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Do you love pumpkin cookies but always wish there was a crisp on the edges, chewy in the middle version? My goodness, I love chewy pumpkin cookies and it has only taken me 6 years to make it happen!!
I seriously became crazy trying to work the kinks out of this recipe. A little of this, too much of that, ugh these ones are so flat and those ones waaaay too fluffy like a cake. Working with a fruit or veggie ingredient is no joke when you’re trying to achieve a certain texture but I discovered a secret.
Actually, I discovered a few…
Table of Contents
- What Ingredients Do You Need to Make Chewy Pumpkin Cookies?
- How to Make Chewy Pumpkin Cookies
- How to Brown Butter
- Is Pumpkin Puree The Same As Pumpkin Pie Filling?
- Why Did My Cookies Turn Out Cakey?
- How Long Will Pumpkin Cookies Keep?
- Can Pumpkin Cookies Be Frozen?
- More Pumpkin Baked Goods You’ll Love:
- Chewy Pumpkin Cookies Recipe
Tip #1
Browned Butter. Or brown butter. It all depends on who is saying it. On a whim I threw in browned butter one day and that’s the moment that these cookies became an attainable goal for me. The browned butter really heightens the flavor of the cookie while maintaining a more chewy texture. Here’s why:
Beating the sugar and butter actually changes it’s makeup, the actual chemistry changes, thus leading to light and fluffy cookies. Ever read a chocolate chip cookie recipe that requires beating for a certain amount of time? Now you know why! But browned butter doesn’t beat against the sugar crystals in the same way so we end up with a cookie that still retains its chew factor!
Tip #2
Want the cookies thinner and really go for that crisp edges and chewy center thing? No problem, bake the cookie dough immediately so that nothing has the chance to change in texture.
Tip #3
Looking for a more pillowy cookie as shown in these photos (And actually I prefer to make them immediately so I’m a #2 tip gal), refrigerate the cookie dough in its bowl with plastic wrap pressed down onto and around the dough and more over the bowl to really keep out air. The air is drying the cookie dough and will totally change your results.
Let the dough sit in the fridge for a few hours up to overnight. Set the cookie dough on the counter for 30 minutes then scoop and bake!
What Ingredients Do You Need to Make Chewy Pumpkin Cookies?
This is not your average pumpkin cookie recipe. These aren’t going to be fluffy, cakey pumpkin cookies that you add chocolate chips to. These are more like a snickerdoodle with hints of pumpkin deliciousness. In fact, I could probably even call them pumpkin snickerdoodles.
Here is your grocery list for these glorious cookies! Hopefully you already have everything in your refrigerator and pantry!
Cookies
- Butter
- Brown Sugar
- Egg Yolk
- Maple Syrup
- Vanilla
- Canned Pumpkin Puree
- All Purpose Flour
- Soda
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Pumpkin Pie Spice
- Cinnamon
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- Dark Brown Sugar
- Sugar
- Cinnamon
The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card down below.
How to Make Chewy Pumpkin Cookies
I like to start by making the cinnamon sugar topping and setting it aside. Then I jump in to making the cookie dough. Here are the steps:
- Brown the butter. Let it cool. (See section below for how to brown butter.)
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
- Beat the browned butter in the bowl of a stand mixer (or use an electric hand mixer) with the sugar.
- Add the vanilla, egg yolk and maple syrup and mix.
- Stir in the pumpkin.
- Add the dry ingredients to the mixer and mix until combined.
- Put the dough in the fridge while you preheat the oven. The longer you chill the dough, the more thick and pillowy the cookies will be.
- Line a cookie sheet with a silpat or parchment paper.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop out similar sized cookie dough balls and roll the dough into balls and roll then in cinnamon and sugar.
- Bake. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to let them cool slightly before eating.
More detailed instructions can be found in the recipe card below.
How to Brown Butter
Browned butter is just butter that has been melted and cooked slightly. It has a delicious nutty flavor. It is super easy to make.
Cut your room temperature butter into evenly size pieces so that it melts evenly.
Use a light colored pan so you can see when it starts to change color. Place the pan over medium heat. Stir the butter around to keep it moving while it melts.
As it melts, it will start to see foam and sizzling around the edge and brown flecks will appear on the bottom of the pan. Remove it from the heat immediately. It should be very fragrant. You have made browned butter!
Browned butter can become burned butter very quickly, so remove it from the heat as soon as you see the brown flecks.
Is Pumpkin Puree The Same As Pumpkin Pie Filling?
No, pumpkin puree is just pumpkin with no spices. Pumpkin pie filling has added spices to the puree. You want pumpkin puree for this recipe, not pie filling.
Why Did My Cookies Turn Out Cakey?
The number one cause of cakey cookies is too much moisture content. It’s likely that your pumpkin puree had more water in it than expected. You can take pumpkin puree and squeeze it in a thin towel or dish cloth to get some of the moisture out.
Also, be sure to measure your flour correctly.
How Long Will Pumpkin Cookies Keep?
Pumpkin cookies will keep for 2 weeks at room temperature.
Store in an airtight container.
Can Pumpkin Cookies Be Frozen?
Place cookies in a single layer on a cookie sheet and freeze for a couple of hours.
When frozen, transfer to a heavy duty freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to months.
I am head over heels in love with these cookies! They aren’t cakey like your typical pumpkin chocolate chip cookie. They are chewy with that crispy edge like a perfect chocolate chip cookie. You’ve just gotta try them! They are the best pumpkin cookies you’ll ever have!
More Pumpkin Baked Goods You’ll Love:
- Swirled Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Pumpkin Banana Bread
- Nutella Swirled Pumpkin Muffins
- Pumpkin Sheet Cake
- Costco Copycat Crumb Pumpkin Muffins
- Pumpkin Roll
- Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin Bundt Cake
- Gingersnap Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
- Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
- Pumpkin Bread
Chewy Pumpkin Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 Cup Butter, unsalted
- 1 ¼ Cups Brown Sugar
- 1 Large Egg Yolk
- 3 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- ⅓ Cup Pumpkin Puree
- 2 ¼ Cups Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice
- ¾ teaspoon Cinnamon
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- 1 Tablespoon Dark Brown Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons White Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
Instructions
For the Cookies
- In a skillet over medium high heat, add the butter and cook until foaming and beginning to turn amber in color with brown flecks on the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat and pour into a bowl so it will not continue to cook. The smell should be very fragrant.1 Cup Butter
- Set aside to cool for 20 minutes then place in the fridge for 10 more minutes. This step is crucial. You want the butter to be cool, but not cold and solidified
- In a mixing bowl or a stand mixer, use a spatula to scrape the browned butter into the bowl and beat together the butter and brown sugar for 1 minute. Add the vanilla, egg yolk and maple syrup and mix again.1 ¼ Cups Brown Sugar, 1 teaspoon Vanilla, 1 Large Egg Yolk, 3 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
- Stir in the pumpkin.⅓ Cup Pumpkin Puree
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.2 ¼ Cups Flour, 1 teaspoon Baking Soda, ½ teaspoon Baking Powder, ½ teaspoon Salt, 1 ½ teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice, ¾ teaspoon Cinnamon
- Slowly pour all dry ingredients into the mixer and beat again until combined. Don't over mix here! Just mix it enough until there are few streaks of flour left.
- Cover and place in the fridge while you preheat the oven and cinnamon sugar topping (see ingredients below). The dough should chill for 15-30 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with a silpat.
- Roll the dough into balls and then roll into the sugar mixture (see section below). The dough balls should be 1-1 1/2" in diameter.
- Bake for 12 minutes and remove from the oven to rest for a moment before eating.
For the Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- In a small bowl, combine the brown and white sugars and cinnamon, using your fingers to break up bits of brown sugar.1 Tablespoon Dark Brown Sugar, 2 Tablespoons White Sugar, 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Our favorite cookie! I substitute Persimmon Pulp (1/2 cup) for the pumpkin. They are perfect ! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Whoa! Persimmon pulp?! Now I need to try that! Thank you Dawn!
I tried this cookie and it was a fail. I followed the instructions precisely including the brown butter and its cooling, and the 30 minutes of chilling the dough before baking. I used 1/3 cup of canned pumpkin puree. The dough was very wet and soft. The cookies spread and were totally flat like a pancake. After the first sheet of failed cookies I chilled the remaining dough for 5 hours and tried again. Got the same result / flat spread out cookies. I have always loved your recipes but this cookie recipe has flaws. I’m a seasoned baker and cook and use fresh ingredients, I measure accurately, and follow recipes closely.
Hi Kelly! I’m so sorry for the frustration! I actually just made a batch of these and they turned out just like the photos show. I’m not sure what may have gone wrong. I appreciate the feedback and your support.
I love these cookies and so do my friends, family and coworkers! I have had so many requests for the recipe since making them for the first time last fall. I still have not mastered browning butter but they still come out delicious every time!
Love to hear this Lizzie! They are one of my absolute fall favorites! Do you happen to have a light colored ceramic pan? That really helps me with browning butter. The light colored pan helps me see the brown flecks starting to appear and then I immediately remove it from the heat.
I love the idea but this recipe is disappointing. These are hardly pumpkin flavor, even with 1/2 cup pumpkin. Shocked, at the “best…I ever ate” title.
Hi Willow! They are subtle on the pumpkin flavor. They are almost like a snickerdoodle cookie with the pumpkin spice flavor. If you are looking for that bold classic pumpkin cookie, then go with our pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (https://ohsweetbasil.com/best-pumpkin-chocolate-chip-cookies-recipe/).
Very fluffy and tastes like fall . I used the full 1/2 cup of pumpkin and I added cream cheese chips, which almost makes these taste like pumpkin spice cheesecake!
Yummmmmm! I’ll have try that! Sounds amazing! Thanks Whittney!
Delicious. I would like to have it.
Thank you! You should make them for sure!
These cookies tasted great! But definitely not chewy, even though I used 1/3 cup pumpkin instead of 1/2, as suggested by the author. I’m not sure where it went wrong but I followed the recipe exactly and found it to have a break-apart-soft texture. But they were so good I almost don’t care.
Hi Eileen! I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies! If they weren’t chewy, it could be a few things. Maybe the browned butter didn’t cool long enough. Chilling the dough longer should help them be more fluffy and chewy. It’s also possible that the dough was overmixed. Cookies can be so finicky!
Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t she say you SHOULD use 1/2 cup pumpkin if they didn’t turn out chewy instead of 1/3 cup. I think you make have misread that part a little. The recipe said that you should try 1/2 cup if you already used 1/3 cup and they didn’t turn out chewy. Also like she said there are a million reasons they might have not turned out even if you THINK you followed the recipe to a T. Baking is an art and a science which requires practice to get right. If you are a novice baker you may have made a small mistake which didn’t seem like a mistake to you but could still alter the chemistry of the recipe, for example over mixing the dough and activating too much gluten.
Also to the author, the page randomly reset itself and deleted my comment twice meaning I had to rewrite it. When I tried to get back it was damn near impossible to get past all the adds to find the comment page again. Maybe try and make the adds a little more subtle and not so in your face that it literally blocks the recipe you are trying to read. Also it would be nice to be able to write a comment without it being deleted and having the page completely switch to an ad. It makes me not want to bother with the recipe or commenting.
Thank you so much for the support Abby on the recipe! I’ve made that recipe so many times and haven’t ever had a problem but something about it throws some readers for a loop. And my apologies for the frustration with all the ads. We are constantly trying to find the best place and way to post the ads without interfering with the post or recipe. Were you on a phone or computer? I know it’s more challenging on mobile devices with the ads popping up. Unfortunately, the ads are what allow us to keep posting recipes for everyone to enjoy. Again, so sorry for the frustration!
Absolutely delicious! Perfect texture and so flavorful.
Yay! Thank you so much Shonna!
I’m allergic to eggs. If you were going to use an egg substitute, which one would you recommend? There are so many! Thanks!
Hi Heather! For these cookies, I would go with applesauce a substitute for the eggs. Since the recipe just calls for an egg yolk, I would substitute it with 2 tablespoons of applesauce.
Not chewy like I expected. The culprit is baking powder. Whenever I don’t use baking powder and just baking soda, it gives you a better chewier consistency. I am kicking myself for not going with my gut.
Hello! The baking powder shouldn’t make the cookies less chewy if the directions are followed. But you can definitely omit it if you want.