It was hard work but someone had to do it. We searched for the best pumpkin chocolate chip cookies recipe and today we are sharing it with all of you!!
Why are pumpkin chocolate chip cookies so popular? Even if you don’t like them, you probably know someone who can’t get enough of these festive cookies. We are going to walk you through the steps for making them.
These pumpkin cookies thick and chewy, loaded with chocolate chips and perfectly spiced with those fall flavors we love!
Creating This Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
You know where this all started for us, don’t you? The grocery store. It’s not very often that I buy cookies at the grocery store because:
- We enjoy making cookies together.
- We love cookie dough (don’t you dare pull the egg thing on me. I know, I know).
- I happen to think we make really good cookies, so why buy them?
None of that matters when it comes to pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. We tried so many recipes and just didn’t love them so we kept buying the big, pillowy cookies on a tray from the store. Until last year. Last year everything changed. We discovered the most melt in your mouth pumpkin cookie recipe EVER.
You see, Pinterest was bonkers about pumpkin last year. I’d say it was one of the biggest pumpkin years ever, and with all of the pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipes we just had to start testing them all. And you know what, it was the one that was plastered all over Pinterest we liked the least.
We discovered that often those really high cookies were either too dense and soggy or 90% of the time way too dry. So scratch that. We needed pillowy but height was no longer a concern.
Too little or too much pumpkin led to flavorless or eating squash tasting cookies. We found that 1 cup was the perfect amount. Recipes that were doubled or even tripled didn’t come out as well so we stuck to our 3 dozen batch.
It took some time and patience, but now that we’ve discovered the secret to making truly phenomenal pumpkin cookies with gooey chocolate chips, we’ll never go back to the store-bought kind.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients
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:
- Oil: vegetable oil works great
- Granulated Sugar: adds sweetness
- Brown Sugar: adds sweetness and rich flavor
- Pumpkin Puree: make sure you get pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling
- Egg: adds structure to the cookies and binds everything together
- Vanilla Extract: adds flavor
- Flour: just regular all-purpose flour is all you need
- Baking Powder: acts as a leavening agent to give the cookies rise
- Baking Soda: acts as a leavening agent to give the cookies rise
- Salt: balances and enhances all the flavors
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: a combination of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves
- Chocolate Chips: We like the flavor of semisweet chocolate chips in these, but you could use milk chocolate or even white chocolate if you want!
See? Nothing fancy here. We didn’t want to think too far outside the box for this cookie recipe since we wanted to stay true to the classic flavor and texture we love.
All the measurements can be found in the recipe card at the end of the this post.
How to Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
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!
How to Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip 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: Preheat the oven and line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper.
- Wet Ingredients: Start by creaming together the oil and sugars in a large bowl, then add the remaining wet ingredients and mix until combined.
- Dry Ingredients: Add all the dry ingredients to a separate bowl and add the chocolate chips and fold them in until they are coated in the dry ingredients. Then combine the dry ingredients and wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Scoop: Using a cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough onto the prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake: Bake until the edges are set and the tops look firm. Allow the cookies to cool on a wire rack.
The complete instructions can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
How to Make Gluten and Dairy Free
We had a reader reach out to us with some tips on making this recipe gluten free and dairy free that we wanted to share with you. The butter was replaced with fake butter, Bob’s 1 to 1 Gluten Free Baking Flour was a substitute for the regular flour, replace the baking powder with baking soda and vinegar, and swap the chocolate chips for dairy free chocolate chips. The reader said you couldn’t taste the difference at all!
Why You Will Love This Cookie Recipe
Easy: My 8yo has been making these this fall. They are that easy!
Pantry Ingredients: All the ingredients are likely items that you’ll have in the pantry or fridge already.
Texture: These cookies are thick, cakey, and so soft with the perfect amount of crumble. You will love the chewiness!
Flavor: The pumpkin with the perfect amount of warm spices creates the best flavor in these cookies.
Tips for Making Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
To ensure the chocolate chips get evenly distributed throughout the cookie dough, we tossed them with the dry ingredients before mixing them into the wet dough. Coating the chocolate chips in the flour mixture prevents them from sinking to the bottom of the dough and makes for a prettier cookie!
You can use any chocolate chips you’d like in these pumpkin cookies, but MINI chocolate chips work the best. Semi-sweet chocolate chips pair nicely with the sweet cookie dough and warm spices, but milk or even white chocolate chips would work here too.
Lastly, make sure you’re using pure pumpkin puree and not canned pumpkin pie filling in these cookies! Pumpkin pie filling is pre-sweetened and would make these cookies far too sweet.
How to Store Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
These pillowy, cakey cookies can be stored for 2-3 days in at room temperature in an airtight container. Pumpkin cookies are very soft and cake like, so when storing you’ll want to place them in an even layer at the bottom of a large cake pan or tupperware. Place a sheet of parchment on top, add more cookies and then cover with plastic wrap.
You can also wrap them up and freeze them for later. When you’re ready to enjoy a frozen cookie, either reheat it in the oven or microwave.
How to Freeze Cookie Dough
You can safely freeze cookie dough for up to 3 months. Honestly, ours has never kept that long. Because once you know you have cookie dough you can pull out and bake quickly, there’s no stopping late night cookie cravings. Just make sure to freeze the cookie dough after you’ve rolled it into balls, because it’s impossible to scoop it into balls once frozen.
After testing and testing different recipes and ingredient ratios, we have created the best pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! Celebrate the arrival of fall with these thick and chewy pumpkin cookies with mini chocolate chips!
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The BEST Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Description
Equipment
- Stand Mixer, (I love my KitchenAid)
- Cookie Sheet, (this light colored one is perfect)
- Silpat Mat, (a great, reusable option)
- Cookie Scoop, (a must!)
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
- 1/2 Cup White Sugar
- 2/3 Cup Light Brown Sugar
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 Cup Pumpkin Puree
- 3/4 teaspoon Vanilla
- 2 ¼ Cups Flour
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice, see note
- 1 ¾ Cups Mini Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place a silpat or parchment paper on each cookie sheet.
- Add the oil and sugars to a standing mixer and beat for 2 minutes.1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil, 1/2 Cup White Sugar, 2/3 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, 3/4 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, 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda, 1/2 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.
Notes
- If you don’t have Pumpkin Spice
Nutrition
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KABJ
Disappointed. See if I can get this out before it logs me out again. 1st batch didn’t spread out or puff like the picture, I kept increasing time. Then it burnt on bottom. Checked recipe to see if I missed anything. Receipe does says 15 oz. CAN of Pumpkin but down in process says 1 cup. 1 went and added rest of can. 2nd batch, same results. Sorry but it was a Waste of my time and ingredients.
Sweet Basil
I’m so sorry for the frustration and confusion! It should be 1 CUP of pumpkin puree. We’ve been having so many people who have had problems with this recipe that I need to rework it and make sure all the measurements are correct. We have had some issues with our recipe plugin. Again, I’m so sorry!
Kevin Herrick
Best pumpkin cookie recipe!! I also use this recipe for the cookie in whoopie pies, while using a pumpkin spice cream cheese filling.
Sweet Basil
Thank you so much Kevin!! Mmmmm…pumpkin whoopie pies sound amazing!
b
baking time didn’t work for me…wasted a batch
Lizzie
Help, If you freeze the cookie dough. Do you bake them from frozen or thawed?
Sweet Basil
Hi Lizzie! You can bake them from frozen. They will just need a minute of two of extra baking time. Enjoy!
Miranda
This recipe needs work. The dough is too runny. Maybe 750g of flour instead of 562.5g.
Sweet Basil
Thanks for the feedback Miranda! I’ll check the measurements now and make sure they are correct.
Diana
Hi There! I plan on making these cookies this week but after reading this comment, I just wanted to make sure that the measurements are correct? Thank you so much!
Sweet Basil
Hi Diana! Yes, the measurements are correct.
Katie
Yes, I agree, Miranda! I had the same issue, dough was way too runny–I made these cookies two weeks ago and had to add extra flour, between 1/2 and 1 cup extra than what’s called for! They turned out wonderfully with the extra flour-flour measurement noted in recipe definitely needs to be tweaked.
Sweet Basil
Hi Katie! I’m so sorry for the frustration with this recipe. Let me double check all the measurements but it should be right.
Sandra Brymesser
I do this recipe with butterscotch morsels instead of chocolate.
Yummy!
Sweet Basil
Love the sound of that!! Thanks Sandra!
Goldie Bradley
Delicious. Mine turned out more rounded like a little pumpkin cake with chocolate chips. The spice mixture is just right. Will be nice throughout the fall with a cup of tea.
Sweet Basil
Thank you so much Goldie! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Ooz
Sad.. I had high hopes but I find these cookies rather flavorless. I followed the recipe exactly and it tastes like something was lacking.. sugar? or spices? sad sad
Sweet Basil
Hello! I’m so sorry for the disappointment! We have several reviews of this recipe and everyone has loved it. The amount of sugar and spices in these are a standard ratio for these types of cookies. I add more cinnamon too because I love it!
K.G.
I don’t usually comment on recipes I find but I made these and took them into work as thanks cause everyone is always working so hard and EVERYONE loved them. They were gone in seconds and for the rest of the day I kept getting comments about how good they were.
I think cause I’m a guy and in my 20s people just assume I don’t know how to bake but boy were they wrong lmao.
Just thought I should say thanks for sharing this recipe it was a hit with my co workers and was easy to make 👌🏻
Sweet Basil
So happy to hear that!! And yes, men can cook even in their 20s. In fact, often they do even better than the girls!
Sandi Thor
I have to tell you, I made your pumpkin chocolate chip cookies twice in one week!! My family, neighbors and co-workers raved they were the best cookies ever.
Always look forward to your wonderful blog.
Amanda
If these beat the ones from Harmons… I’m in!!!
shawnna
hey girl- these cookies look oh so yummy!
Sharon
Will be making soon but wonder about pumpkin. You said pumpkin filling and I assume not pumpkin pie filling? Thanks
Sweet Basil
Right, pumpkin puree. Let me correct that.
Deloris
I’m a little confused– is it the pumpkin purée or pumpkin pie filling this recipe calls for?
Sweet Basil
Sorry about that, filling rolled right out of my finger tips but it is puree.
A
Loved These!
Although, I think the Nutrition Label for this recipe seems off. I think it would be closer to 170 calories when the batter is divided up into 3 dozen cookies? Thanks for sharing.
Sweet Basil
Thank you so much! We have been having such a tough time with our nutrition calculator working. It hadn’t counted the chocolate chips. It ends up being about 125 calories per cookie.
Tricia
These look delicious and I want to make them but how many chocolate chips do I add? Thanks.
Sandi Thor
I added 1 1/2 cups and it was perfect.
Sandi Thor
I found it helpful to chill the dough for about an hour. Easier to work with.
Sharon
Hi Carrian and Cade,
We are in the midst of harvest on our family owned potato farm and these cookies just might keep our crew around to the end! It’s certainly worth a try right? I don’t see the chocolate chips listed. I will check back later!
Thanks so much as always.
Sweet Basil
Yay! Love spud harvest!