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Every fall I find myself coming back to these brown butter pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and wondering why I ever bake anything else. Thick, chewy, loaded with real pumpkin and rich chocolate, and built on a base of nutty brown butter, these are everything a fall cookie should be and nothing like the cakey pumpkin cookies you may have had before.
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The secret to getting pumpkin cookies chewy instead of cakey? Brown the butter and blot as much moisture as possible from the pumpkin puree. It takes a few extra paper towels, but it’s what gives you those thick, bakery-style cookies with chewy centers and golden edges.
👉 NOTE: If you ARE looking for classic cakey pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, we have the BEST recipe for those!
Why You’ll Love These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Actually chewy: No fluffy, cakey pumpkin cookies here.
- Brown butter: Adds a deep, nutty flavor that works ridiculously well with pumpkin and chocolate.
- Real pumpkin: You get genuine pumpkin flavor without sacrificing cookie texture.
- No chilling required: Once the brown butter has cooled, you can mix, scoop and bake.
- Bakery-style: Thick centers, golden edges and big pools of melty chocolate.
Ingredients You’ll Need
A few simple ingredients and two important techniques are what make these pumpkin cookies so chewy. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Unsalted Butter: Browned until golden and nutty, it gives the cookies their rich, toasted flavor.
- Pumpkin Puree: Blotting away the excess moisture gives you pumpkin flavor without a cakey cookie.
- Light Brown Sugar: Adds molasses flavor, moisture and chewiness.
- Sugar: Helps create those lightly crisp, golden edges.
- Egg Yolks: Using yolks without the whites keeps the cookies rich and chewy instead of fluffy.
- Vanilla Extract: Rounds out the pumpkin, spices and brown butter.
- All-Purpose Flour: Provides structure for a thick, substantial cookie.
- Pumpkin Spice + Cinnamon: Gives the cookies plenty of warm fall spice.
- Baking Soda: Helps the cookies spread and brown without becoming puffy.
- Fine Sea Salt: Balances the sweetness and brings out the brown butter and chocolate.
- Chocolate: Use chopped chocolate for melty pools or chocolate chips for an easy option.
How to Make Brown Butter Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
A little patience with the prep steps goes a long way here. Here is how to make them:
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Brown: Melt the butter in a large stainless steel pan over medium heat, stirring until foaming, crackling, and deeply golden. When it smells nutty, pour immediately into a bowl to cool for 40 to 50 minutes until still liquid but no longer warm.
- Dry: Spread the pumpkin puree onto a plate or small sheet pan and press firmly with paper towels to absorb as much liquid as possible. Repeat with fresh paper towels until the pumpkin feels dry.
- Beat: Using a stand mixer or a hand mixer, combine the cooled brown butter with both sugars and beat together for 1 minute.
- Mix: Add the egg yolks, vanilla, and dried pumpkin puree and whisk until fully combined.
- Stir: Gently fold in the flour, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and chocolate until just combined.
- Scoop: Scoop the dough, roll into balls, and place on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake: Bake for 9 to 13 minutes until the edges are golden, but the centers still look slightly underdone.
- Cool: Let the cookies cool completely on the pan before removing.
Pulling the cookies out while the centers still look slightly underbaked is not a mistake. They will continue to set as they cool on the pan, and that is exactly how you get that perfect chewy center.
Substitutions and Variations
Chocolate: Use chocolate chips instead of chopped chocolate, or try dark, milk or white chocolate.
Pumpkin spice: No pumpkin pie spice? Use a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.
Flaky salt: Sprinkle a little over the dough balls before baking to balance the sweetness and bring out the chocolate and brown butter flavors.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Troubleshooting
The pumpkin probably still had too much moisture. Blot the puree repeatedly with fresh paper towels until you’ve removed as much liquid as possible. Also be sure to use egg yolks only—egg whites add additional moisture and can create a puffier, cakier cookie.
Your brown butter may have still been too warm when you mixed the dough. Let it cool for 40-50 minutes, until it’s still liquid but no longer warm, before adding the sugars.
Too much flour or removing too much pumpkin can make the dough overly dry. Measure the flour correctly—preferably with a kitchen scale—and blot the pumpkin thoroughly without trying to remove every last trace of moisture.
Look at the edges, not the centers. The edges should be set and lightly golden while the centers still look slightly underbaked. The cookies will continue to set on the hot baking sheet as they cool.
The most likely causes are too much flour or overbaking. Don’t wait for the centers to look completely baked before removing the cookies from the oven. They’ll finish setting as they cool.
Storage and Freezing
Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Honestly, I think they’re even better on day two.
To freeze baked cookies, let them cool completely, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving. You can also freeze the unbaked dough balls and bake straight from frozen; just add 2 to 3 extra minutes to the bake time.
If you’ve always thought pumpkin cookies had to be soft and cakey, this is the recipe that will change your mind. Brown butter, chewy edges, gooey chocolate and just enough pumpkin spice…this is the cookie I’m making on repeat all fall.
Other Favorite Pumpkin Recipes To Try
- Pumpkin Sheet Cake [+Video]
- Cinnamon Pumpkin Cookie Bars
- Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins
- Pumpkin Pudding Cookies
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip
Watch How This Recipe is Made…
Brown Butter Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Unsalted Butter, cold
- ⅔ Cup Pumpkin Puree
- 1 Cup Light Brown Sugar, packed
- ½ Cup Sugar
- 2 Egg Yolks, large, room temp
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 2 ¾ Cup Flour
- 2 teaspoons Pumpkin Spice
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
- 1 Cup Chocolate Bar, finely chopped, or chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 ℉. Line two baking trays with parchment paper and set them aside.
- Brown the butter in a large stainless steel pan until foaming, browning and crackling. When it smells nutty, remove the pan from the heat. You should have just under 1 cup of browned butter. Pour into a bowl to cool for 40-50 minutes. It should still be liquid-y but cool.1 Cup Unsalted Butter
- Spread the pumpkin puree on a quarter cookie sheet or plate. Press gently with a stack of paper towels into it and soak up the extra liquid. Continue doing this, using a new stack of paper towels to keep absorbing the extra liquid, until the pumpkin feels pretty dry.⅔ Cup Pumpkin Puree
- When the butter is cool, beat together with the brown sugar and white sugar for 1 minute.1 Cup Light Brown Sugar, ½ Cup Sugar
- Mix in the egg yolks, vanilla, and dried pumpkin puree until combined.2 Egg Yolks, 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- Gently stir in the flour, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and chocolate until just combined.2 ¾ Cup Flour, 2 teaspoons Pumpkin Spice, 1 teaspoon Baking Soda, ½ teaspoon Fine Sea Salt, 1 Cup Chocolate Bar, 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- Scoop the cookie dough, roll into balls then place them on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 9-13 minutes or until the edges are golden brown but the middle is slightly underbaked.
- Let the pan cool on a wire cooling rack completely then remove the cookies and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
