Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies (Two Ways)

I’m officially burnt out on pumpkin cookies after baking batch after batch. The good news: I landed on two solid recipes—one made with pumpkin puree and another made with pumpkin butter. I’m sharing both because not everyone has access to pumpkin butter, though if you can get it, it makes an amazing cookie.

After a lot of experimenting—cooking down pumpkin, testing texture, and adjusting bake times—I discovered two reliable approaches. One yields a soft, slightly gooey cookie made with pumpkin puree; the other, using pumpkin butter, produces a thinner, crisp-chewy cookie with slightly crunchy edges.

Notes on technique and texture

Cooking down pumpkin puree didn’t consistently solve texture issues for me. Some attempts produced cakier cookies. What mattered more was balancing the wet and dry ingredients, chilling the dough, and adjusting the bake time. Shorter baking produces softer, gooey centers; longer baking gives a drier, cakier result. Using cornstarch in the dough helps keep the cookies chewy.

Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies made with Pumpkin Puree

Makes about 24 cookies

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted and cooled
• 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 cup chocolate chunks + 3/4 cup chocolate chips + 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C).

Whisk together flour, salt, cornstarch, pumpkin pie spice, and baking soda; set aside. In another bowl, combine melted butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, mixing until incorporated. Stir in pumpkin puree. Gradually add dry ingredients and mix until a dough forms; it may seem crumbly at first but will come together (use your hands if needed). Fold in chocolates.

Chill the dough for 30 minutes. Roll into golf-ball sized balls and bake 8–11 minutes, depending on how soft you like them. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Longer chilling or baking will produce a slightly cakier cookie.

Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies made with Pumpkin Butter

Makes about 24–30 cookies

• 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup pumpkin butter
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 1/4 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C).

Combine flour, salt, cornstarch, pumpkin pie spice, and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, beat melted butter with both sugars until smooth. Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, then stir in pumpkin butter until uniform. Gradually add the dry ingredients until a dough forms; it may be crumbly at first. Fold in chocolate chips.

Chill the dough for 30 minutes. Roll into golf-ball sized balls and bake 12–15 minutes, or until the cookies are slightly golden at the edges and crispier than the puree version. Let cool completely on a wire rack. These cookies turn out thinner, with crisp edges and a chewy center.

Final tips

• Chill the dough to firm it up and control spread.
• Adjust baking time: less for gooey centers, more for cakier cookies.
• Cornstarch helps with chewiness and prevents overly cakey texture.
• Using a mix of chocolate chips, chunks, and mini chips adds texture and pockets of melty chocolate.
• If you can find or make pumpkin butter, try the butter-based recipe for thinner, crisper-edged cookies.

After many trials, these two recipes consistently deliver great cookies: one soft and chewy from pumpkin puree, the other thinner and crisp-chewy from pumpkin butter. Happy baking.