Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chunk Cookies
These Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chunk Cookies win the award for being one of the most delicious fall cookie recipes out there!
These Are The Best Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies!
- Favorite Flavors! – We’ve got the fall flavor of pumpkin, warm spices, the depth of brown sugar, the nuttiness of brown butter, and a slight sweetness from the semisweet chocolate. This cookie recipe checks every box!
- Perfect Texture! – Are you looking for a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe that doesn’t produce cookies that are basically cakes? Look no further! A few tweaks to the recipe guarantees that these pumpkin cookies have the chewy texture, moist centers, and crisp edges that we all love in regular chocolate chip cookies.
- Crowd Pleaser! – I love all sorts of pumpkin desserts, but these pumpkin spice chocolate chunk cookies top the list! They never last long, because everyone loves to take one… or two!
Ingredients For This Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
- 1/2 Cup of Canned Pumpkin Puree – Double check your can! Pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie filling are not the same things!!
- 3/4 Cup of Butter – You’re going to need unsalted butter, and you’re going to melt it down until it turns a golden brown. Browned butter has a flavor like none other. It’s slightly nutty.
- 1 Cup of Brown Sugar – Use dark brown sugar for a chewy cookie with a flavor that hints at maple syrup, molasses, and caramel.
- 2 Egg Yolks – Whole eggs serve to make cookies tender and moist, so most cookie recipes require the whole egg. However, the pumpkin puree is already adding an abundance of moisture, so we just need the egg yolk. Most pumpkin cookie recipes use whole eggs and produce a cakey cookie. This recipe instead gives a cookie texture that’s more like a classic chocolate chip cookie.
- 2 Teaspoons of Vanilla Extract – All baked goods need vanilla extract. I don’t write the rules.
- 1 3/4 Cup of Flour – I use all purpose flour, but you could swap out for whole wheat flour or the gluten free flour of your choice. Just keep in mind that different types of flour all absorb liquid differently, so you’ll need to tweak how much flour you add!
- 1 Tablespoon of Pumpkin Pie Spice – Not only will these cookies have a pumpkin flavor, but they’ll have a pumpkin spice flavor, and that addition of cloves, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice makes all the difference.
- 1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda – This is your main leavening agent, so make sure your baking soda is fresh!
- 1/2 Teaspoon of Salt – If you use salted butter, omit this salt as a separate ingredient.
- 1 Cup of Semisweet Chocolate Chunks – Semisweet chocolate tastes best in these cookies, I believe! You can use chunks, or cut up a semisweet chocolate bar. You could also use semi-sweet chocolate chips, but I like the larger chunks of chocolate.
- Sea Salt – For a slightly crunchy, salty bite that complements all the sweetness in this recipe so well.
How To Make These Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Prep your cookie sheet with parchment paper, and preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Dry out the pumpkin puree. How? By placing it in a paper towel and gently squeezing out the excess liquid. Again, we’re trying to make pumpkin cookies, not bite-sized pumpkin cakes. We need to somewhat reduce the moisture content.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir it regularly until the butter browns, making sure not to burn it.
- Using a large bowl and a hand mixer (or the bowl of a stand mixer), add the brown butter and brown sugar. Whisk together. Keep in mind that we’re using melted butter, so it’s not going to produce the same texture as when you’re creaming together softened butter and white granulated sugar.
- Add in the egg yolks, one at a time, and the vanilla extract. Blend again, using a whisk or whisk attachment.
- Add the dried-out pumpkin puree, and mix until well-combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until a cookie dough forms.
- Use a spoon to fold in the chocolate chunks, keeping some of the chunks back to place on top of each cookie.
- Use a cookie scoop to make cookie dough balls, and place them on the parchment-lined baking sheets. Cover the baking sheets with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Top each cookie dough ball with a couple of chocolate chunks, then bake for 12-13 minutes or until the edges are slightly browned. The centers may look undone – don’t worry! They’ll finish cooking as they cool. It’s the moisture from the pumpkin that’s trying to fool you.
- Let the cookies cool on the hot baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Pour yourself a glass of milk and enjoy!
Storing Leftover Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies
Leftover pumpkin spice chocolate chunk cookies can be stored in an airtight container on the countertop for 3 days, or in the refrigerator for a week.
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Here’s a tip, though!
These cookies tend to want to stick together. It’s that pumpkin puree that makes them want to do that.
If you have leftover cookies than can fit in your container in a single layer, then be sure to add a sheet of wax paper before starting the second layer.
Top Tips For Soft Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Don’t skip the refrigeration part!
Chilling the cookie dough balls serves multiple purposes. For one, it keeps the cookies from spreading out and going flat in the oven.
More importantly, however, it gives time for hydration! The dry ingredients need time to truly soak up all the moisture and flavors from the wet ingredients.
Chilling the dough causes the dough to become less wet, but with more concentrated flavors.
You really notice the difference in this when you’re using a recipe with brown butter – which this is!
And finally, flour starts to break down into sugar compounds during the hydration process, making the cookies taste sweeter.
Don’t skip the part where you dry out the pumpkin puree either!
Many pumpkin cookies have a cake-like texture due to all of the excess moisture that the pumpkin brings.
I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but that’s not the texture I’m looking for in my favorite fall cookie!
We’re already reducing the moisture somewhat by removing the egg whites, but setting the 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree on a paper towel helps to reduce the moisture further.
You’ll enjoy a slightly flatter cookie with a chewy texture and nice crisp edges!
Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chunk Cookies
These Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chunk Cookies top the list as one of the most delicious fall cookie recipes out there!
Equipment
- Glass Mixing Bowl
- Paper Towel
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Canned Pumpkin Puree
- 3/4 Cup Butter
- 1 Cup Brown Sugar
- 2 Egg Yolks
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1 3/4 Cup Flour
- 1 Tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Cup Semisweet Chocolate Chunks
- Sea Salt
Instructions
- Prep your cookie sheet with parchment paper, and preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Dry out the pumpkin puree. How? By placing it in a paper towel and gently squeezing out the excess liquid. Again, we’re trying to make pumpkin cookies, not bite-sized pumpkin cakes. We need to somewhat reduce the moisture content.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir it regularly until the butter browns, making sure not to burn it.
- Using a large bowl and a hand mixer (or the bowl of a stand mixer), add the brown butter and brown sugar. Whisk together. Keep in mind that we’re using melted butter, so it’s not going to produce the same texture as when you’re creaming together softened butter and white granulated sugar.
- Add in the egg yolks, one at a time, and the vanilla extract. Blend again, using a whisk or whisk attachment.
- Add the dried-out pumpkin puree, and mix until well-combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until a cookie dough forms.
- Use a spoon to fold in the chocolate chunks, keeping some of the chunks back to place on top of each cookie.
- Use a cookie scoop to make cookie dough balls, and place them on the parchment-lined baking sheets. Cover the baking sheets with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Top each cookie dough ball with a couple of chocolate chunks, then bake for 12-13 minutes or until the edges are slightly browned. The centers may look undone – don’t worry! They’ll finish cooking as they cool. It’s the moisture from the pumpkin that’s trying to fool you.
- Let the cookies cool on the hot baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Pour yourself a glass of milk and enjoy!
If your family loved pumpkin desserts that have a bit of chocolate in them, you might always want to try this Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread.
