Add a fall twist to your usual chocolate chip cookies with these incredibly soft and chewy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! Packed with the perfect amount of pumpkin spice flavor and lots of gooey chocolate.
Let the pumpkin fest officially begin! Obviously we’re gonna start things off with a bang and fall-ify our chocolate chip cookies.
And these chocolate chip cookies are pure and simple fall perfection. They’ve got just the right amount of pumpkin spice, an incredible thick and chewy texture, and they’re loaded to absolute capacity with chocolate.
Trust me, this is one of those cookie recipes you’ll find yourself making pretty much weekly!
If we’re talking about cookies, we’re almost always gonna want that soft and chewy texture. Pumpkin tends to make baked goods dense and cakey, but that’s not the case with these cookies!
We’re pulling out a few simple tricks to get the perfect texture for these cookies while still including the pumpkin in the party. Keep scrolling for all the details!
These Chocolate Chip Cookies feature…
- A soft and chewy (non-cakey!) texture
- The perfect level of pumpkin spice flavor with lots of gooey chocolate
- Minutes to make and no chill time necessary for the dough
Making the Chocolate Chip Cookies
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Pumpkin puree
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Egg yolk
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Pumpkin pie spice
- Baking soda
- Kosher salt
- Semisweet chocolate chips
Tips for Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Squeeze excess moisture out of pumpkin – this is a little trick for avoiding a cakey cookie texture. Gather the pumpkin puree up in a kitchen towel and tightly squeeze several times to release the water.
- Measure flour correctly – we use the spoon-and-level technique for measuring flour as this will prevent over-measuring your flour. Use a spoon to scoop flour into the measuring cup, then level with the back of a knife.
- Cream butter and sugar together – make sure your butter is softened to room-temperature and cream well with the sugar several minutes until completely smooth.
- Use stand mixer or mix dough by hand – this recipe is both mixer-friendly and old-fashioned-bowl-and-spoon friendly.
- Flatten dough balls before baking – use the palm of your hand to gently flatten cookies. These cookies don’t spread a lot while they bake, so this step is important for them baking evenly.
- Allow cookies to cool 10 minutes on pan – once the cookies are a bit more set, transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Recipe Variations
Try these ideas for a different twist on these cookies.
- Try a different chocolate – try milk chocolate, white chocolate, or dark chocolate in place of the semisweet.
- Use more add-ins – try adding chopped pecans, walnuts, or toffee bits.
- Add dried fruit – try adding a handful of dried cranberries to the dough.
Make Ahead Instructions
These cookies store well in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days. For a softer cookie with melty chocolate, we recommend reheating them in the microwave 15-30 seconds.
The dough for these cookies may be made ahead and stored in refrigerator up to 6 days. When ready to bake, form dough into balls and proceed with baking.
These cookies are quickly going to become a cookie jar staple in your house! No one is able to resist the gooey chocolate paired with the cozy pumpkin and fall spices.
Truth be told, we usually end up eating most of these straight off the sheet pan. They’re that good!
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.
Watch these cookies made step-by-step on Google web stories.
More baked pumpkin goodies to enjoy next!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
This recipe may included paid links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 1-1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line two large sheet pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Place pumpkin puree in the middle of a kitchen towel. Gather up edges of kitchen towel and gently squeeze pumpkin over a sink or bowl until all the liquid is squeezed out. Set pumpkin aside.
- Place butter and both sugars in the bowl of a large stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment OR in a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon. Mix on medium speed or by hand until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add squeezed pumpkin puree, egg yolk, and vanilla, beating well until smooth.
- In a separate medium bowl, combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt. Fold into butter mixture until dough is just combined, then fold in chocolate chips.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop dough out into 1-in balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Flatten dough balls slightly.
- Bake cookies at 350F on middle rack 10-12 minutes until edges of cookies are lightly browned. Remove cookies from oven and allow to cool on baking sheet 10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was updated with new recipe adjustments and photos on 10/12/23.
Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl says
Hello beautiful I say to these gorgeous looking cookies! I just want to steal a few and run away… and then come back for more!
Sarah says
Hahaha! I totally understand wanting to steal these cookies, Pamela! My family tried it and actually got away with a few! LOL.
Arpita@ The Gastronomic Bong says
What beauties!! Girl these cookies are amazing… I can totally stuff my face with few of these beauties right now. . 😀
Sarah says
Haha! Thanks so much, Arpita!
Cindy @ Pick Fresh Foods says
I love pumpkin year round, so it is never too early to open up a can. These look great!
Sarah says
Thanks, Cindy! Pumpkin is totally appropriate year-round I say!
Malak says
AHHH THESE LOOK HEAVENLY! I am SOO ready for pumpkin season. So I’m a little confused. What’s white whole wheat flour? How can it be be both white and whole wheat at the same time?
Sarah says
Hi, Malak! There are two kinds of kernels flours are made from, white kernels and red kernels. I use the kind of flour that’s made from white kernels which results in white whole wheat flour. It’s a finer texture than regular whole wheat flour, but it’s still much healthier than white flour.
You can find white whole wheat flour in most grocery stores in the health food section. Hope this helps!
Laura O | Petite Allergy Treats says
Absolutely, amazing! You’ve combined the best of cookies and Fall! Stopping from Show Stopper Saturday
Sarah says
Thanks so much, Laura!
ATasteOfMadness says
These look seriously amazing. I was walking past Starbucks the other day, and saw they were selling pumpkin spice latte already. I am so excited to dive face first into pumpkin treats 🙂
Sarah says
Gahh! Really?! I gotta make my way over to Starbucks one of these mornings and get my hands on one of those lattes! 🙂
Judit + Corina @ Glamorous Bite says
Love these scrumptious gooey and chewy cookies, Sarah! Love pumpkin and can’t wait to try your brilliant recipe 🙂
Sarah says
Thanks, Judit!
Laura@Baking in Pyjamas says
Visiting from Show Stopper Saturday. These look so good. Great tip about getting that chew with pumpkin cookies, I hate soft cakey cookies. Going to try these out. I co-host Sweet and Savoury Sunday and would love for you to stop by and share this and other recipes with us when the party goes live this Sunday. Have a great day!
Sarah says
Thanks for the invite, Laura! I will hop over and link up!
Lindsey @ American Heritage Cooking says
These look delicious! I am super impressed you waited until it was officially Fall to post this. I can’t wait to get in the kitchen with pumpkin and maple
Sarah says
Thanks, Lindsey! And ooh it was SO hard to wait until it was “officially” fall in the food blogging world to start sharing pumpkin recipes. 🙂
Krista @ Joyful Healthy Eats says
haha… love the food science. 🙂 I actually just made some eggless pumpkin cookies the other day. Good stuff! Loving the oozing chocolate chips in that last pic. 🙂
Sarah says
Aren’t they the best cookies EVER, Krista?! It’s amazing what the lack of eggs does for the texture. 😉
Isadora says
They do sell the canned pumpkin in the store all year, so really there is no reason not to use it in August!! I have a pumpkin orange recipe that I love so much and make all year round, don’t tell anyone though! I love the pumpkin and chocolate combo, these cookies look amazing! My favorite thing about baking with pumpkin is that it makes everything so moist and delicious 🙂
Sarah says
That’s exactly what I figure, Izzy! They must sell that pumpkin for a reason, so I rest my case: We can have pumpkin year-round. 😉
And you should totally share your pumpkin orange recipe on your blog this fall, girl! 🙂
Amira says
You’ve started already!!! Nice tip about the eggs. These looks absolutely gorgeous and the orange color makes them do festive. Waiting for the donuts :).
Sarah says
Thanks, Amira! Donuts coming soon. 🙂
martha@ simple-nourished-living says
I too am so glad it’s finally fall, at least according to the calendar, since I live in Phoenix where it’s still over 100 degrees! Like you for me fall is all about pumpkins and apples. Your pumpkin chocolate chip cookies look amazing!
Sarah says
Maybe if you make these cookies you can get the weather to cool down a lil bit! LOL. It’s never to hot for pumpkin I always say! Thanks Martha! 🙂
Tasha says
Always my go-to recipe as my family loved it. I had it bookmarked before it was revised and was so sad to see it was different. I thought I had written it down but didn’t. 🙁 Any way to get the other version before you revised it? If not I understand.
Sarah says
Hi Tasha! I’m happy to hear these cookies have been a favorite in your family! I think this updated version is even better than the original, but if you like I can send you the original recipe by email! Is it okay if I forward the recipe to the email address you have listed here?