These are the best pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! Soft and chewy with pumpkin spice flavor and chocolate chips, they will be your new favorite cozy fall cookie recipe.
If you love the pumpkin, don’t miss my pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins and chocolate chip pumpkin bread.
Table of Contents
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
While I have so many fall favorites to bake every year, these are hands down on my list every year. They are THE BEST pumpkin chocolate chip cookies out there!
These chocolate chip pumpkin cookies are so soft and moist and have the perfect light, fluffy, and cake-like texture. They will definitely become your new favorite pumpkin recipe!
Why I Love This Cookie Recipe
- Quick and easy! This fall cookie recipe is simple and ready in an hour with no chilling! Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and place on a cookie sheet to bake.
- Soft and chewy. These pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are the best way to enjoy moist, chewy cookies that are loaded with chocolate chips.
Recipe Ingredients
These homemade pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are easy to make with fall favorites like pumpkin and cozy spices!
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Baking staples: All-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, egg, milk, and vanilla.
- Pumpkin: 100% pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling) gives the best pumpkin flavor. Buy canned puree, or make homemade pumpkin puree from scratch.
- Oil: Used to help moisten the texture of the cookies. Both vegetable oil and canola oil will work in this pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe.
- Spices: A mix of cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and sea salt helps give these cookies a warm and delicious fall flavor.
- Chocolate: I like to use a mix of semi-sweet chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips, but feel free to use one or the other if preferred or even chocolate chunks.
How to Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Wet ingredients. Combine pumpkin puree, sugar, oil, vanilla, and egg in a large bowl until smooth. In a separate bowl, dissolve baking soda with milk and then stir the mixture into the wet ingredients.
- Dry ingredients. In a separate large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and spices. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients and stir together until you only see a few flour streaks in the dough.
- Fold and scoop. Gently fold the chocolate chips into the dough and then use a cookie scoop or a spoon to scoop the dough onto a prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake. Bake at 350°F for about 10 to 13 minutes until the cookie bottoms are light golden. Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Tips and Variations
- Don’t overmix. Mix the batter until you see a little flour left, then fold in the chocolate chips. This ensures soft and fluffy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.
- Cookie scoop. Scoop dough with a medium cookie scoop. This is a softer dough that is a bit sticky to the touch, so using a scoop helps give that round cookie shape.
- Make it look pretty! Press extra chocolate chips on the top of the dough right before going into the oven. It ensures you have more chocolaty goodness in each bite.
- Softer cookie. For a softer cookie, you can dissolve the baking soda with a teaspoon of milk and stir into the wet ingredients (instead of adding to the dry ingredients).
- Cake mix. If you’re short on time these cake mix pumpkin cookies have only 3 ingredients but the same fall flavor!
- Icing. These chocolate chip pumpkin cookies would also taste delicious topped with a rich cream cheese frosting or even a smoother cream cheese glaze.
- Add-ins: Add oats for a pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookie variation, or try some nuts, raisins or additional warm fall spices.
Storing + Freezing
Once they have baked and cooled, store the cookies in a covered container for up to 4 days. The longer they sit, the more flavor they develop. I might even argue that they taste even better the next day.
You may also freeze the baked cookies for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, let thaw on the counter until no longer frozen.
Craving more cookie recipes? Try my pumpkin oatmeal cookies, best chocolate chip cookies, or double chocolate cookies recipe next!
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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree , don't use the whole can
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil , can sub with canola oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon milk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice , add an extra teaspoon if you like extra spice
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1-2 cups chocolate chips , I like to mix semi-sweet and milk chocolate, plus more for topping
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
- Wet ingredients. In a large bowl, stir together 1 cup canned pumpkin, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1 Tablespoon vanilla and 1 egg until smooth. In a small bowl, dissolve 1 teaspoon baking soda in 1 teaspoon milk and stir into the wet ingredients.
- Dry ingredients. In a separate large bowl, mix 2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture just until you see a few flour streaks. Fold in 1-2 cups chocolate chips until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Bake. Using a medium cookie scoop or a spoon, drop cookies about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Add a few extra chocolate chips to the tops, if desired. Bake 10 to 13 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the bottoms are lightly brown. Check 1 and bake 1 to 2 more minutes if the center is not quite done.
- Cool. Let cool 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- chopped nuts
- frost with a cream cheese frosting
- use a homemade pumpkin pie spice (add an extra teaspoon if desired)
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Recipe FAQs
If you would like to use butter, make my pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting. Omit the frosting and add chocolate chips.
These cookies should be anything but dry! The beauty of these cookies is how moist, soft, and tender they are.
If yours turns dry, you likely overmixed the dough or measured your flour incorrectly. Mix the dough just until combined (a few streaks of flour are okay) and measure the flour using the spoon and level technique for the most accurate results.
Once they have baked and cooled, store the cookies in a covered container for up to 4 days. The longer they sit, the more flavor they develop. I might even argue that they taste even better the next day. You can also freeze baked cookies up to 3 months.
Yes! I love to freeze cookie dough. Just be sure to scoop them first before freezing. Bake from frozen adding a few minutes to the baking time.
Categorized as: American, Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cookies, Desserts, Freezer-Friendly, Halloween, Holiday Cookies, Kid-Friendly, Nut-Free, Reader Favorites, Vegetarian
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
These were delicious!
I’ve been making these cookies every fall and winter for as long as this recipe has been up and everyone loves them! This year however we are having to switch to whole wheat flour. Do you think that would still work with this recipe?
Hi Ashley, I haven’t personally tested these with whole wheat, but let us know if you do. Typically with whole wheat I reduce the amount of flour by 1/4 cup per cup.
These are so good! It makes the softest thick cookies if you scoop the dough with a cookie scoop and leave it in a ball without pressing it down at all. The sweetness level is not overwhelming but just enough.
Made these for my coworkers. The batter was a bit wet, but they were so good! Will be coming back to it again and again! Thank you!!
Never made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies before so I was super nervous especially as this recipe had specific instructions. I followed it to the best of my beginners ability and WOW. 9 out of 10 amazing!! The only thing I could’ve done better was to put more of the pumpkin pie spice recipe but I was scared to do too much. Thank you for sharing this recipe and bringing amazing cookies into my life!!
Love this recipe, Made cookies and mini loaf’s. Will use tad more pumpkin pie spice next time.. Very moist, easy to make and delicious Thank you for sharing
When it states 1 can of pumpkin, is that 15 oz or 29oz?
1 cup!!
Everyone loved them! A great season recipe!
I will making these cookies again and again for pumpkin season!! It is so good and really delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Hey! I live in a high altitude area, what would I need to do differently?
I have not experienced making these cookies at high altitude. Since the liquid ingredients evaporate quicker you can add in a little bit or water or milk to the batter. You can use more pumpkin if you need to for the higher altitude or oil to keep it moist too. I am not sure on the oven temperature but you can try increasing it 5 to 10 degrees and bake the cookies less time. Let me know how they turn out and what changes you had to make, if any!
Nothing makes the house smell better than pumpkin & chocolate!! These cookies are so moist & delicious!! We make them all fall long & take them to friends.
I’ve made these cookies and love them. I have no children of my own so I’ve given the recipe to my great-nieces and they’ve made them and love them. Their kids love them. Your recipe is going down the generations in the family here.
This was the most beautiful recipe!!
I have been making this recipe since 2013 and I come back to it every year. If you put them in muffin tins they’re just as good!
Ah that makes me so happy! So glad you’ve enjoyed the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies!
Can I freeze half of the dough for later? How long would you recommend baking them from frozen? Thanks!
Yes you can freeze the dough balls. I typically let them thaw on pan 30 minutes before baking and add a couple extra minutes.
I have fresh pumpkin puree and it’s wetter than canned. What would you suggest? Maybe another egg? It’s also measured out per cup so what would the equivalent be?
I would just make sure to remove the extra moisture with a paper towel :)
Made the cookies today, easy to follow recipe and delicious 😋
Easy and delicious are the best kind of cookies. Glad you like them, Dona!
My husband is quite the fan as well, will definitely be making again
Glad to hear he liked them, Dona. Thanks for sharing!
Not a bad recipe, but as far as pumpkin cookies go, not the best. It’s not as intensely pumpkin as I’d lIke. The pumpkin flavor is very subtle. I think next time I might strain the excess water from the pumpkin puree. That might help intensify it and make it less cakey. I’m also missing the richness of the brown sugar that’s usually included in cookie recipes, but isn’t in this one. I can also slightly taste the bitterness from the leavening, as there’s a lot of it.
Love these cookies!!! Wanting to make them ahead of Thanksgiving. Should I bake and then freeze? Or make and then freeze the separate cookie dough balls?
You can make them a couple days ahead and they’ll stay fresh (I actually prefer them the day after). However, you can definitely freeze them once they’re baked and cooled and they freeze great!
I just made these to add to a cookie platter for a neighbor. Mine are very cakey and come out of the oven very similar to how they went in. I used a cookie scoop so they are like little puffy cake bites almost. They taste pretty good! I added one cup of mixed chocolate chips and it was plenty of chips (some of them are pretty dark chocolate) and I also added maybe 1/4 of a cup or more of pecan chips. I like that combination with the pumpkin and chocolate here. The only thing I was thinking was, “They need a little something…a little pizzaz and something to make them obviously not chocolate chip cookies!” It hit me, they aren’t overly sweet so they could take a light icing drizzle across the top, like a drizzled scone. That made them perfect and adorable! They really stand out as something special on the plate with the others. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks for sharing your review! These cookies are supposed to be a little cakey (the pumpkin gives them the soft texture). The glaze on top sounds delicious!