This recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies is the perfect way to combine your favorite sweet treat with the flavors of fall. This is a soft, cakey cookie packed with fall spices and rich chocolate chips.
Pumpkin and chocolate just go so well together. Whoever thought to combine the two is a pastry genius! If you haven’t had the combo before, here’s your shot. These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies cover all the bases when it comes to combining chocolate, pumpkin, and fall spices.
You’re going to love this cookie recipe, especially if you’re already a fan of Chocolate Chip Cookies. When you add pureed pumpkin, you’re adding sweet and nutty flavors plus it makes the cookies moist and delicious. This isn’t a crispy or crunchy cookie – nor should it be! It’s perfect as a soft, pillowy treat.
This recipe is going to be a breeze if you’ve made any type of cookie before. And if you haven’t, welcome to the cookie world! You’ll learn a few simple steps that basically go with any cookie recipe. So, let’s grab our ingredients and get baking!
Don’t love pumpkin and chocolate together? Check out these classic soft Pumpkin Cookies!
What You’ll Need
A lot of these ingredients will look very familiar if you’ve baked cookies before. The base ingredients are usually pretty standard and then, of course, we’ll add in our touches of fall!
- All Purpose Flour: I recommend sticking to good ol’ AP flour here. The cookies might not have the same fluffiness if you try a different flour.
- Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon and pumpkin are two perfect pairings! It’s a great spice to use when baking with pumpkin.
- Salt: I always add a little bit of salt to baking recipes. It highlights all of the different ingredients.
- Baking Soda
- Nutmeg: Another spice that pairs well with pumpkin. It adds to that “fall flavor”.
- Baking Powder
- Cloves: You can use ground ginger or ground mace if you don’t have any cloves.
- Brown Sugar
- Granulated Sugar
- Butter: Please use unsalted butter. If you only have salted, omit the salt in the recipe.
- Shortening
- Eggs
- Milk: You can use any fat percentage that you have on hand. The flavor might be a little different if you choose to use dairy-free milk.
- Vanilla Extract: Use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.
- Pumpkin Puree: Make sure that you are using pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling.
- Chocolate Chips: I like to use semi-sweet chocolate chips for this recipe. You could also use dark or milk chocolate chips.
As I mentioned before, if you’ve made cookies before, this recipe is going to be pretty straightforward. It works best if you have an electric stand mixer. It’s the best kitchen tool for making cookies and cakes!
First, you’ll preheat the oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. You can also you a silcone baking mat if you have one.
Then, mix the dry ingredients together. Combine the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, and cloves.
Cream the butter and sugars. Next, in the electric mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the butter, white sugar, brown sugar, and shortening. You want this to become nice and creamy with no visible chunks. Then, add the eggs.
Then, add the remaining ingredients. Follow with the milk and vanilla extract. And then finally add the pumpkin puree and the bowl of dry ingredients.
Mix in the chocolate chips by hand. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a spatula to fold in the chocolate chips.
Shape the cookies on the pan and add more chocolate chips! Form small balls of dough into discs and place them on the cookie sheet. Then, add a few more chocolate chips to the top of the cookie.
Finally, it’s time to bake the cookies! Bake them in batches so that you aren’t overcrowding your cookie sheet. Make sure you let them cool a bit before eating them.
Tips and Mix-In Ideas
Here are a few helpful tips to keep in mind when making this recipe. Also, I’ve included some mix-in ideas to make these pumpkin cookies even more fun!
- Use both shortening and butter. I recommend using a mixture of shortening and butter to get that bakery style texture. However, all butter can be used instead if that’s what you prefer.
- Make sure you are using pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling has added sweeteners and spices and would make the spices overwhelming in this recipe if used.
- Make sure that you don’t overmix the dough once you add the flour. Overmixing can cause the gluten to overdevelop, resulting in crumbly cookies.
- Want some mix-in ideas? Some fun mix-ins that would go well with this recipe are M&Ms, white chocolate chips, crushed walnuts, or toffee pieces.
When properly stored, these cookies can stay fresh for up to 5 days. You can store them in an air-tight container or a storage bag. I recommend storing them with a slice of bread if you want them to stay moist and chewy!
Can I Freeze Them?
Yes, you can freeze these Pumpkin Chocoalte Chip Cookies. In fact, you have two options for freezing them:
- Freezing Baked Cookies: You can store the baked cookies in an air-tight container or freezer-friendly bag for up to 3 months in the freezer.
- Freezing the Dough: I personally like cookies fresh out of the oven, so this option works well for that. You can freeze the dough and then bake however many cookies you want, when you want them! I like to shape the dough in to balls, freeze them on a cookie sheet, and then, once they are solid, put them in a container or baggie. After that, you can freeze the dough for up to 3 months. I recommend letting the cookie dough balls thaw for a few minutes on the cookie sheet before baking them.
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cup all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon cloves
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ⅔ cup sugar
- ⅔ cup butter, softened
- 3 tablespoons shortening
- 1 large egg + 1 yolk
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling
- 1 ½ cup chocolate chips + more for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk to combine the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, baking powder and cloves. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the brown sugar, sugar, butter and shortening. Beat on a medium speed until smooth and creamy.
- Add in eggs and mix to combine. Add milk and vanilla and mix until incorporated, then add pumpkin puree and mix to combine. Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and add chocolate chips. Fold in using a rubber spatula.
- Scoop 2-3 tablespoons of dough out and roll it into a ball, then slightly flatten it to make a disc. Place onto the prepared baking sheet and top with additional chocolate chips.
- Once you have 6 cookies on the baking sheet, place them into the preheated oven on the center rack. Bake for 15 minutes, until the edges just start to turn.
- Once baked, remove from the oven and let sit for a few minutes to set before placing them into a wire cooling rack to let cool.
- Repeat the baking process with the remaining dough.
Notes
- Room Temperature: Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Store cookies with a piece of white bread to help keep them moist and chewy.
- Freezing Baked Cookies: You can store the baked cookies in an air-tight container or freezer-friendly bag for up to 3 months in the freezer.
- Freezing the Dough: I personally like cookies fresh out of the oven, so this option works well for that. You can freeze the dough and then bake however many cookies you want, when you want them! I like to shape the dough in to balls, freeze them on a cookie sheet, and then, once they are solid, put them in a container or baggie. After that, you can freeze the dough for up to 3 months. I recommend letting the cookie dough balls thaw for a few minutes on the cookie sheet before baking them.
Nutrition
More Pumpkin Dessert Ideas
- The Best Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
- Easy Pumpkin Mug Cake
- Mini Pumpkin Bundt Cakes
- Easy Pumpkin Pancakes
- Pumpkin Icebox Cake
- Iced Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
- Chewy Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
- Pumpkin Roll with Toffee Filling
- Bakery Style Pumpkin Muffins
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