Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies: The Ultimate Fall Treat
As the crisp fall air rolls in, there’s something undeniably comforting about the smells of pumpkin, spices, and chocolate filling your home. Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are the perfect way to embrace the season, offering a delightful blend of flavors and textures. These cookies are soft and chewy, with just the right balance of warm pumpkin spice and decadent chocolate chips.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 11 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 41 minutes
- Yield: 15 servings
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- Cold unsalted butter – 1 cup (226 g). Butter is the base of many great cookies, and browning it adds a rich, nutty flavor that enhances the overall taste of the cookies.
- Libby’s Pumpkin Puree – 2/3 cup (160 g), with the liquid blotted out. Blotting the pumpkin ensures the cookies aren’t too cakey and results in a chewy texture.
- Granulated sugar – 1/2 cup (100 g). This adds sweetness and helps balance the spices.
- Light brown sugar – 1/2 cup (100 g), packed. Brown sugar gives the cookies a deeper, caramel-like sweetness.
- Egg yolks – 2 large, at room temperature. Egg yolks give the cookies richness and contribute to their chewy texture.
- Vanilla extract – 2 teaspoons. Vanilla adds a subtle warmth and complexity to the flavor profile.
- All-purpose flour – 1 2/3 cups + 1 tablespoon (220 g), measured properly using the spoon-and-level method. Properly measured flour ensures the dough has the right consistency and prevents the cookies from being too dry or too wet.
- Pumpkin spice – 2 1/2 teaspoons. This blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves is essential for that classic fall flavor.
- Baking soda – 1 teaspoon. Baking soda helps the cookies rise slightly while ensuring they remain soft.
- Fine sea salt – 1/2 teaspoon. Salt balances the sweetness and enhances the flavors in the dough.
- Finely chopped chocolate bar or chocolate chips – 1 cup (125 g). Chocolate is the star of this cookie, adding a delightful melty contrast to the pumpkin dough.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven and prepare the baking sheets: Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Line two baking trays with parchment paper to ensure easy removal of the cookies after baking.
- Brown the butter: The first step is to brown the butter, which adds a nutty, rich flavor to the cookies. Place 1 cup of cold unsalted butter in a large stainless steel pan over medium heat. Allow the butter to cook, stirring occasionally. As it heats up, the butter will foam, crackle, and pop—this is normal! Keep stirring to ensure it doesn’t burn. After about 5 minutes, you’ll notice brown bits forming at the bottom of the pan, and the butter will smell nutty and delicious. Once this happens, remove the pan from the heat and transfer the butter to a glass measuring bowl. Place the bowl in the fridge for 50-60 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes until the butter cools to 75°F and remains liquid.
- Prepare the pumpkin puree: While the butter is cooling, spread the pumpkin puree on a plate and press paper towels on top to soak up any excess moisture. This step is crucial to prevent the cookies from becoming too cake-like. After blotting, the pumpkin should be soft and dry, like soft playdough, and should measure roughly 1/3 cup (75 g).
- Mix the butter and sugars: Once the butter is cool, whisk in the brown sugar and granulated sugar for exactly 1 minute. The mixture should resemble pale, wet sand.
- Add the egg yolks, vanilla, and pumpkin puree: Next, whisk in the egg yolks, vanilla extract, and dried pumpkin puree. Mix until everything is well incorporated.
- Fold in the dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, combine the flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda, and sea salt. Gradually fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined. Be careful not to overmix the dough. Lastly, stir in the chopped chocolate or chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
- Scoop and shape the cookies: Using a 3-tablespoon cookie scoop, portion out the dough. Roll each portion between your palms to form a smooth ball, then place them on the prepared baking trays, spaced 2-3 inches apart. You should have about 15 cookies. If you want larger pools of melted chocolate, chop the chocolate into larger pieces and press them on top of the cookies before baking.
- Bake the cookies: Bake one tray at a time for 9-13 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown, and the centers are slightly underbaked. The cookies will continue to cook on the tray once removed from the oven. For perfectly round cookies, use a large round cookie cutter to gently scoot the edges in right after baking.
- Cool and enjoy: Let the cookies cool on the tray for 10-15 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Once cooled, enjoy the rich flavors and chewy texture of these irresistible pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.
Notes
1. Use room temperature ingredients: Always make sure the egg yolks, butter, and pumpkin puree are at room temperature. This will help the ingredients blend more easily and result in a smoother dough.
2. Measure your flour correctly: The best way to measure flour is by spooning it into a measuring cup and leveling it off with a knife. This ensures that you’re not using too much flour, which could result in dry, dense cookies.
3. Try different chocolate: If you prefer dark chocolate, swap out the semi-sweet chocolate chips for dark chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate. For a richer flavor, you could even use a combination of milk and dark chocolate.
4. Add mix-ins: For added texture, try adding chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans. You could also sprinkle some sea salt on top of the cookies before baking for a sweet-and-salty contrast.
5. Make ahead: If you want to bake the cookies later, you can refrigerate or freeze the cookie dough balls. Let them come to room temperature before baking—about 1 hour for refrigerated dough and 2 hours for frozen dough.