Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies have a perfectly fudgy interior, irresistible pockets of melty chocolate chips, and hints of cinnamon and ginger. You can whip up the batter for this pumpkin cookie recipe in about 15 minutes!
Solving the Chewy Pumpkin Cookie Problem
Table of Contents
I have been on the hunt for the perfect chewy pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe for nearly a decade. In the early days of the blog, I experimented with using pumpkin butter rather than pumpkin puree. While this worked pretty well, pumpkin butter isn’t the most readily available ingredient, and I wanted to find a cookie recipe that would work with any old can of pumpkin puree that’s sitting on your pantry shelf.
The problem lies in the pumpkin puree itself. Pumpkin puree is a very wet ingredient that easily creates moist, lofty, cakey baked goods. This is wonderful for things like Pumpkin Bread and Pumpkin Crumb Cake, but not so great if you’re after the rich, chewy, almost fudgy texture of our favorite Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Moisture is usually a great thing for baking, but for chewy pumpkin cookies, it was the enemy. So, we went straight at the source (the pumpkin puree) and used paper towels to sop up as much moisture as we could.
We also eliminated all the eggs, save for a single yolk that helps bind the cookies together.
Getting the moisture out of your pumpkin puree will be the hardest step of this whole recipe. The rest comes together super quickly. You don’t even need a stand mixer!
And the resulting cookies? Well, they’ve got all the pumpkin spice flavors you crave with the irresistible chew of a chocolate chip cookie. Problem (finally) solved.
Key Ingredients + Substitutions
- Baking staples, including flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
- Pumpkin pie spices– I use a blend of cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg to bring out the flavor of the pumpkin in this recipe. You can feel free to substitute a pumpkin pie spice blend or add a 1/4 teaspoon of cloves to the mix.
- Butter– You’ll need one stick of unsalted butter. If you use salted butter, reduce the salt in the recipe to ½ teaspoon.
- Sugars– I use a higher ratio of brown sugar to white sugar, which gives the cookies a subtle molasses flavor.
- Egg yolk– Just like in our Big Chocolate Chunk Cookies, an egg yolk adds fat and an extra chewy texture to the cookie. The big difference with pumpkin cookies is that we’ll ONLY use one egg yolk and no whole eggs.
- Pumpkin puree– We’ll use standard canned pumpkin puree, which is blotted with paper towels to get rid of excess moisture (more on that below!)
- Chocolate chips– I recommend using semi-sweet chocolate chips for this recipe, but you could substitute white chocolate chips for a flavor profile more similar to these White Chocolate Pumpkin Cookies.
- Pecans– Feel free to substitute walnuts or omit the nuts completely if that’s not your thing.
How to Make Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Step 1: Whisk together the dry ingredients, including all of the spices.
Step 2: Whisk wet ingredients. In a mixing bowl, whisk together melted butter and sugars until smooth. Add the dried pumpkin puree and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth.
Step 3: Combine. Pour the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture and stir with a spatula or wooden spoon, until no white streaks remain. Stir in the chocolate chips and pecans.
Step 4: Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour or overnight. If you refrigerate overnight, you’ll need to leave the dough out at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before scooping.
Step 5: Preheat the oven and scoop the dough. Use a tablespoon sized cookie scoop (#40- This is my absolute favorite!) to scoop 12 cookies onto two pans lined with silicone baking mats. Use the palm of your hand or a glass to flatten the cookies.
Step 6: Bake. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are just set but center is still slightly underdone. Allow to set up on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool.
Tips for Perfect Chewy Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies
- Blot the moisture from the pumpkin. Removing moisture is the key to a chewy, not cakey pumpkin cookie! You can either wrap the pumpkin in several paper towels and squeeze it, or spread the pumpkin out on a plate or baking sheet and press paper towels into it until most of the moisture is removed. After trying both methods, I preferred the second, but either will work. You will be SHOCKED at how much moisture comes off of the puree! The pumpkin should reduce from about ¾ cup to ⅓ cup after blotting, and it will be the texture of soft play dough.
- Refrigerate the dough. Refrigeration helps the dough stay together and not spread too much in the oven.
- Flatten the dough before baking. These cookies don’t spread a lot, so you’ll need to flatten them to a ¼-½ inch disc before baking. You can use your hand or the bottom of a glass to do this.
Make Ahead and Storage Instructions
- The dough for these pumpkin cookies can be made up to 24 hours in advance. Let it rest for 20 minutes at room temperature before scooping and baking as usual.
- These cookies keep well stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days! I actually think they get better on the 2nd and 3rd days!
- To freeze the cookie dough, scoop it as usual and flatten it with your palm. Flash freeze the discs on a baking sheet for 1 hour, then transfer to a freezer safe container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen, adding a few minutes to the baking time.
FAQs
Can I make BIG pumpkin cookies?
Yes! These also work well with a jumbo scoop! Just add 1-2 minutes to the baking time.
Why are my cookies cakey?
There are usually two issues that might cause these cookies to be cakey:
- Too much flour. Be sure to measure the flour using the spoon and level method, spooning flour into the measuring cup, then leveling out. Scooping the measuring cup into the flour can compact the flour, resulting in too much flour for the recipe.
- Too much moisture in the pumpkin. You really do have to blot out the moisture in the pumpkin for these to work properly! You’ll need at least 3-4 paper towels to get enough moisture out.
More of my Favorite Fall Baking Recipes
- Frosted Pumpkin Cookies
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Roll
- Apple Crumb Cake
- Amish Apple Fry Pies
- Banana Ginger Bread
- Healthy Pumpkin Muffins
- Maple Pecan Cookies
Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- ⅓ cup squeezed out pumpkin puree (from about 3/4 cup puree, see note!)
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.
- Melt the butter in a large, microwave safe bowl. Add the sugars and whisk together until smooth. Whisk in the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract.
- Add the flour mixture and stir with a spatula until the batter comes together and the powder is incorporated. The dough will be very thick. Stir in the chocolate chips and pecans. Cover the batter with saran wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight.
- Remove dough from the refrigerator. Note: if refrigerating more than 1 hour, you will need to let the dough sit out at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before scooping. A longer refrigeration might need to sit out for up to 30 minutes to be scoopable).
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper. Scoop Tablespoon size balls of dough onto the prepared sheets. Flatten each scoop into a 1/4-1/2 inch thick disc with your palm or the bottom of a glass. Bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. The cookies should look set on the outside but still a bit soft in the middle. Remove from the oven and allow to set up on the tray for another 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- To remove moisture from the pumpkin puree, start with 3/4 cups of puree and spread it out on a large plate. Dab with paper towels, allowing them to soak up as much moisture as possible. It will soak 3-4 paper towels. The puree should reduce to about 1/3 cup and be the texture of soft play dough.
- Cookies keep well for up to 5 days, stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
do these pumpkin cookies freeze well after being baked?
Recipe looks delicious!
Yes, you can freeze them after they’re baked! Thaw overnight at room temperature.
MMMmmm these would taste really good with the cinnamon chips they have on the market now too!
this year was the first time I had pumpkin butter, bought from the pumpkin patch.
Great choice to use it, I love making cookies and yours look amazing! Thanks for bringing them to the chocolate party
You´re right, it´s the time for pumpkin and spices. These cookies are the perfect compromise with chips, pecans and the pumpkin butter. Amazing!
These look SO good. Now, educate me. When you say “pumpkin butter,” are we talking about the equivalent to apple butter, but the pumpkin version? Because as much as I love apple butter, it does not, in the least, resemble BUTTER. So are you talking about that pumpkiny equivalent, or is it really like normal butter, but flavored with some pumpkin? Do tell, because I really want to make these, and SOON. 😛
Christina–It is like the pumpkin version of apple butter. Texture is thick but not butter-like. That would probably create some really greasy cookies! :)I know Trader Joe’s carries it, but I’m not sure about other grocery stores.
Courtney, these are amazing!! Gorgeous cookies!