These pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are completely eggless, made with strained pumpkin puree as the binder, and come together in two bowls with no mixer required. The dough chills for 30 minutes, then bakes at 350°F for just 11 minutes for a soft, cakey cookie loaded with gooey chocolate and warm fall spices.
I am going to tell you how to make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. I have to tell you, if I had to choose between regular chocolate chip cookies, even my own recipe, which I absolutely love, and these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, I am picking pumpkin every single day.
These are completely eggless, super cakey, amazingly gooey, and packed with the coziest fall spices. Plus, this is a two bowl and no mixer required situation, which means it is perfect for letting the kids help out in the kitchen without worrying about rogue mixer blades. Grab your bowls, grab your spatula, and let us get baking.
Table of Contents
Why You Will Love This Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
- That Cakey and Tender Texture: Because we melt the butter instead of creaming it, and fold the dough gently until just combined, these cookies bake up beautifully soft and tender
- The Perfect Spice Blend: We are skipping the pre mixed stuff and using a magical blend of cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and cardamom
- Zero Soggy Bottoms: I use a special trick with the pumpkin puree to make sure your cookies are perfectly moist, and never watery
- Eggless and Edible Dough: Since there are no raw eggs, you can safely taste test the dough, just remember to heat treat your flour first if you plan on eating it straight from the bowl
If pumpkin cookies are calling your name, my Easy Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies are another soft, spiced favorite worth baking this season.
What You Will Need
Special Equipment
- Kitchen scale, highly recommended for measuring flour and pumpkin
- Fine mesh sieve, for straining the pumpkin
- 2 mixing bowls, one medium, one large
- Whisk and silicone spatula
- Heavy duty and rimmed baking sheets
The Ingredients
- 100 grams pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 2 cups all purpose flour (240 grams)
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, make sure it is fresh
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, if using fine table salt, use a little less
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (170 grams), melted
- 2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips, plus a handful reserved for the tops
Let Us Get Cooking
1. Prepping the Pumpkin (It Is All About That Moisture)
Here is the secret to this recipe. There is a little bit of excess water in canned pumpkin puree. For a cake or a pumpkin bread, that is totally fine because it makes it moist and amazing. These cookies are moist and amazing too, but you just cannot put that much water in cookie dough.
So, measure out your 100 grams of pumpkin and press it right through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl to get that excess liquid out. If you do not have a sieve, you could use paper towels to blot it, but a sieve is so much better. The liquid just drains right out, leaving you with a firm and concentrated pumpkin paste. This acts as your binding agent, just like eggs would, and gives the cookies a beautiful color and amazing texture. Set the strained pumpkin aside.
Speaking of pumpkin puree, if you want to put that same trick to use in a loaf instead of cookies, my Spiced Pumpkin Bread is worth a look too.
2. Whisk the Dry Ingredients
In a medium bowl, sift together the all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, cardamom, ginger, and kosher salt. Give it a good whisk to break up any little rocks and perfectly distribute those beautiful spices.
If you love a well-balanced fall spice blend like this one, my Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake leans on a similarly cozy mix.
3. Melt the Butter (And a Quick Brown Butter Detour)
In a large and microwave safe bowl, melt the butter on half power so it does not explode in your microwave. Let it cool slightly.
By the way, if you are thinking you wish you could add a little something extra, let me tell you about browned butter. In the fall, make batches of browned butter with those caramelized milk solids. If you want to level up, you can absolutely swap the melted regular butter for melted browned butter. It is pure bliss. But, we are keeping it simple with regular melted butter, and they are still going to blow your mind.
4. Mix the Wet Ingredients
To the melted and slightly cooled butter, add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and your strained pumpkin mixture. Whisk everything together until it is beautifully combined and smooth.
5. Combine Wet and Dry
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. You could do vice versa, it does not really matter. Using a spatula, fold gently until almost combined. Stop when you still see a few streaks of flour.
6. Add the Chocolate
Pour in the 1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips and gently fold them in. This final folding will eliminate those last streaks of flour without overworking the dough.
7. Scoop and Chill
Scoop the dough into 1.5 to 2 inch balls and roll them in your clean palms. Space them about 2 inches apart on a heavy duty and rimmed baking sheet. Press a few of your reserved chocolate chips into the tops of the dough balls so they look pretty. Place the baking sheet in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes. You can even leave them for up to 2 hours, or overnight.
8. Bake, Cool, and Enjoy
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake the chilled cookie dough balls for just about 11 minutes. Let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
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FAQs
Why do I need to strain the pumpkin puree?
Canned pumpkin holds a ton of excess water. For a cake or a quick bread, that is totally fine, but you just cannot put that much water into cookie dough. If you do not strain it, your cookies will turn out super flat, soggy, and overly dense. Pressing it through a sieve leaves you with a firm pumpkin paste that acts perfectly as a binder, just like an egg, and gives you amazing texture.
Can I use pumpkin pie spice instead of individual spices?
You absolutely can. If you do not love keeping a bunch of individual spices in your kitchen, you can swap the cinnamon, allspice, cardamom, and ginger for about 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice. I personally think my custom blend is way better because cardamom is everything, but use what you love.
Why did my pumpkin cookies turn out tough?
This is usually because of overmixing. Once you add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, you really want to be gentle. If you overmix the batter, you activate the gluten in the flour and the dough contracts and becomes tough. I always stop mixing while there are still a few streaks of flour left, and let the process of folding in the chocolate chips finish the job.
Can I eat this cookie dough raw?
Because this recipe has absolutely no eggs, it is so close to being completely edible raw. However, raw flour can carry bacteria. If you want to safely eat this pumpkin cookie dough straight from the bowl, just spread your flour out on a baking sheet and bake it at 350°F for about 10 minutes to heat treat it first. Then, go crazy.
Should I use flat cookie sheets or rimmed baking sheets?
Baking sheets are so important. I always use heavy and rimmed baking sheets rather than flat cookie sheets. The heavy metal conducts heat evenly, and my personal theory is that the rim helps obstruct the airflow just a bit, protecting the cookies from getting burnt and helping them bake perfectly evenly.
Can I make these gluten-free or vegan?
I have not tested this specific recipe with substitutions, so I cannot promise identical results, but here is honest guidance if you want to try. For gluten-free, a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend is your best starting point, though texture may be slightly more delicate. For vegan, this recipe is already eggless, so the main swap is a plant-based butter and dairy-free chocolate chips, both should work reasonably well since butter here is melted, not creamed.
Can I add oats to this recipe?
You can fold in up to 1/2 cup of rolled oats along with the chocolate chips for a heartier, more textured cookie. Keep in mind this will change the classic cakey texture slightly toward something chewier.
Can I skip the chilling step?
I would not recommend it. The chilling time firms up the melted butter in the dough, which prevents the cookies from spreading too thin and going flat in the oven. If you are short on time, 30 minutes is the minimum I would go.
The Ultimate Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies (Eggless)
Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy20
cookies15
minutes11
minutes160
kcal30
minutes56
minutesCakey, incredibly gooey, and packed with warm fall spices, these eggless pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are the perfect autumn treat. No mixer required.
Ingredients
- Equipment Needed:
Kitchen scale
Fine mesh sieve
Mixing bowls
Whisk and spatula
Rimmed baking sheets
- Ingredients:
100g pumpkin puree (canned, not pumpkin pie filling)
240g all-purpose flour (2 cups)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp kosher salt
170g unsalted butter (3/4 cup), melted and slightly cooled
140g light brown sugar (2/3 cup), packed
100g granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
1 tsp vanilla extract
170g semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 cup), plus extra for topping
Directions
- Place 100g of pumpkin puree into a fine-mesh sieve. Press out the excess liquid until the pumpkin is a thick, firm paste. Set aside.
- Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, cardamom, ginger, and kosher salt into a bowl. Whisk to combine.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and the strained pumpkin paste until well combined.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture using a spatula. Stop mixing when there are still a few visible streaks of flour.
- Fold in the chocolate chips just until the flour streaks disappear.
- Roll the dough into 1.5 to 2-inch balls and place them 2 inches apart on a heavy, rimmed baking sheet. Press a few extra chocolate chips onto the top of each ball.
- Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Bake for 11 minutes, until the edges are set but the centers are still gooey. Let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Notes
- Don’t skip the sieve: Canned pumpkin holds a ton of water. Straining it is the secret to a cookie that is cakey and chewy rather than watery and dense.
- The Spices: If you don’t love having a million spices in your pantry, you can totally swap the cinnamon, allspice, cardamom, and ginger for about 1 tablespoon of pre-mixed pumpkin pie spice. But trust me, this specific blend is way better.
- Level up with Brown Butter: Want to make these even more amazing? Swap the regular melted butter for melted browned butter. The caramelized milk solids add an incredible nutty, cozy flavor.
- Don’t Overmix: Overmixing activates the gluten in the flour and makes the cookies tough. The flour is just there for structure, not flavor, so be gentle. Stop mixing when you still see a few streaks of flour, then let the folding of the chocolate chips finish the job.
- Allergen Note: Contains gluten and dairy (butter, and most chocolate chips contain milk and soy lecithin). Eggless as written.
- Storage: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
