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This pumpkin cookies recipe makes the softest, pillowy pumpkin cookies loaded with warm pumpkin spice and gooey chocolate chips. Made with a full cup of pumpkin puree and simple pantry ingredients, they’re easy to mix, scoop and bake with no dough chilling required.
Table of Contents
- Are Pumpkin Cookies Supposed to Be Cakey?
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- How to Make Pumpkin Cookies
- Tips for the Best Pumpkin Cookies
- Pumpkin Cookie Troubleshooting
- Pumpkin Cookie Variations
- Can I Make These Gluten Free or Dairy Free?
- How to Store and Freeze Pumpkin Cookies
- More Favorite Cookie Recipes
- Watch How to Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
After testing batch after batch, we finally found the pumpkin-to-flour ratio that gives you plenty of pumpkin flavor without ending up with cookies that are dry, dense or soggy. And those mini chocolate chips? Don’t skip them!
Why You’ll Love This Pumpkin Cookies Recipe
- SO soft and pillowy: These aren’t thin, crispy chocolate chip cookies. They’re thick, tender and almost melt in your mouth.
- No chilling: Mix the dough, scoop it onto the baking sheet and bake. No waiting for cookie dough to chill!
- Full of pumpkin flavor: A full cup of pumpkin puree gives these cookies plenty of real pumpkin flavor in every bite.
- Mini chocolate chips in every bite: The smaller chips distribute throughout the dough so you get pumpkin, spice and chocolate in every bite.
- Easy enough for the kids: This is one of those simple cookie recipes that’s perfect for little helpers.
Are Pumpkin Cookies Supposed to Be Cakey?
Yes! Traditional pumpkin cookies are naturally softer and more cake-like than regular chocolate chip cookies because pumpkin puree adds so much moisture to the dough.
And that’s exactly what we wanted with this recipe.
These aren’t meant to be thin or crispy. They’re thick, pillowy, incredibly soft pumpkin cookies with a tender center and mini chocolate chips scattered through every bite.
Try our chewy pumpkin cookies if you’re looking for a dense and chewy pumpkin cookie instead.
Ingredients You’ll Need
The ingredients for these pumpkin cookies are nothing out of the ordinary, but the amount of certain ingredients is what makes these cookies so addicting. For these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies you’ll need:
- Vegetable Oil: Keeps these pumpkin cookies incredibly soft and tender, even after they cool.
- Granulated Sugar: Adds sweetness and helps balance the earthy pumpkin.
- Brown Sugar: Adds deeper caramel-like sweetness and helps keep the cookies soft.
- Pumpkin Puree: The star! Use 100% pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling.
- Egg: Gives the soft cookies structure and binds the dough together.
- Vanilla Extract: Rounds out the pumpkin, spice and chocolate flavors.
- All-Purpose Flour: Provides enough structure to hold all that pumpkin without making the cookies dense.
- Baking Powder + Baking Soda: The combination gives the cookies their soft, pillowy rise.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness and makes the pumpkin spice and chocolate pop.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: Gives you cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves all in one.
- Mini Chocolate Chips: Our favorite! Mini chips distribute more evenly so you get little pockets of chocolate throughout every cookie.
PRO TIP: Make sure you’re buying pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling already contains sugar and spices and will throw off the flavor and texture of the cookies.
How to Make Pumpkin Cookies
If you’ve made classic chocolate chip cookies before, you can certainly handle this pumpkin version! Here’s how to make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies:
- Prep: Heat the oven and line your baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Mix the wet ingredients: Beat together the oil and sugars, then mix in the pumpkin, egg and vanilla.
- Combine the dry ingredients: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Toss in the chocolate chips.
- Make the dough: Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and stir just until combined.
- Scoop: Drop evenly sized scoops of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake: Bake until the tops and edges are set. Don’t overbake!
- Cool: Let the cookies cool briefly on the pan before moving them to a wire rack.
The dough will be softer and stickier than traditional chocolate chip cookie dough. That’s exactly what you want!
Tips for the Best Pumpkin Cookies
Use pure pumpkin puree. Pumpkin pie filling contains added sugar and spices and isn’t interchangeable with pure pumpkin.
Don’t add extra flour because the dough looks soft. Pumpkin cookie dough is naturally much softer than regular chocolate chip cookie dough. Adding more flour can leave you with dry, dense cookies.
Measure the flour correctly. Spoon flour into the measuring cup and level it off rather than scooping directly from the bag. Better yet, use a kitchen scale if you have one.
Don’t overmix. Once the flour goes in, mix only until everything comes together. Overmixing can make the cookies tougher.
Use mini chocolate chips. Tossing them with the dry ingredients helps distribute them throughout the dough, and mini chips give you chocolate in practically every bite.
Don’t overbake. Pull the cookies when they’re set rather than waiting for them to become deeply browned. They’ll continue setting as they cool.
Use a cookie scoop. Equal-sized scoops bake at the same rate and give you prettier cookies.
Pumpkin Cookie Troubleshooting
These cookies are supposed to be soft, thick and pillowy rather than dense and chewy like a classic chocolate chip cookie. Pumpkin contains a lot of moisture, which naturally creates a softer, more cake-like texture. If you want chewy pumpkin cookies, we’ve got you covered!
The two most likely causes are too much flour or overbaking. Spoon and level the flour instead of packing it into the measuring cup, and remove the cookies from the oven as soon as they’re set.
That’s normal! With a full cup of pumpkin puree, this dough will be much softer and stickier than traditional cookie dough. Don’t keep adding flour to make it look like chocolate chip cookie dough.
These are thick pumpkin cookies and aren’t designed to spread dramatically. If they’re unusually tall or dense, however, check that you didn’t accidentally add too much flour.
Double-check your flour measurement and make sure you used pumpkin puree rather than pumpkin pie filling. Also make sure your baking soda and baking powder were measured correctly.
They may be underbaked or too large. Use a cookie scoop so every cookie is the same size and bake until the tops and edges are set.
Absolutely. We prefer mini chocolate chips because they spread throughout the dough more evenly, but semisweet, milk chocolate or white chocolate chips will all work.
Pumpkin Cookie Variations
If you want to change things up with this recipe, you can take out the chocolate chips and replace them with chopped pecans, walnuts or raisins. Another delicious option would be to top them with cream cheese frosting! Yum!
Can I Make These Gluten Free or Dairy Free?
A reader reported having success making these pumpkin cookies with Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour in place of the all-purpose flour. They also replaced the baking powder with baking soda (1/2 teaspoon) and vinegar (1 teaspoon). We haven’t personally tested either substitution, so results may vary.
For dairy-free cookies, the cookie dough itself is made with oil rather than butter, so simply use your favorite dairy-free chocolate chips.
How to Store and Freeze Pumpkin Cookies
Storing: Store cooled pumpkin cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. Because they’re so soft, place parchment paper between layers to keep them from sticking together.
Freezing baked cookies: Let the cookies cool completely, then freeze them in an airtight container or freezer bag. Thaw at room temperature when you’re ready for a cookie.
Freezing cookie dough: Scoop the dough into individual portions before freezing and freeze for up to 3 months. Trust me, you don’t want to try scooping frozen pumpkin cookie dough! Once frozen solid, transfer the dough balls to a freezer bag or airtight container.
After all those batches of pumpkin cookies, this is still the one we come back to every fall. This pumpkin cookies recipe is easy, loaded with real pumpkin and warm spices, and makes the softest, pillowy cookies with little pockets of chocolate in every bite. Grab that can of pumpkin and a bag of mini chocolate chips—once these start baking, your whole house is going to smell like fall!
More Favorite Cookie Recipes
- Chewy Banana Cookies
- Thick Chocolate Chip Cookies
- S’mores Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chewy Pumpkin Cookies
- Pumpkin Pie Cookies
- All our COOKIE RECIPES here!
Watch How to Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ Cup Vegetable Oil
- ½ Cup White Sugar
- ⅔ Cup Light Brown Sugar
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 Cup Pumpkin Puree
- ¾ teaspoon Vanilla
- 2 ¼ Cups Flour
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice, see note
- 1 ¾ Cups Mini Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 ℉.
- Place a silpat or parchment paper on each cookie sheet.
- Add the oil and sugars to a standing mixer and beat for 2 minutes.½ Cup Vegetable Oil, ½ Cup White Sugar, ⅔ Cup Light Brown Sugar
- Add the egg and beat for 30 seconds.1 Large Egg
- Add the pumpkin and vanilla and mix on low, gradually increasing the speed until smooth.1 Cup Pumpkin Puree, ¾ teaspoon Vanilla
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.2 ¼ Cups Flour, 2 teaspoons Baking Powder, ½ teaspoon Baking Soda, ½ teaspoon Salt, 1 Tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
- After thoroughly mixing the dry ingredients, add in the chocolate chips and stir. The flour will help the chocolate chips be evenly distributed throughout the cookie.1 ¾ Cups Mini Chocolate Chips
- Add the dry ingredients and chocolate chips to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Using a cookie scoop, scoop the dough on to cookie sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes or until dry looking on top.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely then store in an airtight container.
Recipe Notes
- If you don’t have Pumpkin Spice
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I am so happy! Instead of dropping cookies, I spread the dough into a cake pan, and baked at 3:50 for half an hour. Perfection! Now, all I have to do is cut it into bars.