Spiced Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies combine the warm spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves with the sweetness of pumpkin and chocolate chips. These pumpkin spiced cookies are a delicious and festive treat that are perfect for the fall season.
This pumpkin cookie recipe yields soft, pillowy cookies made with simple ingredients such as flour, sugar, eggs and of course many warm spices! These easy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are perfect for enjoying with a cup of tea or coffee, or for sharing with friends and family during the holiday season.
Why Everyone Loves Pumpkin Spice Flavor!
Pumpkin spice has become a staple flavor during the fall season, and for good reason. Pumpkin spice flavor is often associated with childhood memories of pumpkin patches, hayrides, and Thanksgiving dinners. It’s a flavor that brings back happy memories and makes people feel nostalgic. I know my family looks forward to pumpkin every year, we just love it!
In addition, the combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves gives pumpkin spice its warm and cozy taste. It’s the perfect flavor for chilly autumn days when you want to curl up with a good book or a warm blanket. And it’s versatile too! Pumpkin spice flavor can be used in a variety of dishes, from sweet to savory. You can find pumpkin spice in cookies, cakes, muffins, oatmeal, and even soup! It’s no wonder that people can’t get enough of it during the fall season.
Why you’ll adore this Chocolate Pumpkin Cookie Recipe
- Amazing taste & texture. The pumpkin puree adds moisture and a subtle sweetness to the cookies, making them soft and chewy. The blend of spices, including cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, adds warmth and depth of flavor to the cookies.
- Simple recipe steps. This recipe is easy to make and requires only a few simple ingredients, making it a great option for a last-minute dessert or snack.
- There are dozens of reasons to love them! Every batch of cookies makes 36 or so (about 3 dozen cookies), so there are literally dozens of reasons to love them.
Spiced Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Ingredients
Pumpkin: You will need one 15-ounce size can of pumpkin puree. You want it to be 100% pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling, as that is something completely different and will not work with this recipe.
Sugar: Use 1 ⅔ cups of granulated sugar to make these cookies sweet and chewy.
Oil: Adding in ½ cup of vegetable oil will give you a moist cookie, so it is not crumbly and dry in texture.
Egg: For a binding agent and to give these cookies great texture, use 1 egg.
Vanilla extract: Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to enhance the flavors in the cookies well.
Flour: For the base of this cookie dough, you will need 2 ¾ cups of all-purpose flour.
Leavening agents: Help these cookies rise as they bake, use 1 teaspoon each of baking powder and baking soda.
Spices: You need 1 teaspoon each of ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg as well as ½ teaspoon of ground cloves, for a warm bite of spice in every cookie.
Salt: Adding ½ teaspoon of salt will give the cookies a well balanced taste.
Chocolate chips: For a burst of sweet chocolatey goodness in every bite, you will need one 12-ounce-sized bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips.
How to Make Spiced Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Prep
Begin with preheating the oven to 375 degrees F. Then, place parchment paper onto two baking sheets and then set them aside.
Make dough
In a bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the pumpkin puree, sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla extract on medium speed. You can also use an electric handheld mixer and a large bowl for this step.
Next, in a medium size bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt.
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix on low speed until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Then, use a spoon or spatula to fold in the chocolate chips until just incorporated.
Continue to scoop the dough out into 2-inch-sized balls and place them onto the prepared baking sheets. Leave at least 2 inches of space between the cookies.
Using the back of a greased spoon, press down on the centers of the cookie dough mounds so that they are the thickness desired. The cookies will not spread much as they bake.
Bake
Place the baking sheets of cookies into the preheated oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. The edges should look set before pulling the cookies from the oven.
Let cool, and then serve. Enjoy!
Variations and Substitutions
Alternative Spices: For those who want to switch up the spice blend in their Spiced Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, there are a few options. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger are traditional pumpkin pie spices that work well in this recipe, but feel free to experiment with other warm, cozy spices like cardamom or allspice.
Dietary Adjustments: To make these cookies vegan, simply substitute the butter with a vegan butter substitute or coconut oil. You can also use a flax egg instead of a regular egg. For gluten-free cookies, use a gluten-free flour blend instead of all-purpose flour.
Fun Additions: For some extra texture and flavor, consider adding chopped nuts or dried fruit to the cookie dough. Pecans, walnuts, or almonds would all be great choices. You can also mix in some white chocolate chips or butterscotch chips for a different twist on the classic chocolate chip cookie.
Helpful Recipe Tips for Amazing Cookies!
Here are just a few tips and tricks to ensure the best cookie results every time!
- It is fine to flatten the cookies quite a bit, as they will still puff up while baking. Whatever the shape you create prior to baking will be close to the end result size and shape.
- To make the 2-inch balls of dough, I take a heaping amount of dough using a small cookie scoop. I have multiple cookie scoop sizes, for this recipe I use a tablespoon size to create the round balls.
- Make sure to spray the back of the spoon with some cooking spray every 2-3 cookies that you flatten to keep the dough from sticking to it. This helps prevent the cookie dough from sticking to the spoon and maintain its shape well.
How should I store the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies?
You can keep these cookies stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-5 days. This will give you plenty of time to enjoy them and share them with friends and family.
Do I have to flatten the cookies?
These cookies do not spread very much while baking, so we recommend flattening the dough out at least a little bit as it will help get the cookies to cook more evenly. If you skip this step, be warned that your cookies will be unevenly baked and will look like small mounds instead of a more traditional cookie shape.
Is it possible to make healthy cookies without compromising taste?
Yes, it is possible to make healthy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies without compromising taste. You can substitute some of the sugar in the recipe with natural sweeteners like honey or maple syrup. You can also use whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour to increase the fiber content. Finally, you can add healthy mix-ins like chopped nuts or dried fruit to boost the nutrition of the cookies.
Can I modify a pumpkin chocolate cookies to exclude eggs?
To modify a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe to exclude eggs, you can use a flax egg or applesauce as a substitute. To make a flax egg, mix one tablespoon of ground flaxseed with three tablespoons of water and let it sit for a few minutes until it thickens. You can then use this mixture in place of one egg in the recipe. Alternatively, you can use 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce in place of one egg. This will add moisture to the recipe and help bind the ingredients together.
We encourage our kids to support each other in each of their individual activities, but we also understand that there are a lot of individual activities. If we made our oldest daughter attend every single activity, her schedule would be jam packed, and that’s not the kind of thing she enjoys. But we do strongly encourage her, and others, to attend some. Here she is, cheering her brother on in her own way. Ha!
Here are some more great pumpkin cookie recipes to try soon
- PUMPKIN SNICKERDOODLE COOKIE BARS
- NO BAKE PUMPKIN COOKIES
- PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE GINGER COOKIES
- PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
- PUMPKIN OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
- GLAZED PUMPKIN COOKIES
- ICED PUMPKIN COOKIES
- PUMPKIN SNICKERDOODLES
- ICED CINNAMON PUMPKIN COOKIES
- PUMPKIN GINGERSNAP COOKIES
- APPLE PUMPKIN OATMEAL COOKIES
- PUMPKIN PUDDING COOKIES
Spiced Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies are made from pumpkin puree and have sweet chocolate in every bite, they are soft, chewy, and almost too good to share! This pumpkin cookie recipe has simple ingredients, they come together fast and are so delicious.
Leave a Reply