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The best ever Pumpkin Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies…because Fridays in October deserve something sweet. Homemade pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, made with browned butter, pumpkin butter, pumpkin spice, and plenty of chocolate. Each cookie dough ball is rolled through cinnamon sugar for a “snickerdoodle” like finish before baking to perfection. There’s nothing not to love about these cookies. They’re slightly crisp on the edges, but soft and gooey in the middle. Perfect for Halloween night or Thanksgiving dinner…or simply when in need of a deliciously sweet pumpkin chocolate chip cookie.
It’s pretty hard to beat a good classic chocolate chip cookie. I grew up eating my mom’s homemade cookies and to this day, they’re still a favorite. She uses the recipe on the back of the Nestlè Toll House Chocolate Chip bag. But always adds an extra cup of chocolate chips. Because, well that’s mom, the more chocolate the better!
It really was not until the last few years that I started creating (and loving) pumpkin recipes. For the longest time my mom had it ingrained in me to only like chocolate-based desserts. No pumpkin, definitely not anything fruity, and vanilla? No way. It’s was chocolate or nothing growing up…and I will never ever complain an ounce about it.
What I will say however, is that I’m thankful I’ve opened up my horizons a bit…and in turn hers too. We’ve ventured onto the path of desserts beyond the “chocolate only” realm. Chocolate is still a favorite, of course, but I’ve now come to love experimenting with new flavors and desserts that don’t focus so heavily on chocolate…enter my cream cheese swirled pumpkin bread.
But what’s even more fun? When I can combine my serious love for chocolate along with my (relatively) new love for pumpkin.
And in comes these cookies. You have chocolate, you have pumpkin, AND you have pumpkin spice. So the best of all worlds. Cheesy, but true.
Every time I’ve attempted pumpkin chocolate chip cookies in the past, they’ve come out pretty cakey and much more muffin-like. Not bad, but just not a chewy chocolate chip cookie.
My goal with these cookies was to create a pumpkin cookie not only with amazing pumpkin flavor, but also a texture that’s closer to my mom’s chocolate chip cookies. It took some playing around with the recipe, but I’ve finally landed on a cookie that is so good. I will not say the texture is just as chewy as a classic cookie, but it’s close, and these cookies are so yummy.
Four secrets to these cookies…
Secret #1, brown half of your butter, but leave the other half at room temp. This gives you the flavor of browned butter but leaves you with a cookie that has great texture too.
Secret #2, use spiced pumpkin butter, not pumpkin purèe. This IS KEY. Pumpkin butter is more reduced down than pumpkin purèe and contains less moisture. Less moisture will give you a chewier, not as cakey cookie. You can use my homemade pumpkin butter or pick some up at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, your local market, or via Amazon…though I am partial to my homemade recipe. Just make sure your pumpkin butter is spiced for best flavor.
Secret #3, roll your cookie dough balls in cinnamon sugar, as if making snickerdoodles. So yes, this cookie is actually a cross between a snickerdoodle and a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie.
Secret # 4, bake the cookies, but about halfway through cooking, pull the cookies out of the oven and tap the baking sheet on the counter a couple of times. Then return to the oven to finish baking. Remove the cookies from the oven, and again, tap the baking sheet once more. Why? This ensures you have the least cakey pumpkin cookie. Instead, you’ll have a cookie with crisp edges and a gooey center. Tapping the baking pan on the counter deflates the center of the cookie, pushing the edges out. It might seem weird, but it’s a method I learned from the New York Times and it works.
…easy to make, require no chilling, and take less than an hour.
…full of actual pumpkin flavor – and actual pumpkin.
…rolled in cinnamon sugar, so kind of like a snickerdoodle, but better.
…studded with both chocolate chips and chocolate chunks
…just perfectly crisp on the edges, but soft and gooey in the center.
The very best thing you can bake up this weekend. Because it’s always a good idea to bake chocolate chip cookies, especially when browned butter, pumpkin butter, and cinnamon sugar are involved.
Just one more thing…
Eat these warm, while hot and gooey. And add a glass of milk…just like my mom and I would do!
If you make these pumpkin butter chocolate chip cookies please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
These look amazing! My pediatrician thinks my 3 month old has a dairy allergy, and because I’m breastfeeding I can’t eat it either. Is there anything I could substitute the butter with?
Hey Mandy,
You could use a vegan butter! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
One of the best cookie recipes I’ve ever had. Perfect for fall 🙂
Thank you Kathleen! xTieghan
These look delicious! Do you have any adjustments for making these at higher altitude?
Hi Meghan! My recipes should work great for you! Please let me know if there is a specific question I can help with! xTieghan
I’ve made these cookies a dozen times and they always turn out super cakey- what am I doing wrong! The flavor is amazing but no matter how hard I bang them on the counter, they never seem to flatten out very much and once they come out of the oven they are still very thick and cake like. Help!!
Hi Kylie,
So sorry you are having issues getting the cookies to flatten. I am wondering if you are rolling the dough into too tight of a ball before baking? Also I would recommend doing the tapping trick earlier in the baking process. I hope this helps! xTieghan
This looks delicious! I’m allergic to apples…any suggestions on what I replace apple cider for in the pumpkin butter?
Hi Nicole! I would recommend using water. That will work great too! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe and happy Easter! Thank you!! xTieghan
I made this a few months ago and it was so so good! I made it with your pumpkin butter recipe as well!
Thank you Hayley! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Hi, I was wondering, when I made these the tray tap didn’t drop my cookies and they stayed high, do you know what I may have done wrong? Too high oven temp maybe? They were delicious anyway!!
Hi Rachel, Was there anything you did differently at all? Any ingredients different? Method of baking this? What temp was the oven at? Any info will be helpful to help me problem solve and figure out what might be happening for you. It’s hard to know without knowing any details. Hope I can help you! xTieghan
I’ve made these several times and the flavor is absolutely delicious! The recipe is easy to follow and the smell of the brown butter and pumpkin spice are amazing. I wasn’t able to get my cookies very flat even with the tapping and I think it’s because I live in a humid environment. I also had to refrigerate the dough a bit because it was too sticky to roll into balls. The last time I’ve made them, I set the temperature to 325 to let the cookies cook a bit longer so they could flatten more. Hope this helps those in humid environments!!!
Thank you so much! I am so glad you have been loving these cookies! xTieghan
These were actually the best cookies I’ve ever made. The chocolate chunks spread so perfectly after tapping the pan on the counter, looking and tasting amazing. These cookies were beyond gooey, flavorful, and not too pumpkiny. My boyfriend brought these into work for a Thanksgiving party and his coworkers were raving. They were so upset to hear that we didn’t make any for their X-Mas party (only because Trader Joe’s doesn’t have their pumpkin butter after fall). Thanks for the recipe—I will definitely be making these again (maybe with my own homemade pumpkin butter!).
That is so amazing to hear! I am so glad these turned out so well for you Maura! Thank you! xTieghan
These cookies are cracktastic! I found it therapeutic to slam the tray off my stove… LOL
Love the addition of the pumpkin butter AND browned butter. Yes yes yes!
I am so glad you loved this Becca! Thank you so much! xTieghan
These are AMAAAAZING! I made them tonight with 3 tbsp of aquafaba (liquid from a can of chickpeas) in place of the egg and they turned out perfectly! Using a tablespoon to scoop out the dough balls, I got much more than 24 cookies – about 53. They are so good – I don’t want to stop eating them!
Thank you!! I am so glad you loved these cookies Hannah!! And honestly, I felt the same way when I made them too haha! xTieghan
These may be my new favorite cookie recipe, and I’m not normally crazy about pumpkin! 🙂
I am so glad you love this!! Thank you so much Chelsey! xTieghan
How should the consistency of the cookie batter be? Mine came out really sticky and needed to add more flour to roll into a ball. Batter tastes great!
Hey Denise! The batter should be rollable, but also just a touch sticky. How much flour did you add?
I ams so glad love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
I made these and thought the batter tasted delicious. However, after rolling them in the cinnamon sugar they were way too sweet for me and it kind of overpowered the flavor of the cookie, I thought. I’d probably make them again and just skip the sugar roll.
I hope you love these more without the sugar roll! Thank you for trying them! xTieghan
I think I’ve made these four times already! They are absolutely yum!!
Thank you so much Ruthy! xTieghan