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These pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are chewy, buttery, and never cakey, and that last part took me a very long time to get right. Most pumpkin cookies puff up into something closer to a little muffin top. These bake up with crisp golden edges and a soft middle, exactly like a good chocolate chip cookie that happens to taste like fall.
If you like these, you’ll want my pumpkin snickerdoodles, my brown butter chocolate chip cookies, and my chocolate chip cookies made without butter next.
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- What Makes These Pumpkin Cookies Chewy
- Why Most Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies Turn Out Cakey
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Ingredients
- How to Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Eden’s Cookie Tips
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Variations
- Make Ahead and Freezing
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie FAQs
- More Pumpkin Recipes
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
What Makes These Pumpkin Cookies Chewy
- Remove the excess pumpkin moisture: Even ⅓ cup holds a surprising amount of liquid. Gently draining it helps keep the cookies dense and chewy instead of cakey.
- Use melted butter: It gives the cookies a denser texture than creaming softened butter.
- Chill the dough: I chill mine for a full hour so the cookies don’t spread too much in the oven.
- Don’t overbake: Pull them when the edges are golden but the centers still look soft. They’ll continue to set on the baking sheet.
- No mixer needed: A whisk and spatula are all you need.
“This is my favorite fall cookie recipe! They’re so moist and are always a hit with the kids.” — Trang
Why Most Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies Turn Out Cakey
Pumpkin holds a lot of water, and that extra moisture is one of the reasons pumpkin cookies can turn out soft and cakey instead of dense and chewy. Even though this recipe only uses ⅓ cup of pumpkin puree, I gently remove the excess moisture before adding it to the dough. Combined with melted butter and chilling the dough, it gives these cookies crisp golden edges and soft, chewy centers.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Ingredients
All-purpose flour. I use King Arthur. Spoon it into the cup and level it off so you don’t pack in extra.
Pumpkin puree. Libby’s 100% pure pumpkin. Not pumpkin pie filling, which is already sweetened and spiced.
Dark brown sugar and granulated sugar. The brown sugar brings moisture and a little molasses depth, the granulated helps the edges crisp.
Melted unsalted butter. Melt it and let it cool before it goes in.
One egg. It binds everything and adds richness.
Pumpkin pie spice. Store bought is fine, but my homemade blend is better and takes two minutes.
Baking soda, Baking Powder, and salt.
Semisweet chocolate chips. Dark or milk work too. Semisweet is my favorite here because it keeps the cookies from going too sweet.
Coarse salt, for sprinkling on the dough balls before they bake.
How to Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Remove the excess moisture from the pumpkin. Triple or quadruple a paper towel and place the pumpkin puree in the center. Let it sit for a minute or two to absorb the moisture, then gather the paper towel around the pumpkin and gently twist and squeeze. Be careful not to squeeze too hard or the paper towel can tear. You’ll be surprised by how much liquid comes out!
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a large liquid measuring cup, mix the pumpkin puree, melted and cooled butter, vanilla, and egg.
- Whisk the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, both sugars, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.
- Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold gently with a spatula until you don’t see any dry flour. Don’t overmix.
- Add the chocolate. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Chill the dough. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour. I always go the full hour.
- Get ready to bake. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Scoop. Scoop the dough onto the sheet with room between each one, then sprinkle a pinch of coarse salt over the tops.
- Bake. Bake for 13 minutes, until the cookies are slightly puffed and golden at the edges. Don’t overbake them.
- Cool. Let them sit on the pan for 10 minutes before moving them to a rack. Let the pan cool completely before the next batch goes on.
Eden’s Cookie Tips
Cool the butter. Hot butter will scramble the egg and melt the chocolate chips into streaks. Melt it first thing so it has time to sit.
Remove excess moisture from the pumpkin. Place the pumpkin puree on a few layers of paper towels, let it sit for a minute, then gently squeeze out the excess liquid. Scrape the pumpkin from the paper towel and add it to the wet ingredients.
Measure the flour properly. Scooping straight from the bag packs in extra, and extra flour is the number one reason cookies come out dry. Spoon and level, or weigh it.
Pull them early. They’ll look barely set in the middle at 13 minutes. That’s correct. They finish on the hot pan.
Let them rest. Ten minutes on the sheet before they move. Same technique I use for my chocolate chip walnut cookies, and it makes a real difference to the texture.
They’re even better on day two. The pumpkin flavor deepens overnight.
Brown the butter for even more flavor: For a deeper, slightly nutty flavor, you can lightly brown the butter before making the cookies. Just make sure to let it cool before adding it to the dough. The butter should be cool, but still liquid.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Variations
- Swap the semisweet chips for dark or milk chocolate, or use a mix.
- Use white chocolate chips for something sweeter.
- Replace half the chocolate with chopped pecans or walnuts.
- Skip the coarse salt on top if you’d rather keep them straightforward.
And if you love a chocolate chip cookie in every form, my brookies are the natural next batch.
Make Ahead and Freezing
The dough can be made and refrigerated up to 24 hours ahead. If it’s been in longer than an hour, let it sit on the counter for about 15 minutes before scooping so it’s soft enough to work with.
You can also freeze the scooped dough balls in a sealed bag and bake them straight from frozen. Add a minute or two to the bake time.
Baked cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. They’re honestly delicious eaten cold, straight from the freezer.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie FAQs
Probably too much flour. Scooping straight from the bag packs in extra, so spoon it into the cup and level it off. Cold dough does it too, so if yours chilled a while, let it sit out for 15 minutes and press the tops down a little before baking.
Yes. This is the one step you can’t skip. Without it the melted butter softens too fast in the oven and the cookies spread flat and greasy.
You can. Keep it covered or in a sealed bag, and use it within 24 hours. Let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes before you scoop.
I’d stick with canned. Libby’s has a stronger flavor and it’s more consistent batch to batch. Homemade puree tends to be waterier, which is the one thing we’re avoiding here.
Use 1 teaspoon cinnamon plus 1/4 teaspoon each of ground ginger and nutmeg. Or make a jar of my homemade pumpkin pie spice and have it ready all season.
Too much flour, or too much mixing once the flour goes in. Fold just until the streaks disappear and then walk away.
Warm dough, almost every time. And let your pan cool between batches, because a hot sheet gets them spreading before they even hit the oven.
The biggest thing is controlling the extra moisture from the pumpkin. I gently remove the excess liquid from the puree, use melted butter, chill the dough, and avoid overbaking. Together, those steps give the cookies crisp edges and soft, chewy centers instead of a cakey texture.
More Pumpkin Recipes
If you make these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, please leave a comment and a star rating below. It genuinely helps other bakers find the recipe, and I love hearing how they turned out.
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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup brown sugar , dark or light
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Remove excess moisture from the pumpkin: Triple or quadruple a paper towel and place the pumpkin puree in the center. Let it sit for 1–2 minutes to absorb the moisture. Gather the paper towel around the pumpkin, then gently twist and squeeze to remove as much excess liquid as possible without tearing the paper towel. Scrape the drained pumpkin puree into a bowl and set aside.
- In a large liquid measuring cup, add 1/3 cup pumpkin puree (drained), 1/2 cup melted and cooled butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1 large egg. Mix quickly to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold gently with a spatula until no dry flour remains. Do not overmix.
- Add 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips and fold in gently.
- Cover and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes to 1 hour. One hour is best.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Using a 2-inch cookie scoop, place 9 dough balls on the baking sheet, spaced apart. The full batch makes about 20 cookies. Let the pan cool completely between batches, or use a second pan.
- Sprinkle a pinch of coarse salt over each dough ball.
- Bake for 13 minutes, until the cookies are slightly puffed and golden at the edges. Do not overbake.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made these today, really took the moisture out of the pumpkin, and oh my goodness, they’re my favorite cookies!!
I have made many different pumpkin cookies and this will be the recipe I’ll be using moving forward. Just amount of pumpkin flavor. Everyone must make these cookies.
I’ll be making these cookies this week to give to a friend (and for me, too). I had a question. You said:
“Let the Cookies Rest – These cookies need to sit for at least 10 minutes after they bake. As they firm up and cool, they will become chewy and even more flavorful.”
Do you mean for the cookies to sit in the baking sheet for 10 minutes; OR remove them from the baking sheet and let it sit on a cooling rack? Thanks for your help.
You can let them rest on the cookie sheet for a few minutes and then move them to a rack when they are firm enough and won’t break.
These are perfection!!!!
This is my favorite fall cookie recipe! They’re so moist and are always a hit with the kids.
YUMMY! My kids would LOVE these!!
Oh boy, these are so so good! I might have to hide the last few from my kids!
These cookies were amazing! So easy, delicious and they had the perfect amount of spice. Thanks for the great recipe!
This pumpkin chocolate chip cookies is so tasty and super easy to make! Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe! Will surely make this again! Highly recommended!
I have found a new weakness!! I will be making these every week! Soft & gooey, with the perfect amount of pumpkin flavor!