than you intended. That’s a lot! That can definitely lead to cookies not spreading.