These are hands down The Best Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies you’ll ever have, just trust me. And that’s for a few reasons, but the first is that this recipe uses a supplemental amount of pumpkin. Not a huge amount, but enough to get strong pumpkin vibes. But, these cookies are not cakey, oily, or puffy like other pumpkin cookies. Perfectly soft and golden, these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies will fulfill your pumpkin treat craving!
These cookies are flat, chewy, crispy on the edges and filled with melty chocolate on the inside. The key is to use enough cornstarch to maintain a soft, tender texture, but still cream the wet ingredients to get enough lift and structure for the cookie. The signature crinkly top comes from this being an eggless recipe (accidentally vegan!) where the pumpkin takes the place of the egg. Throw in some pumpkin spice and you have a new fall staple recipe!
Table of contents
What makes these pumpkin cookies unique
These pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are unique because they don’t use a large amount of pumpkin, but still pack the perfect amount of pumpkin flavor. They use a supplemental amount of pumpkin so that you still get the right color and flavor, but maintain that chewy, gooey, craveable cookie texture we all know and love.
Plus, these cookies are vegan (minus the chocolate chips) but can be made non-vegan if that’s what you prefer.
I also utilize cornstarch and salt to manipulate the cookie texture, which you can read more about in the next section.
Baking science tip (!)
This recipe uses a lot of salt. Like, a lotta salt.
And we like it like that! Along with water, salt enhances gluten formation. Usually, cooks try to avoid building up gluten in a cookie, but for a cookie as light and tender as this one, we want to add a little bit of chew in any way we can.
This cookie is soft on the inside due to the pumpkin, but chewy and crispy on the edges thanks to all of the gluten-forming hacks we’ve added.
So don’t skimp on the salt – you won’t regret it!
Ingredients you will need to make the best pumpkin chocolate chip cookies
The ingredients are all your cookie classics. If you are an avid baker you’ll most likely have everything you need for this vegan pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe!
- 1 1/4 cups (150g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon (18g) cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice, or 1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon, allspice, clove, and nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 cup (113g) butter or vegan butter substitute, softened
- 1/4 cup (40g) brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (110g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (60g) pumpkin purée
- 1 cup (150g) chocolate chips
How to make this pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe
A classic cookie at its best, this pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe follows the wet-then-dry method. Here’s how to bring it all together:
- Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, salt, pumpkin pie spice and baking powder.
- In a separate, larger bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. This should take about 2-3 minutes. Then add the pumpkin and beat until fluffy. This should take another 2-3 minutes. Make sure to beat on low speed so the emulsified mixture doesn’t break.
- Fold in the dry ingredients until well combined, then fold in your chocolate chips.
- Chill the dough for 30 minutes in the fridge while you preheat the oven to 350°F convection or 375°F standard.
- Once the dough is chilled, form into 8 balls that weigh 75 grams each. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes.
- Take them out before they are completely cooked through – that’s what will keep them soft!
- When they are out of the oven, they may look a bit puffed up so immediately smack the pan down on the counter a few times. This will help the cookies flatten and spread to a thin, chewy texture.
- Serve and enjoy!
Watch the recipe video here:
Looking for more pumpkin recipes?
It’s the season of spooky – so I get it, here are a few of my favorite things with pumpkin included!
Brown Butter Pumpkin Loaf
Pumpkin Ricotta Gnudi
Pumpkin Miso Caramel Cookies
And that’s about it for The Best Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies (trust me, it’s that good!)
If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course, feel free to leave any questions, comments, or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3
Equipment
- whisk
- baking sheets
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups (150g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon (18g) cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice, or 1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon, allspice, clove, and nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 cup (113g) butter or vegan butter substitute, softened
- 1/4 cup (40g) brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (110g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (60g) pumpkin purée
- 1 cup (150g) chocolate chips
Instructions
- Whisk together 150 grams of all-purpose flour, 18 grams of cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice, and 2 teaspoons of baking powder.
- In a separate, larger bowl, cream together 113 grams of softened butter, 40 grams of brown sugar, and 110 grams of granulated sugar until light and fluffy. This should take about 2-3 minutes. Add 60 grams of pumpkin and beat until fluffy. This should take another 2-3 minutes. Make sure to beat on low speed so the emulsified mixture doesn't break.
- Fold in the dry ingredients until well combined, then fold in 150 grams of chocolate chips.
- Chill the dough for 30 minutes in the fridge while you preheat the oven to 350°F convection or 375°F standard.
- Once the dough is chilled, form into 8 balls that weigh 75 grams each. Press the cookies down into 1-inch thick discs. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes.
- When they are out of the oven, they may look a bit puffed up so immediately smack the pan down on the counter a few times. This will help the cookies flatten and spread to a thin, chewy texture.
- Take them out before they are completely cooked through – that’s what will keep them soft!
- Serve and enjoy!
Comments
One of my all time favorite recipes! I’ve been making these cookies for years.
I’m so so thrilled you like them!!
Easily one of our favorite fall cookies! Simple to make but so delicious- I have made them multiple times ❤️
Ahh this is music to my ears! I’m so glad you love them<3
Dug up this recipe for at least the 4th year!!!! Only way I know how to start fall!
I’m so glad you love it! Happy fall<3
I’ve made this recipe every year since you posted it. Quite literally the perfect balance of a classic chocolate chip cookie mixed with pumpkin and fall spirit!
This is music to my earsss! I’m so glad you love them
These are so delicious! The only changes I made were to make them smaller, and I didn’t quite have enough chocolate so I added some toffee bits and OMG. 😳 I highly recommend trying that! So, so good! Thank you for the great recipe!
Omg this sounds perfect, I’ll have to try it! I’m so glad you liked it, thank you for taking the time to leave a review 🙂
Love this recipe! Could I substitute coconut oil for the butter for my diary free daughter?
Yes! Vegan butter may be better though 🙂
I’m making this recipe this weekend! What percentage dark chocolate did you use in this recipe? My gut always goes for 70% dark chocolate, but I wanted to know your preference for pairing with pumpkin.
70% is perfect!
Love these and all your recipes. The Gomashio cookies are SO GOOD!! I have a question on these – wouid they be okay for a night in the fridge to be baked the next day? Thank you so much for all you do!
Hi Yana! We’re so glad you love the recipes, thank you<3 And that would be absolutely fine!
Can I portion out and freeze them raw? How do you suggest I bake from raw frozen?
Absolutely! You can bake them from frozen just by adding 2 minutes to the bake time!
I’ve made these a few times and loved them! Last night I did accidentally add leftover gochujang congee (do not bake while drowsy….) but my students loved them! So next time I might try adding gochujang on purpose!
I’m so glad you loved them! I’m so curious about you adding the congee lol. If you try them again with gochujang, let me know how they turn out!
This is the best pumpkin cookie I’ve made to date! Most are so cakey and that’s not how I like my cookies. These turned out chewy and perfectly delicious!! Another winning cookie recipe Justine, thank you!!
I’m so glad you loved them! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review 🙂
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