Everyone loves chocolate chip cookies. They are delicious and timeless, but it is late September and I have full blown pumpkinitis, so I am craving sweets with a good, festive fall vibe. These pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are just that. They have a beautiful pumpkin flavor with warm spices and chocolate. Everything a fall treat should taste like and you (and everyone else) are going to absolutely love them.
Let’s get them started…
To get started, melt 3/4 cup of salted butter and gather 1 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of honey, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree, 1 egg yolk, 1 3/4 cups of all purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 2 teaspoons of pumpkin spice, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and 1 cup of chocolate chips or a 4 ounce chocolate bar chopped finely.
I am also rolling these cookies in a little cinnamon sugar. This step is optional, but recommended. It adds a great crunch to the outside of the cookies that I absolutely love. If you want to do this, combine 1/3 cup of granulated sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon in a shallow dish and set it aside for now.
Many pumpkin cookies turn out really puffy and cakey and although I am sure they are quite delicious, I prefer my cookies to be a little more chewy. To achieve a more chewy texture with these pumpkin cookies, you’ll need to remove some of the moisture from your pumpkin puree. The easiest way to do this is by lining a small bowl with paper towels and letting the pumpkin puree sit for a few minutes. The paper towels will absorb a lot of the excess moisture. If you are using fresh pumpkin puree instead of canned, you may want to swap out of the paper towels a few times. Fresh pumpkin puree tends to have a lot more moisture than the canned stuff and the more you remove, the more chewy your cookies will be.
In a mixing bowl, combine 3/4 cup of melted butter with 2 tablespoons of honey, 1 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and an egg yolk. Whisk until everything is combined.
Add the pumpkin puree and whisk until fully combined.
Add 1 3/4 cups of all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 2 teaspoons of pumpkin spice, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and whisk until just combined.
When it comes to the chocolate, you can add about a cup of your favorite chips or bar. Chips will add a classic chocolate chip cookie feel and appearance, but adding a finely chopped bar of your favorite chocolate will give you more chocolate flavor throughout the entire cookie.
I like to reserve a little bit of the chocolate to add to the tops of the cookies as soon as I pull them out of the oven. This is of course purely cosmetic, but everyone loves pretty cookies, right?
Once the chocolate is incorporated, use a greased cookie dough scoop to transfer scoops of the dough into the cinnamon sugar mixture. This dough is pretty soft, so I use a fork to flip the dough around in the cinnamon sugar and the transfer the dough onto a non-stick or parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake the cookies for 8-9 minutes in a 350 degree oven. The cookies are done when the edges feel lightly set, but the middle is still a bit soft. As soon as they are done baking, take the baking sheet out and bang it onto your counter top a few times to deflate any puff that may have developed. This is an important step in achieving a chewy texture and avoiding airy, cake like cookies.
Let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them onto a cooling rack. If you plan on dressing your cookies up, sprinkle each one with a little more chocolate while they are still warm and maybe add another pinch of the cinnamon sugar you rolled the dough in earlier.
The combination of the wonderfully chewy pumpkin cookies with the melty chocolate and that little bit of crunchy cinnamon sugar is everything. They are perfectly sweet and full of warm cinnamon and pumpkin spice. The ultimate fall treat.
The texture of these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are quite special. They are not like your typical cakey pumpkin cookies, but they aren’t thin and chewy like chocolate cookies are either. They are sort of like a chewy brownie texture in cookie form and all thanks to the moisture being removed from the pumpkin puree and giving the cookies a few quick smacks onto your counter top.
If you are looking for a great fall treat then I would love for you to give these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies a try. You are going to love them…
Happy pumpkin season my friends!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup of salted butter, melted
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons of honey
- 1 1/4 cup of brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree
- 1 3/4 cups of all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 2 teaspoons of pumpkin spice
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup of granulated sugar (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
- Combine 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon in a shallow dish and set aside for now
- Line a small bowl with paper towels and add 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree into the bowl. Set it aside for a few minutes to allow the paper towels to soak up the excess moisture from the puree
- Combine 3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) of melted butter with 2 tablespoons of honey, 1 1/4 cups of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and an egg yolk in a mixing bowl
- Add the pumpkin puree and whisk until fully incorporated
- Add 1 3/4 cups of all purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 2 teaspoons of pumpkin spice and 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and whisk until just combined
- Add 1 cup of chocolate chips and mix until they have been evenly distributed throughout the cookie dough
- Use a greased cookie dough scoop to transfer balls of cookie dough into the cinnamon sugar mixture
- Use a fork to gently roll the cookie dough in the cinnamon sugar and then transfer onto a non-stick or parchment lined baking sheet
- Bake the cookies for 8-9 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven
- Once the cookies have lightly set edges, pull them out of the oven and bang the baking sheet onto your counter top a few times to deflate the cookies
- Allow the cookies to cool for about 5 minutes on the cookie sheet and then transfer them directly onto a cooling rack
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature
