Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Name: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: PT-492190H5M28S
Total time: 20 min
Cuisine: American cuisine
Ingredients: 2½ cups all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (or make your own, see below); ½ teaspoon salt; ½ cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick); ¾ cup granulated sugar; ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed; 1 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling, we’ll discuss); 1 large egg; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 2 cups chocolate chips (semi-sweet, milk, or a mix); 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 1 teaspoon ground ginger; ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg; ½ teaspoon ground allspice; ¼ teaspoon ground cloves; ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts; White chocolate chips instead of regular; A sprinkle of flaky sea salt on top; Cookie sheets (at least 2); Parchment paper or silicone mats; Cookie scoop (for uniform cookies and not touching dough with warm hands); Wire cooling rack

By Tyla | Last modified on Oct 23, 2025

Featured in: Desserts

So someone had the brilliant idea to take everything good about fall – the pumpkin, the spices, the cozy vibes – and marry it to chocolate chips. The result? These soft, pillowy, cake-like cookies that taste like autumn decided to become portable. They’re the kind of cookies that make you want to put on a flannel shirt and go apple picking, even if you’re just sitting on your couch in July.

These aren’t your standard crispy chocolate chip cookies. These are SOFT. Like, almost too soft to call them cookies but too structured to call them cake. They’re somewhere in that perfect middle ground where you can hold them in your hand but they basically melt in your mouth. The pumpkin keeps them ridiculously moist, the spices make your kitchen smell like a candle store, and the chocolate chips remind everyone that we’re still having fun here.

This is the cookie you make when you want something festive without being annoying about it. No cutesy shapes. No complicated decorating. Just straightforward, delicious cookies that happen to be orange and taste like the best parts of fall.

Why These Cookies Are About to Dominate Your Life

Soft and cakey forever — Still soft three days later if they last that long
Pumpkin puree magic — Keeps them moist without being wet
One bowl wonder — Minimal cleanup for maximum cookies
Freeze beautifully — Make dough ahead, bake whenever you want fall
Not too sweet — The spices balance everything perfectly
Chocolate chips in fall cookies — Because rules are meant to be broken

The Stuff You Need

For the Cookies:

2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (or make your own, see below)
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling, we’ll discuss)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips (semi-sweet, milk, or a mix)

DIY Pumpkin Pie Spice (if you want to be extra):

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves

Optional Additions:

½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts
White chocolate chips instead of regular
A sprinkle of flaky sea salt on top

Special Equipment:

Cookie sheets (at least 2)
Parchment paper or silicone mats
Cookie scoop (for uniform cookies and not touching dough with warm hands)
Wire cooling rack

Let’s Make These Fall Cookies That Work Year-Round

Step 1: The Foundation Setup

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats because nobody has time to scrape cookies off pans. Set them aside and feel good about being prepared.

Step 2: The Dry Crew

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. This is your dry mixture. Give it a good whisk so the spices are evenly distributed. Set it aside and admire how it smells like fall already.

Step 3: The Creaming Process

In a large bowl (or stand mixer if you’re fancy), beat the softened butter with both sugars until light and fluffy. This takes about 2-3 minutes. Don’t rush it. This is where we’re incorporating air and creating structure. The mixture should look pale and creamy, not gritty.

Step 4: The Pumpkin Situation

Add the pumpkin puree to the butter mixture and beat until combined. It might look a little separated or weird – that’s completely normal. Don’t panic. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until everything is smooth and unified. Now it should look like a proper batter.

Step 5: Bring It Together

Add your dry ingredients to the wet ingredients all at once. Mix on low speed (or by hand with a wooden spoon) until JUST combined. You should still see a few flour streaks. Now fold in the chocolate chips gently. Don’t overmix this or you’ll develop too much gluten and end up with tough cookies instead of soft pillows of joy.

Step 6: The Chill (Optional But Recommended)

Here’s where patience pays off. If you have 30 minutes, refrigerate the dough. Chilled dough spreads less and creates thicker cookies. But if you’re impatient (no judgment), you can bake them right away. They’ll be flatter and spread more, but still delicious.

Step 7: Scoop and Space

Use a cookie scoop or spoon to drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto your prepared baking sheets. Leave about 2 inches between each cookie because they will spread. Not aggressively, but they need their personal space. If you’re fancy, you can add a few extra chocolate chips on top for that professional bakery look.

Step 8: Bake These Beauties

Bake for 12-15 minutes. They should look slightly underbaked in the center and just set around the edges. The tops will look matte, not shiny. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Seriously. They will continue cooking on the hot pan after you take them out. Overbaked pumpkin cookies are sad, dry, and disappointing.

Step 9: The Cooling Patience Game

Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. This is crucial. They need to firm up before you move them or they’ll fall apart. After 5 minutes, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Or eat one warm with melting chocolate chips. We’re not the cookie police.

Step 10: The Enjoyment Phase

Grab a cookie. Notice how soft and cakey it is. How the pumpkin flavor is present but not overwhelming. How the chocolate chips add richness and keep things from being too healthy-tasting. How the spices make everything feel cozy. This is what fall tastes like, even if it’s spring.

Pro Tips From Someone Who Makes These Every October

Pumpkin Puree vs Pie Filling: Use PLAIN pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Pie filling has sugar and spices already added and will mess up your ratios. Check the label. If the only ingredient is pumpkin, you’re good.

Measuring Pumpkin: Pack it into the measuring cup and level it off. Too much pumpkin makes the cookies spread weirdly and take forever to bake.

Butter Temperature: Softened means you can press your finger into it easily, but it still holds its shape. Not melted, not cold, right in between.

The Underbake: These cookies continue cooking after you take them out. What looks slightly underbaked in the oven becomes perfectly soft and chewy at room temperature.

Uniform Size: Use a cookie scoop so they’re all the same size and bake evenly. Nobody likes burnt small cookies and raw big cookies on the same sheet.

The Second Day: These cookies somehow taste even better the next day after the flavors have melded. Keep them in an airtight container.

Switch It Up (Because Variety Is Everything)

White Chocolate Cranberry: Use white chocolate chips and add ½ cup dried cranberries. Very festive, very fall.

Nutty Pumpkin: Add ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts. Toast them first for extra flavor.

Cream Cheese Frosting: Drizzle these with cream cheese frosting once they’re cool. Because why not go full dessert mode.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodle: Roll the dough balls in cinnamon sugar before baking. Skip the chocolate chips or keep them, your call.

Double Chocolate: Use ½ cup cocoa powder instead of ½ cup flour. Add chocolate chips. Chocolate pumpkin chaos.

Maple Glaze: Mix powdered sugar with maple syrup and drizzle over cooled cookies. Peak autumn energy.

Mini Cookies: Use a small cookie scoop and bake for 8-10 minutes. Perfect for parties or people with no self-control.

Make-Ahead Magic

The Dough: Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Scoop into balls before freezing. Bake from frozen, just add 2 extra minutes.

Baked Cookies: Store in an airtight container at room temp for up to 5 days. They stay soft the whole time.

Freezing Baked Cookies: Freeze for up to 3 months in a freezer bag. Thaw at room temp for 30 minutes.

Can Opening: Once you open that can of pumpkin puree, refrigerate the rest for up to a week. Use it in oatmeal, smoothies, or just make more cookies.

Questions Everyone Asks

Q: Can I use fresh pumpkin instead of canned? A: You can, but canned is actually better. It’s more concentrated and consistent. Fresh pumpkin is watery and you’ll need to roast, puree, and drain it. Save yourself the trouble.

Q: Why are my cookies flat? A: Your butter was too warm, you didn’t chill the dough, or you overmixed. Try chilling the dough for 30 minutes before baking.

Q: Why are my cookies cakey but dry? A: You overbaked them. Remember, they continue cooking after you take them out. Pull them when they look slightly underdone.

Q: Can I make these gluten-free? A: Yes! Use a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour. The texture will be slightly different but still good.

Q: Do I have to use chocolate chips? A: No, but they make it infinitely better. You could use butterscotch chips, cinnamon chips, or nothing at all if you want boring cookies.

Q: Can I reduce the sugar? A: You can reduce each sugar by ¼ cup, but they won’t brown as nicely and the texture will be slightly different.

Storage Real Talk

Room Temperature: Airtight container for up to 5 days. They stay soft the entire time because pumpkin is magic.

Refrigerated: Not necessary and actually makes them firmer. Room temp is better.

Frozen: Freeze baked cookies for up to 3 months. Layer them with parchment paper so they don’t stick together.

Cookie Dough Balls: Freeze on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag. Bake whenever the craving hits.

Perfect Pairings

Coffee: Hot, preferably a latte or something with milk. The creaminess complements the spices.

Apple Cider: Hot or cold. Very on-brand for the season.

Milk: Cold, whole milk. Classic for a reason.

Tea: Chai tea specifically. The spices match beautifully.

Ice Cream: Vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two cookies. You’re welcome.

The Science of Soft Cookies

The pumpkin puree adds moisture and acts as a binding agent, which is why these cookies stay soft for days. The combination of baking soda and baking powder creates lift and airiness – baking soda spreads them out, baking powder makes them puff up. Together, they create that perfect soft, cakey texture.

The brown sugar adds moisture and chewiness while the white sugar helps with spreading and crispness around the edges. The ratio here is designed for soft cookies. If you wanted crispy cookies (you don’t), you’d use more white sugar and less brown.

The spices contain compounds that slow down staling, which is part of why these cookies taste even better the next day. It’s not just in your head. It’s actual chemistry working in your favor.

When to Make These Cookies

Fall Obviously: September through November, these are mandatory.

Thanksgiving Prep: Make the dough ahead, bake fresh on the day.

Cookie Exchange: Everyone else will bring sugar cookies. Be different.

After School Snack: Kids love these because they taste like dessert but have vegetables.

Summer: When you want fall vibes but it’s 90 degrees outside.

Any Day Ending in Y: There’s literally never a wrong time for soft cookies.

Why These Work So Well

Pumpkin cookies get a bad rap for being dry or too cakey or tasting like health food. These are none of those things. They’re soft without being underbaked, flavorful without being spice bombs, and sweet without being cloying. The chocolate chips add richness and make them feel indulgent rather than wholesome.

They’re also incredibly forgiving. Slightly overbaked? Still good. Underbaked? Also good. Wrong size? Who cares, they taste the same. You can make them fancy with a glaze or keep them simple with just chocolate chips. They work for breakfast (there’s pumpkin, it’s basically a vegetable), dessert, or that weird 3pm time when you need something but don’t know what.

This is the cookie that makes people who say they don’t like pumpkin actually like pumpkin. It’s the cookie that disappears from the plate at parties. It’s the cookie that makes your house smell so good your neighbors start asking questions.

These cookies prove that fall flavors don’t have to be relegated to lattes and pies. Sometimes the best way to celebrate a season is to make it portable, soft, and studded with chocolate chips.