What's better than chocolate chip cookies? PUMPKIN chocolate chip cookies! Pumpkin puree and warming spices add amazing flavor and give these cookies the perfect soft, chewy texture.
Do you have a friend that shows up at Halloween parties wearing a "This is My Halloween Costume" shirt? Oh, maybe you are that friend. Apologies. It's okay though, because apparently so am I.
This is my Halloween post. Isn't it terrifying?!
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Hear me out. What these cookies lack in scariness, they totally make up for in amazing texture and flavor. On one level, these cookies are like a simple hybrid of my vegan pumpkin cookies and vegan chocolate chip cookies, but they're also better. They've got that delicious pumpkin spice flavor, along with the texture of a chocolate chip cookie, but even better, because pumpkin makes them even softer and chewier (fun fact: pumpkin makes a great vegan egg substitute for baking).
They’re the perfect cookie to celebrate Halloween, fall… or honestly, any time of year. I’d make these in July — they’re that good!
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Flour. I've only made this recipe with all-purpose wheat flour. Other varieties might work, but I can't make any promises without having tested them myself.
- Pumpkin pie spice. This is the blend is the star seasoning in my vegan pumpkin pie recipe, and it will give these cookies a similar flavor. It might also be labelled as pumpkin spice.
- Cinnamon.
- Baking soda.
- Salt.
- Vegan butter. Look for this in the refrigerated section of your grocery store, near the regular butter.
- Sugar. Use organic sugar to keep the recipe vegan. Conventional sugar is often processed using animal bone char.
- Brown sugar. Same deal — use organic.
- Pumpkin puree. Don't confuse this with pumpkin pie filling, which includes a bunch more ingredients we don't want.
- Vanilla extract.
- Vegan chocolate chips.
How They're Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Get ready. Line some baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat your oven to 350°F.
Step 2: Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk your flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.
Step 3: Mix the wet ingredients. Start by creaming the vegan butter, sugar, and brown sugar together, then add the pumpkin and vanilla extract.
Step 4: Mix the dough. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in about three batches, beating each one in on low speed.
Step 5: Add the chips. Fold them in using either a spoon or spatula.
Steps 6 and 7: Shape and bake. Drop rounded balls of dough on your baking sheets, using about 1 ½ tablespoons per cookie. Pop them into the oven and bake your cookies for 10 to 12 minutes.
Step 8: Cool. Place the baking sheets on cooling racks, and let the cookies cool until they at least feel set. You can then transfer them directly to the racks until they're completely cool.
Your pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are done and ready for some spooky fun!
Variations
- Nutty pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Stir in some chopped nuts, such as pecans or walnuts.
- Fruity pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Add some dried fruit, such as raisins, cherries, or cranberries.
- Spider cookies. If you want your cookies to actually be kind of spooky, draw spider legs on your chocolate chips using some melted chocolate. Use the technique from this spider cookie recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions
I haven't tried making a gluten-free version, but an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend would be your best bet if you'd like to give it a try.
Yes, but you'll need to cook and puree it first. Try this pumpkin puree recipe.
Store them in an airtight container and they'll keep for about a week at room temperature or up to three months in the freezer.
Nope, and I don't recommend it for this recipe. The pumpkin puree adds a lot of structure to these cookies. If you chill the dough, they may not spread out when you bake them.
More Vegan Pumpkin Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup vegan butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup organic granulated sugar
- ¾ cup organic brown sugar
- ½ cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 (9 ounce/255 gram) package vegan chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk the flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Set this aside.
- In a separate large mixing bowl, beat the vegan butter, sugar, and brown sugar together using an electric mixer at high speed, just until creamy, about 1 minute, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the pumpkin and vanilla, just until combined.
- Using the mixer at low speed, begin adding the flour mixture, beating in about a third at a time.
- Fold in the chocolate chips using a spoon or spatula.
- Drop the dough in rounded dollops on the baking sheets, using about 1 ½ tablespoons per cookie and leaving at least two inches between them.
- Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes. The cookies will look puffy when they're done baking, but will deflate a bit as they cool.
- Place the baking sheets on a cooling rack and let them cool until set before removing them from the baking sheets and transferring them directly to the rack to finish cooling.
- Serve or store in an airtight container for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to three months.
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Did you change the coconut oil for vegan butter? I’ve been making these forever and they are the best. What was the amount of coconut oil?
I have a printed copy from 08/01/2020 (I've been making these for a long time too) and there are a few differences but the coconut oil is the same amount. I'll give the new recipe a spin (it might be better), but I have the tried-and-true as a backup, because they really are a huge hit.
These were awesome!
I'm glad they're a hit! I haven't tried the recipe with vegetable oil, but I think it should work.
Amazing, delicious, and chewy cookies. Love em!
Thanks!
Awesome!! I'm glad you like them!
Hi. Can I use gluten free flour in this recipe?
I think an all-purpose gluten-free blend should work, but I can't be sure since I haven't tried!
They're not really cakey, but they're also not crispy on the outside. They're more soft and chewy. I think applesauce would be your best bet as an oil substitute, but I haven't tried it so I'm not certain it will work.
Could you do these without pumpkin puree to make plainer cookies or use a different flavouring? I only ask as I live in the UK where I would need to get pumpkin puree imported, but really want to make some vegan friendly cookies for work.
You'd have to make quite a few adjustments, so you'd probably be better off going with another recipe, like this one: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/classic-vegan-chocolate-chip-cookies/
Do you have an oil free option?
I'm afraid I don't! Applesauce might work as an oil substitute, but I haven't tried so I'm not sure it will work.
I love had hard cookies will they get hard if you bake them longer.
They will get harder if you bake them longer, but I'm not sure how much time to add on (I like soft cookies, so I always keep the time short). Maybe an additional 3-4 minutes, but I'd keep an eye on them so they don't burn. :)
That should work!
Just made these and they are really delicious! The pumpkin gives the cookie moisture and the the outside is a nice thin crispy texture. Thank you for a great vegan cookie.
Thanks Leslie! Glad you like them!!
I think the sugars are probably the issue. I wouldn't normally recommend subbing any kind of liquid sweetener for granulated - they just cook up differently. I hope you get to try them again, and enjoy! :)
I just made these cookies and they are to die, thank you so much for this recipe!
Awesome!! You're so welcome - and thank you so much for commenting to let me know!
Yummm! I think you've just convinced me to try pumpkin and chocolate together. I love pumpkin cookies (pumpkin snickerdoodles are the bomb!) but haven't tried chocolate chips yet. I made a batch of banana walnut chocolate chunk cookies last night (had a brown banana situation on my hands) which are safely stashed away in the freezer now. But I've got a Halloween party on Friday, so this may be the perfect thing to take along. Thanks for another great recipe!
I thought pumpkin and chocolate seemed like a weird combo at first, but then a friend gifted me a loaf of chocolate chip pumpkin bread a while back, and I loved it! These taste kind of like that bread, but in cookie form. Pumpkin snickerdoodles just went on my list of things to try - they sound awesome! :)