Perfect Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Plump with pumpkin and loads of chocolate, these cookies are light and fluffy and terribly, terribly easy to make.
With all the hundreds of thousands of different pumpkin variations (cookies, especially) roaming around the internet these days, sometimes my only coping skill in the midst of the overwhelming onslaught is to go back to the classics (that, plus a nap).
I’ve been making these beautiful, fluffy little pumpkin chocolate chip cookies for years.
No, I take that back. One fall, I decided to ignore this favorite cookie and focus on other styles of pumpkin cookies that were, I’m sad to say this out loud, a little more gourmet and not quite so humble. It was a sad holiday season.
And I didn’t fully realize it until about the next March when I figured out the source of my melancholy: I hadn’t made my go-to pumpkin chocolate chip cookie when pumpkin season was raging (well that and the fact that I was living in Minnesota at the time and it was -30 below…in March).
I’ve never made that same mistake again.
Fall is not fall without these babies sitting atop the cooling rack on the counter as the kids rush in from school (they’ll probably never know or appreciate how lucky they are that there are real, live cookies left for the eating on these days…).
While there will never fail to be a new, great, pretty, awesome pumpkin cookie to try out and tweak and love (I’m sure I will try about 43 pumpkin cookie versions this year alone), this tried-and-true perfect pumpkin chocolate chip cookie will always be my first love.
Plump with pumpkin and loads of chocolate, these cookies are light and fluffy and terribly, terribly easy to make. Delicious just a bit warm from the oven, if you can even stand to believe it, they are even tastier a few hours later or the next day.
One Year Ago: Easy 10-Minute Caramel Sauce
Two Years Ago: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Sandwiches
Three Years Ago: Little Quinoa Patties
Perfect Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (212 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (106 g) lightly packed brown sugar
- ½ cup oil (see note)
- 1 (15-ounce) can (425 g) pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 2 ½ cups (355 g) all-purpose flour (see note about using whole wheat flour)
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (see note)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1-2 cups (170 to 340 g) chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line large, rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat liners.
- In a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer (or in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, pumpkin and vanilla and mix until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Add the egg and mix again.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix for just a couple seconds. With streaks of flour still remaining, add the chocolate chips and mix until combined.
- Drop the cookie batter by heaping tablespoonfuls (I use my #40, 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop) onto the prepared baking sheets. If there are jagged edges and you want a perfectly round cookie, wet your hands lightly (not dripping) with cold water and gently smooth the edges of the cookies. Because they will bake up quite puffy, if you want a cookie that’s a bit flatter, lightly press with the palm of your slightly wet hand.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
My kids were in heaven when they ate these cookies. They were so good.
Made these Perfect Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies for the first time and they were exactly what I was looking for! And they’re easily a one bowl recipe.
Great cookies! Always love all of Mel’s cookie recipes. I baked these 9 at a time and they turned out perfect baked at 11 minutes. When I tried doing 12 on the cookie sheet they ended up having gooey tops. If anyone else has problems with gooey tops I highly recommend going down to 9 cookies a pan to help them bake more evenly.
Super yummy. I was debating between these and the other pumpkin cookies on the webpage. Happy i went with these. Super easy and yummy and my daughter loved helping.
Absolutely perfect cookies! They’re a tradition at our house every fall and my daughter nick named them pumpkin pillows.
Flour ratios are off for high altitude. I had to use three cups+ to get the right consistency. They also baked for 20 min to avoid being doughy.
Hi Greg, I don’t live at high altitude, so it’s up to each person making a recipe to make adjustments for their own altitude (since it would obviously be impossible for me to test my recipes at all altitudes). High altitude baking definitely does require adjustments – it can be finicky! I live at around 2,500 feet elevation. I don’t personally feel like a recipe should be rated lower based on elevation differences, but that is entirely your prerogative.
I live at high altitude (4500 ft) and I think the recipe is perfect as is. It is a very soft, wet dough – more like a muffin top than a chocolate chip cookie.
I went ahead and added about the same amount of flour as well because I’m at high altitude. I usually go by the look and feel of the dough no matter what because some days are drier than others, some of us live at high altitude and some at lower. This is my favorite recipe for pumpkin cookies!
Can you make these into bars instead of the cookies?
I haven’t tried that, but I bet it stands a good chance of working!
I just made these today and they are so amazing! Best pumpkin cookie I’ve ever had! I already know this is going to be a repeat all fall long.
These are amazing! Just what a soft pumpkin cookie should taste like! Perfect every time!
I am egg free and gluten free. I substitute 1/3 applesauce for the egg and use Gf flour. My family and friends love them and no one even knows the are gf:)
Fall all wrapped up in a perfect little cookie
My humble apology goes out to you, Mel. I was comparing this recipe with another one I had made last year, to try to decide which one to bake this year. I should have known better than to ever have questioned yours! These cookies are hands down the best pumpkin chocolate chip cookies I have ever tasted! Thank you so very much for all your efforts to find what are truly the very best recipes out there!
These were good, but definitely not the texture I was expecting; they’re more like muffin tops than cookies. Since I prefer my cookies to have more bite than sponge to them, I don’t think I’ll make these again. They did make the house smell wonderful while baking though!
These are just absolutely perfect on a chilly fall day! Thank you so much Mel!