These soft Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, made with pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice, and cream cheese, have a cake-like texture and lots of pumpkin flavor!
Soft Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
My daughter Madison loves pumpkin spice, so she devoured these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies when I was testing them. I adapted them slightly from these pumpkin cookies with chocolate glaze, and I think they’re even better!
I see many box cake recipes for cookies, which have a similar texture, but making them from scratch means the ingredients are a bit cleaner. Cream cheese helps keep these nice and moist too and beyond the pumpkin puree, they’re made with pantry staples.
More pumpkin recipes you may like are my Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Roll, Pumpkin Snickerdoodles, Pumpkin Banana Bread, Pumpkin Spice Cookies or these Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins.
Why You’ll Love This Pumpkin Cookie Recipe
It’s that time of year where we’re all craving pumpkin spice and everything nice! My daughter Madison loves these cookies!! They have plenty of pumpkin spice flavor with chocolate chips in every bite!
- Soft, cakey texture. These pumpkin cookies definitely have a more cake-like texture than a chewy one, which I love.
- Perfect pumpkin flavor. Pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice infuse every bite of these cookies with incredible pumpkin flavor.
- Quick and easy. These pumpkin cookies take just a handful of minutes to prep and 15 minutes to bake.
What You’ll Need
These pumpkin cookies are made with pumpkin puree and pantry staples. See the recipe card below for measurements.
- Cream cheese: I used reduced-fat cream cheese.
- Butter: Allow to soften at room temperature.
- Sweetener: I made these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies with regular monk fruit and golden monk fruit. You can also use granulated and brown sugars.
- Egg: Egg helps give these cookies structure.
- Pumpkin: You can use canned pumpkin puree or homemade pumpkin puree.
- Buttermilk: If you don’t have buttermilk, pour ¾ teaspoons of lemon juice or vinegar into a measuring cup and fill the rest with 1% milk until you reach the quarter-cup mark.
- Vanilla extract
- Pumpkin spice: Adds the warm fall flavor to these pumpkin cookies.
- Flour
- Baking Soda and Baking Powder: Help the cookies rise and make them more tender.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness and improves the flavor and texture.
- Chocolate Chips: I used Lily’s sugar-free chocolate chips, but semi-sweet chocolate chips will work too.
How to Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
This pumpkin cookie recipe requires just a few minutes of prep and 15 minutes in the oven.
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line three baking sheets with a silicone mat or parchment paper. You can also prep only one tray and bake the cookies in batches.
- Wet Ingredients: Beat the cream cheese, butter, and sugars in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat, followed by the pumpkin, buttermilk, and vanilla.
- Dry Ingredients: Whisk the flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda, salt, and baking powder in another bowl. Gradually stir the flour into the pumpkin mixture. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Bake: Drop heaping tablespoons of the cookie dough (one ounce each) on the prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 14 to 15 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Variations
- Add nuts, like pecans or walnuts.
- Add dried fruit like cranberries or raisins in place of the chocolate chips.
Tips for Success
Here are a few suggestions to keep in mind for making the best pumpkin cookies.
- Use pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Though the cans look similar, pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie filling are not the same thing. It’s important to use pure pumpkin puree for these pumpkin cookies.
- Rotate the pans. Halfway through the baking time, rotate the baking sheets to ensure even baking on all sides.
- Take care not to over-bake. These pumpkin cookies require just 14 to 15 minutes in the oven. Be sure to remove them quickly and transfer to wire racks to avoid dry cookies.
What can be done with leftover canned pumpkin?
Since you only need a half cup of pumpkin for these chocolate chip cookies, you’ll have quite a bit left over. You could make another pumpkin recipe, like this Creamy Pumpkin Polenta, Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes, or Pumpkin Smoothie. Or freeze the remaining puree in ice cube trays. When you need it for another dish, thaw some cubes in the fridge and use the puree as normal.
Storage
- Counter. Store these pumpkin cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
- Fridge. To extend the life of your pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, you can also store them in the fridge for up to 7 days.
- Freezer. Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies do freeze well. Once cooled, transfer to a ziploc freezer bag and store for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter before enjoying.
More Pumpkin Cookie Recipes You’ll Love
- Pumpkin-Spiced Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
- Pumpkin-Spiced Oatmeal Pecan Cookies
- Pumpkin Hazelnut White Chocolate Biscotti
- Pumpkin Spice Quinoa Breakfast Cookies
More Canned Pumpkin Recipes
Here’s a few more ways you can use canned pumpkin this fall!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- cookie sheet
Ingredients
- 4 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup monk fruit brown sugar, Lakanto or use regular brown sugar if you prefer
- 1/4 cup monk fruit sweetener, Lakanto or regular sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup 1% buttermilk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 cup sugar-free chocolate chips, such as Lily’s
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line 3 baking sheets with a silicone mat or silpat (or bake in batches).
- In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the egg; beat well. Mix in pumpkin, buttermilk and vanilla.
- In another bowl combine flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda, salt and baking powder; gradually add to pumpkin mixture; mix well. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls, 1 ounce each, 2 inches apart onto the silicone lined baking sheets.
- Bake 14 to 15 minutes or until golden, rotating the baking sheets halfway.
- Remove to wire rack to cool.
