I’m confident you’ll love these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! I worked hard to create a chewy pumpkin cookie that’s not cakey like most pumpkin cookie recipes. Omitting the egg, using melted butter, and blotting the pumpkin guarantee these pumpkin cookies taste like my favorite chewy chocolate chip cookies with brilliant pumpkin spice flavor.
Sometimes you just need a chocolate chip cookie, especially when pumpkin spice season—I mean fall—takes over.
Out of all my pumpkin recipes, you’re looking at one of the best. Right up there with my great pumpkin pie recipe! Originally published in 2013, these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are a constant hit with bakers around the world. I bake at least 3-4 batches each fall season and they ALWAYS put me in a fall state of mind. Sometimes I even replace the chocolate chips with chopped pecans or roll them in cinnamon sugar to yield pumpkin snickerdoodles!
These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies Are:
- Soft-baked, but not as soft as a piece of cake
- Chewy
- Egg-free
- Buttery
- Perfectly spiced and you can use homemade pumpkin pie spice!
- Relatively quick—only 30 minutes to chill the dough
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies Video
This is Not a Cakey Pumpkin Cookie
I have appreciation for all pumpkin cookies, but I definitely prefer chewy pumpkin cookies over cakey pumpkin cookies. My regular pumpkin cookies taste like soft & cakey muffin tops. They’re obviously good, but sometimes you crave a pumpkin cookie that has the same dense & chewy texture as a regular chocolate chip cookie.
I call this the “cakey pumpkin cookie problem.” When I began recipe testing today’s cookies, I was desperate to find a solution that would help guarantee a denser texture. And guess what? I finally solved it. You see, pumpkin is soft, mushy, and full of moisture. In fact, pumpkin puree is approximately 90% water by mass. (That’s what helps make pumpkin bread so moist!) But for cookies, excessive moisture = cakey texture. Think about cake batter or muffin batter—it’s a lot more wet than cookie dough, right? We actually want cookie dough to be sturdier and drier to produce denser, chewier cookies.
My 4 Tricks to Apply in this Recipe
- Blot the Pumpkin: This first trick is actually optional, but I find it remarkably useful when I make pumpkin oatmeal cookies, pumpkin crumb cake cookies, and pumpkin oatmeal cream pies. Using a paper towel, blot out some of the pumpkin’s moisture so all that’s left is the flavor. See photo below. Use the blotted pumpkin in the cookie dough.
- Melted Butter: As you know from chewy chocolate chip cookies, melted butter makes cookies ultra chewy. Instead of creaming butter and sugars together, start with melted butter and whisk in the sugars. You don’t need a mixer!
- Skip the Eggs: What is the purpose of eggs in a cookie recipe? They bind ingredients together, tenderize the texture, and leave behind moisture. After some experimenting, I cut out the egg completely. Pumpkin replaces the eggs. If you’re looking for other egg-free baking recipes, give my shortbread cookies a try.
- Give it Time: Let the cookies cool on a cooling rack for awhile. They’re delicious warm from the oven, but I find both their chewiness and flavor amplify over time. Sometimes I even leave them uncovered on the cooling rack overnight. The next day, they’re chewier and more flavorful. That being said, this is an awesome make-ahead dessert recipe!
Chill for Only 30 Minutes
This pumpkin chocolate chip cookie dough is a little sticky. Chill for at least 30 minutes before rolling into balls and baking. The cookies only spread slightly in the oven, so slightly flatten out the cookie dough balls with the back of a spoon before baking.
Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
- Yield: 18 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
I’m confident you’ll love these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! Omitting the egg, using melted butter, and blotting the pumpkin guarantee a chewier texture.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, melted & slightly cooled
- 1/4 cup (50g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 6 Tablespoons (86g) pumpkin puree (see note)*
- 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon store-bought or homemade pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 cup (90g) semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus a few extra for the tops
Instructions
- Whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together in a medium bowl until no brown sugar lumps remain. Whisk in the vanilla and blotted pumpkin until smooth. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice together in a large bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon or rubber spatula. The dough will be very soft. Fold in 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips. The chips may not stick to the dough because of the melted butter, but do your best to combine.
- Cover the dough and chill for 30 minutes or up to 3 days. Chilling the dough is imperative for this recipe.
- Remove dough from the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Scoop the dough, about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough per cookie, and roll each into balls. Arrange cookie dough balls 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Using the back of a spoon or the bottom of a cup/measuring cup, slightly flatten the tops of the dough balls. (Without doing so, the cookies may not spread.)
- Bake for 11-12 minutes or until the edges appear set. The cookies will look very soft in the center. Remove from the oven. If you find that your cookies didn’t spread much at all, flatten them out with the back of a spoon when you take them out of the oven. If desired, press a few chocolate chips into the tops of the warm cookies. This is only for looks.
- Cool cookies on the baking sheets for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. The longer the cookies cool, the even better they taste! The flavor gets stronger and the texture becomes chewier. I usually let them sit, uncovered, for several hours before serving. Chewiness and pumpkin flavor are even stronger on day 2.
- Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Allow to come to room temperature, then continue with step 4. Baked cookies freeze well up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Here are my tips for how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Rubber Spatula | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
- Pumpkin: Squeeze as much of the moisture out of the pumpkin puree as you can before adding it to the cookie dough. I simply squeeze the puree with paper towels. See photo in the post for a visual. This will help produce a less cakey cookie. Less moisture is a good thing here! Measure 6 Tablespoons AFTER the pumpkin has been squeezed/blotted. Do not use pumpkin pie filling.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: You can find pumpkin pie spice in the baking aisle of most grocery stores or make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice. If you don’t have either and want to use individual spices, use 1/4 teaspoon each: ground ginger, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, and ground allspice. This is in addition to the 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon—you will still add that.
- Chilled Dough: If you are chilling the pumpkin cookie dough for longer than 30 minutes, the cookie dough will likely have to sit on the counter at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before scooping/rolling because it will be quite cold and solid. The amount of time it needs to sit at room temperature depends on how long the dough has chilled. If I chill my cookie dough for around 24 hours, I let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
- Bigger Batch: Cookie recipe can easily be doubled by doubling each ingredient. Chill the cookie dough for 45 minutes.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
My go to pumpkin cookies. My store brand pumpkin puree isn’t too wet so I never bother with blotting. Sometimes I don’t even blot with Libby’s and just add a little extra flour and they turn out fine. I love how easy they are and everyone I give them to loves them too.
Your recipes are delicious! Thank you for sharing!
I’m going to make these and try a trick I just learned with a pumpkin snickerdoodle recipe I tried recently. Microwave the pumpkin purée a minute at a time for up to five minutes to reduce the moisture then allow to cool 🙂
I’ve made these a few times and find it is a lot of work and messy to get enough moisture out of the pumpkin. It’s more than just “blotting” it. Has anyone ever tried to eliminate moisture by reducing it in a pan on the stove? Letting it completely cool and then use it?
Very good. I may have undercooked them. The inside is but has a wet look BUT incredibly good.
Question. What amount of pumpkin do you use so it reduces to 6 T after drying. I looked in the recipe but did not see. I guessed using a heaping half cup
I think it states in the post to measure 6 TBSP after getting the moisture out.
Can i substitute chocolate chips for M&Ms?
Absolutely!
Made these over the weekend and they turned out very yummy but were unfortunately not very moist… they were chewy like any other good chocolate chip cookie but they didn’t wow me. They also were not very heavy in the pumpkin. It just felt like you sat a chocolate chip cookie next to a can of pumpkin puree…. Good but not the best!
I’ve made these a few times now and they always come out great! I’m thinking of using them for pumpkin whoopie pies but omitting the chocolate chips (maybe mini chocolate chips). Do you think these will work?
Hi Nana, we’d recommend using these soft pumpkin cookies instead (they’re a bit softer and more comparable to a soft whoopie pie). You could use the filling from these gingerbread whoopie pies or these pumpkin oatmeal cream pies. Let us know what you try!
Could a dairy free butter be used here do you think?
Hi Haley, you could try using a vegan butter but we’re unsure of the results. Let us know what you try!
I used the country crock unsalted dairy free butter and it worked just great!
These are really good, but the recipe is teeny tiny. I doubled it and it was still a small batch of cookies.
Hi Kerri, one batch should yield about 18 cookies. Thanks for giving this recipe a try!
I’ve made these 3 times now and still can’t get a decent chewy cookie. Not sure if I’m not getting enough moisture out of the pumpkin? But it was pretty dry. Gonna try and make them into bars so I don’t have to dump it. Anyone have tips on these?
All our tips are in the post above, Indy!
What if i use white chocolate chips instead, as they are sweeter, should i reduce the grams of sugar? thank you Sally
Hi Pamela, we wouldn’t change the dough, but you can use white chocolate chips if you would like!
Super simple, and very flavorful. Definitely better on day 2, if they last that long.
I modified a bit… browned the butter, added 3T molasses and ground pepper to the mix…and that really brought out some deeper flavors.
I made these twice in one weekend. They are irresistible!! 10/10
Is it possible to swap butter for vegetable oil to make these vegan?
Hi Sally, if you’re looking for a substitute for the butter, melted coconut oil is best. You want a fat that’s solid at room temperature and liquid when warmed. The flavor will be different, but they’ll still be excellent. Many readers have made this substitution and reported back with great results!
These are yummy! I added some walnuts and craisins as well.
These came out sooooo well, will definitely be my new go-to pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe!
I followed this recipe and even coated the balls of dough with cinnamon sugar but found them to be very lightly pumpkin flavored, dry, cakes and not at all chewy. I was disappointed in the outcome. I felt the cookies lacked substance and flavor. If I try this recipe again I will try adding more pumpkin and eggs.
Hi Lee! I wonder if perhaps your cookies could have been over-baked, leading to the dry texture and bland flavor. Thank you for giving these a try!
Has anyone made these cookies gluten-free? If so, what type of flour(s) did you use and what ratio did you do, if you used more than one type?
Hi Olivia, We have not tested these with gluten free flour but let us know if you do.
I have with Bob’s 1:1 (the light blue bag) and they were great
I love this recipe! Makes me feel more autumny! Thank you Sally!
I’m honestly upset bc me and my friends were so excited to make these for girls night and they tasted rlly weird. Idk if we made them wrong but just want to make people aware
I LOVE this recipe! Although apparentlyI don’t read very well because I just noticed I am supposed to CHILL the dough😂
I’ll do so next time and I am sure they will be even better!
Is it possible to blot the pumpkin too much? I have made these cookies many times and they are always a hit, but in my last batch I noticed they were a little dryer. I watched the video and the pumpkin looked a little runnier than mine usually looks. Thank you for your feedback and an awesome recipe!
Hi Summer, yes, it would be possible! Also be very careful not to over-bake the cookies. So glad you love them!
These look delicious! Any idea if this recipe could be throw into a baking pan and turned into bars for easier serving a large crowd?
Hi Valeria, Absolutely. Use a 9-inch square baking pan. Follow the baking instructions for chocolate chip cookie bars. The bake time may be a few minutes shorter, but keep your eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness.
Would the dough still need to be chilled if doing these bar style, and if I wanted to double the recipe what size pan would I use and what would be the bake time?
Hi Celine, you could try a 9×13-inch pan for double the recipe. We’re unsure of the exact bake time. No need to chill the dough if making bars. Enjoy!
These pumpkin cookies are delicious! I let my pumpkin drain, on paper towels, overnight. I replaced the paper towels a couple of times because it got really wet really quick. I didn’t have pumpkin spice blend but I had the ingredients for it (other than the nutmeg). I didn’t measure it. I just put some cloves, ginger, allspice, and extra cinnamon in. I did add 1 T. of molasses to a double batch. Helps to amp up the pumpkin flavor. So so good! And I love that they aren’t like typical pumpkin cookies that are sticky. These are like really good chocolate chip cookies.
I will be adding more pumpkin next time as the 6 tablespoons leaves the flavor just a bit lacking, but these smell and taste great otherwise! The texture is wonderful and it comes together very easily. Good cookie!