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
78 Comments on “Perfect Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies”
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!
Just wanted to say these are amazing! I made them with butterscotch chips and OMG incredible!!
I made my own pumpkin Puree using your Instant Pot recipe and used it to make these amazing cookies!!! My kids love the cookies!!
Awesome!! This is exactly what I’m going to do today! I can’t wait!
My first batch is coming out of the oven, and they look so good! They are super easy to make and are a perfect fall treat. Thank you Mel for another great recipe
These are AMAZING! I make them all the time and they are always a huge hit. They are the perfect fall dessert and anyone I give them to loves them! (I had one boy tell me they were better than any cookie his grandma had ever made!) Thanks again for all of the great recipes you post!
I already rated your recipe and posted it, this is just a note to say that in the first comment which failed to post I told you how much I enjoy your blog & your recipes. When looking for something, I always head to your site first. Thank you so very much for all of the love & hard work that you pour into your wonderful blog. Believe me when I tell that it very definitely shines through!
Thank you so much, Margo!
I had no pumpkin pie spice on hand so I used the spices that you recommended in place of the pumpkin pie spice in the exact amounts that you recommended.
I apologize and ask your forgiveness, but I have never cared for chocolate chips with pumpkin; I used the same amount of raisins that you called for using chocolate chips. That is the only change I made on my own. I feel as though I’m cheating in giving this 5 stars when I did not use your chocolate chips but I feel that the raisins taste just as good to me as the chocolate chips would have tasted to you. Wishing you a blessed remainder of 2019.
Fall is in the air here in Idaho… my first and favorite recipe for a great weekend treat! Recipe works great with beautiful yields and great looking cookies.
My kids absolutely loved these but I thought they were way too moist. I baked them twice as long as recommended, otherwise they were doughy. I’ll try another for sure. I love all the different varieties of recipes on this site. I wish there was a cookbook with all of them.
Made these today and they were delicious and fluffy! I was wondering if you’ve ever tried refrigerating the cookie dough and baking off in a day or two. Thanks!
I haven’t – but I think it should work!
Dear Mel, I totally forgot about a post that I read & saved regarding how to make the very best Chocolate Chip cookies, until I read Elizabeth’s question. It was on msn.com a short time back & the gentleman’s name was Jacques Torres . He’s known as the authority on Chocolate Chip Cookies. I would think that his advice would work for any type of chocolate chip cookie.
The One Thing You Need to Do to Bake Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies, According to Jacques Torres
https://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/tipsandtricks/the-one-thing-you-need-to-do-to-bake-perfect-chocolate-chip-cookies-according-to-jacques-torres/ar-AAHrjpB
These are such an autumn staple for me. Love them so much! For other bakers on the east coast or in humid areas, you may need to add several minutes to your bake time to get these to set. I appreciated your comment below, Mel, where you indicated checking these for doneness as you would a muffin. Very helpful. My batch today needed at least 17 minutes.
Thanks for the helpful review, Megan!
Which pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe do you like better? This one of the amazing pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe? And why?
I like them for different reasons – this one I like because it’s cakey and super soft…but the “amazing” pumpkin cookie recipe is a little more soft and chewy (and thinner – not quite as cakey).
My daughter has had to go gluten free to see if that’s what’s hurting her tummy so bad. I converted these cookies to a little healthier version. I double the batch and put in 2 cups of rolled oats that I put in my Vitamix blender for about 3 minutes till they were fine, 2 cups of King Arthur gluten-free flour and one cup of vanilla protein powder. I put in one extra egg for the double batch and they turned out absolutely amazing! Love your blog and love your recipes!
Amazing variations to make these GF – thanks, Jessie! Glad they worked out!
Thank you for this perfect recipe! Yum! It had just the right consistency for my taste.
Mel, These cookies are ethereal! My hard-to-please kids were both wide-eyed and completely impressed. The soft, airy texture was such a surprise–like you said, definitely cake-like rather than chewy cookie. Anyway, do you have any other cookie recipes with a similar texture that you can think of? I’d love to give some others a whirl. Thanks so much for your amazing recipes and inspiration!
Hey Michelle – I think these cookies are in a league of their own texture wise! I can’t think of another cookie quite like them.
Every single person i have given these cookies to have asked for the recipe.
These definitely are perfect! Made them with coconut oil and half whole wheat flour. Didn’t last the night with our family of 6. So yummy! Perfect fall treat!
this is really good! i love this recipe is really
Thank you so much! I have looked for so long for this recipe! I love pumpkin desserts, and I have tried sooooo many different pumpkin cookie recipes searching for the perfect one. This is it! My 5 yr old was just dancing around the kitchen singing about how much she loves these cookies. Thank you!!!!!
These were so delicious. Made a batch last night and we all loved them. I like the cakey texture. The batter was really wet, more than I thought it would be and I used all white whole wheat flour–the only change I made. So great, thank you!!! Next time I will try the new chewy ones you just posted about. My absolute favorites are those pumpkin chip blondies. You are the best!
Hi Mel,
How would you store these? They’re so moist and muffin like that I’m afraid to keep them out in a tupper ware in the pantry for too long. Thanks!
I usually store them in a covered container for a day or so (the tops get a little more moist when they are covered but that’s ok).
Made these last night and they were a hit! My kids gobbled them up.
Yes…so glad to have a go-to pumpkin cookie recipe! Made these right after you posted and coming back for round 2.
I would be ungrateful if I didn’t stop and thank you for your blog! It must take an immense amount of time and energy, but just know that your shared recipes bring love, memories and full happy bellies to our family! Thanks again. p.s These cookies were delish AND your pumpkin cookies with carmel frosting. Hurrah for pumpkin season!
Thank you so much, Rosanne!
I just made these for a bake sale…not sure how many will be left to sell. 🙂 These are amazing! So light and fluffy and not too sweet. Thanks Mel for another delicious recipe!
I imagine these would freeze well. What do you think? Have you tried?
Yes, they freeze great!
These.were.delicious. The most perfect pumpkin cookie I’ve ever eaten. Thank you! My son loves pumpkin cookies and since you didn’t have a recipe posted, I don’t make them 🙂 – today was the best day of his life he says! Better than Great Harvest! Thanks for another favorite at our house.
Thank you for another wonderful recipe! My daughter and I made these together a couple of days ago, and they were a hit! I baked them for 14 minutes and still found them too soft for my taste, so next time I will try a couple more minutes. Thanks again!
You are right about the coconut oil making a more tender cookie. I noticed that with one of your other muffin recipes that uses coconut oil. It was the most tender muffin I had ever eaten. It totally beat a recipe I tried from America’s test kitchen.
Made this recipe using a long island cheese pumpkin and cinnamon chips instead of chocolate, since someone had eaten the chips:) I can’t stop eating them, and I keep thinking these would be so good with a cup of Mexican Hot Chocolate.
These are so delicious! They are just like eating Great Harvest’s pumpkin chocolate chip bread, in the form of a cookie! Cheaper, easier to make and eat as a cookie! LOVE it! Thank you!
Great harvest bread in cookie form??! SOLD making these ASAP!!
We just went to Farmstead for a preschool field trip, and my darling 3 year old dropped my “front porch” pumpkin on the ground 5 minutes after it got home 🙁 Luckily I had seen this recipe a couple days earlier and decided to turn that pumpkin into some delicious puree for these cookies. So. So. Yummy.
Wow, these are seriously amazing! And this is coming from a non pumpkin lover. Thanks for the great recipe!
This are awesome. Subbed apple sauce for half of the oil, used white whole wheat flour, and halved both sugars. Whole family loved them and they don’t get sticky on top after being stored like some pumpkin cookies do.
**These**
Just made em, just ate em, instantly in love! What a neat texture, they’re so fluffy for a pumpkin cookie. New favorite, thanks Mel!
Any thoughts on subbing raisins for the chocolate chips? Why would you do that right? But we have an allergy issue
I think you could just sub them straight across!
I tried both chocolate chip and raisin. Chocolate chips wrre much better!
These look delish and make me want to eat some right now! I wish I made more comments on your blog, I have been following you for years now and have literally loved every single recipe I have ever tried. My sister introduced me to your site and since then we have spread your name like wild fire. I got my mother in law hooked and I love when she tells me about a tasty recipe she tried from “Mel” 🙂 I just thought I’d share my mom’s famous pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe with you. I have tried tons and have never liked any because they didn’t even come close to comparison. I haven’t tried yours, but knowing the caliber of your recipes I’m sure it is a winner. Here’s her recipe 1/2 C shortening (I don’t know if that grosses you out, but it works in this, I promise!) 1 1/2C sugar, 1 egg, cream together then add 1 C canned pumpkin puree, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp cloves, 1 tsp cinnamon. Mix, then add 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt and 2 1/2 C flour. Stir in 1 package of chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes.
You don’t have to try it, obviously 🙂 I’m sure you receive far to many recipes to ever try them all and if you have one you know you love, why look further? If you do try it though, I’d love to hear what you think, how they compare. I’ve been wanting to send you my mother in laws amazing wheat bread recipe. It is 100% whole wheat and yet is the softest and lightest I have ever had..so yummy! Thanks for doing what you do Mel!
Thanks for sharing your mom’s famous pumpkin recipe, Kesa! I love getting recipes so thanks; feel free to pass along the bread recipe, too, if you have time. 🙂
This is my 3rd Mel recipe this evening. 🙂 (Dinner was whole wheat rolls and Tuscan bean and sausage soup- fabulous!) I struggled with the baking time for this one. I’m not sure if my cookies were a different size than yours (I used my #40 scoop, filled to the top), or I just didn’t bake them long enough. Do you have any guidance for when they’re done? After 10 minutes they looked puffy and barely set, but after leaving them to cool on the sheet, they were still very soft inside. I’ll try one tomorrow and see how they fare after an overnight rest. Maybe I’m just not used to making pumpkin cookies?
Hi Michelle – I judge these a bit like a muffin. If they look puffy and you gently tap on the top, they should spring back (and not be mushy like a wet dough). Does that help at all?
Yes, that helped!! I baked the rest of the dough today, adding a few minutes to the baking time, and they were much better. 🙂 Now I’m off to go type up your Giant Cookie recipe for a baking class I teach at our homeschool co-op!
Pregnant women really shouldn’t read your blog at night! A large amount of these cookies just appeared in my kitchen! Simple recipe, everything on hand… They had to happen! I used mini chips and it gave just enough chocolate. They’re perfectly soft and cakey. I made slightly smaller cookies and came out with about 5 dozen. Sharing these at work tomorrow!
Hi Mel – have you tried McCormick’s pumpkin pie spice extract? I used it in my pumpkin bread recipe instead of vanilla and it really ups the pumpkin spice flavor! Can’t wait to try these cookies!
I haven’t tried that Patricia – sounds yummy though!
Mel, do you think these could be converted to a bar cookie? That is what I usually make and have not found a really good pumpkin bar cookie, yet.
Alice have you tried these pumpkin blondies? They are delicious.
Thank you for posting such great recipes! Made these tonight and they were a hit! The last pumpkin cookies I made were so bad I vowed to never make them again. But this post recipe me– and, as usual– was fabulous. THIS is what a pumpkin cookie should be!
These look like the perfect Fall cookie, Mel! I love that they keep well and taste even better a day or two after baking!
HI Mel,
I love all of your recipes and this weekend is our Canadian Thanksgiving..I know you have a lot of Canadian fans (I am definitely one) and was wondering if you had any new Thanksgiving recipes to try? I usually do your ham for Thanksgiving as we aren’t huge turkey fans here…but just thought I’d check in and see as I know you don’t celebrate until November. Thanks!
Hey Melissa – check your email. 🙂
Melissa is a lucky girl- almost makes me wish I lived in Canada so I could get my hands on your Thanksgiving recipes early!
Printing recipe now — I may have to surprise my son with these when he gets off the bus today. Thanks! 🙂
I must be on your wavelength this morning. I made your pumpkin pancakes (with chocolate chips) and opened a big can of pumpkin … so I would have plenty of pumpkin left over to make your pumpkin cheesecake crumble bars (which I have been craving for days)….. Looks like I’ll be adding these to today’s cooking projects too!! Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are his favorite, so he thanks you in advance 🙂 Looks like it will be a yummy fall day at my house !!
I need to go buy chocolate chips so I can make these cookies. I love pumpkin, but I love the basics. I have a favorite pumpkin gingersnap, a favorite pumpkin bread, and now I need a favorite pumpkin chocolate chip cookie.
I just made your buttermilk banana bread for my Tuesday morning Bible study group and it turned out so well! I baked it into about 7 mini loaves, and they all got gobbled up! =)
Can you believe I am making these right now? Its finally my day off and some guys are coming over to help with a painting project, so we will have these for coffeetime. I used a mix of mini choc.chips and cinnamon chips. Perfect thing to bake on a crisp fall morning.
Love that you made these already, Barb!
OMG, yummy. I just made your pumpkin choc chip muffins, they are cooling on the counter. These look so good. I could just eat that picture, lol. Good thing I didn’t see this first or my son would’ve been eating cookies for breakfast.
Yes to naps! Simple tried and true recipes are the best. Thank you for sharing.