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.
Ever tried to use coconut oil instead of veggie?
Hi Julie! I’ve never tried it in this recipe, but if you have tried substituting in other cookies, go for it! :)
OMG i accidentally used a whole can of pumpkin instead of just one cup…just realized..waiting for them to come out of the oven now..
Hope they still turned out yummy Claire! :)
I can honestly say, these were by far the BEST pumpkin chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had! Everyone loved them! Thank you so much for this recipe :) I will definitely make these several times this holiday season!
Best wishes,
Melissa
Thanks so much for your comment Melissa! I am SO glad everyone loved them. :)
These look lovely! I have a can of pumpkin puree in the cupboard which I bought last year when Aldi (UK) had an ‘American week’. I never knew what to do with it. Now I have a plan! X
I hope you enjoy these Liz! This is definitely one of my favorite pumpkin recipes!
How many cookies does this recipe make?
It will make about 2-3 dozen depending on how much cookie dough you use for each cookie. :)
I just made these for a party this past weekend – OH MY GOSH! so many incredible compliments and i ate three before even leaving the house! These are getting made again, and again, and again this season!!
Thank you Amy! I’m so glad they were a hit. We make them all the time during the fall!
Hello,
These cookies are so highly addictive. I used coconut oil instead of veg oil and less chocolate chips. I also used a combination of quinoa flour and chocolate protein power. This recipe is SO versatile, which is greatly appreciated.
Thank you for sharing! This recipe is a keeper :)
Thanks for sharing your substitutions to make it a little healthier! I’m glad you liked the recipe! :)
hi. jamielyn. thank you for sharing the recipe. i tried it. it is easy to make and keeps well. best wishes for the new year.
I’m glad you liked it, it is definitely one of our favorite pumpkin cookies!
I have to be honest, I didn’t love these. Really good flavour, but they were more spongey/cakey than I expected. I prefer a chewier cookie. Maybe I’d prefer them without the baking powder?
They are supposed to be more moist and soft, not cakey! But if you are looking for a chewy recipe, I would try this one: http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/09/04/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-cookies/
Hello. I was wondering if it’s okay to replace chocolate chips with butterscotch chips? That’s all I got right now. Would the taste be completely different? Is it going to be any sweeter or anything? I would love to know what you think of it, thank you.
Replacing it with butterscotch chips would probably be fine if you like them with pumpkin! I prefer chocolate chips though! :)
Great cookies, thanks! Wife and I just made them. We accidentally bought jumbo choc chips… Not a problem ;)
I don’t see a Google Plus share button. Consider adding it.
-Tony
Thanks for your comment Tony, I will definitely look into it! I’m glad you and your wife enjoyed the cookies! Yum, these would be amazing with jumbo chocolate chips!
Hi, is it okay if I top this with cream cheese? Will that change the cookie or anything? And can I use fresh pumpkin instead of canned pumpkin because we don’t have those over here? I think I remember reading you said that it would have more moisture, is there a way that I can decrease the moisture? Or do I have to decrease the amount of liquid used in the recipe? Thank you very much.
A cream cheese frosting would taste yummy on top! Yes, if you use fresh pumpkin I would try to drain some of the liquid out by using a paper towel since real pumpkin is a lot more wet than canned pumpkin. Hope that helps! :)
Hey! Has anyone refrigerated the dough and made them the next day? Sometimes it takes too much time to make 3 consecutive dozen in one night…
I have a quick question, my one year old can’t have regular chocolate chips so would subbing cocoa nibs work? I’ve never used them I only know they’re unsweetened!
I’ve never tried using cocoa nibs either, but you should definitely give them a try and let us know how it goes! :)
I just made a double batch of these yummy cookies! Thank you for sharing! I made a few tweaks from the original because I can’t ever seem to leave things well-enough-alone… I substituted Pumpkin Pie Spice for the cinnamon – because, I don’t know – it seemed like a good idea – and it is yum! However, I felt like they were not quite sweet enough (this is coming from a girl that ate Oreo’s for lunch today) – so I topped the cooled cookies with a powdered sugar/milk/almond extract glaze. That just pushed these over the top for me. I prefer the added sweetness of the glaze. Anyway- I will try them with cinnamon next time, and maybe some of those flavored chocolate chips that are available this time of year… The possibilities are endless! Thanks again for sharing :) **Don’t overbake! I forgot to set the timer – and they are really dry if you cook them too long. 10 minutes was perfect in my oven.
Yum, that glaze sounds amazing…thanks for sharing! There definitely are so many possibilities with pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! Thanks for your comment Tammy!
Just made these – so delicious! Thank you for a great recipe
Yummy! I’ve made them twice now and everybody loves them. Thanks for sharing!
I’m so glad you have loved them! I need to make some again soon, they are so yummy!
Hi :) I’m kinda dissapointed because my cookies ended up more like biscuits. Is the cookie supposed to be crunchy or cakelike and dense? I would really appreciate the help :D
These cookies are supposed to turn out really soft and moist. I’m sorry they didn’t turn out as well for you! Maybe next time try adding a little less flour, since everyone measures flour differently!
When I overcooked a batch – they were more biscuit-like. Try reducing your time. It worked for me :)