Tessa's Recipe Rundown
TASTE: The warm, spiced notes of pumpkin pair perfectly with semisweet chocolate, and the browned butter adds a caramelized, nutty undertone that brings it all together.
TEXTURE: These cookies are rich, chewy, and soft – not at all cakey.
EASE: Browning the butter is an extra step, but this recipe is still super simple to make. No mixer needed!
PROS: Big PSL vibes = fall baking perfection.
CONS: None.
WOULD I MAKE THIS AGAIN? Constantly throughout the fall!
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Fall baking just got a whole lot more delicious with these Brown Butter Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. And the best part? They’re SO easy to make!
There’s nothing better than a chocolate chip cookie that’s crisp at the edges and super chewy and soft throughout. But adding pumpkin can sometimes ruin this texture, creating a cakey cookie that’s so much less satisfying.
I tinkered with this recipe until I had the perfect pumpkin spice flavor AND that ideal chewy cookie texture. One of the key ingredients to these crave-worthy cookies? Browned butter!
Browned butter can add so much depth of flavor to cookies, like in Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. It elevates simple recipes, such as Brown Butter Brownies. It adds complexity to rich desserts, like Browned Butter Maple Pecan Pie. And it’s the perfect complement to the warm spices in these pumpkin cookies.
These cookies do require a brief chill period before baking – but I promise, it’ll be SO worth it once you sink your teeth into a thick, chewy, and slightly gooey cookie that tastes like fall heaven.
Reader Love
Just baked a batch of these! So delicious and my whole family loved them. Thank you, Tessa, for the amazing recipe, you never disappoint! Definitely making them again!
–
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Brown Butter Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Ingredients:
- Chocolate chips – I love semisweet chocolate chips here, but feel free to use any chips you prefer – just keep in mind that this will impact the overall sweetness of your cookies and may overshadow the pumpkin spice flavor.
- Butter – Always use unsalted butter in baking.
- Sugar – A combination of granulated and light brown sugar for the perfect butterscotch flavors and crisp edges. Do not reduce the sugar in these cookies to avoid dry, hard, crumbly cookies that don’t spread. Learn about the role sugar plays in baking here.
- All-purpose flour – Be sure to measure your flour correctly to avoid dry, hard, or cakey cookies. I highly recommend using a digital kitchen scale, but if you don’t have one, use the spoon and level method.
- Salt – I prefer to use fine sea salt in baking. Learn more about salt in baking here.
- Baking soda – For the perfect amount of spread. Learn more about Baking Soda vs. Baking Powder here.
- Spices – We’re using ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves for that perfect pumpkin spice flavor. More on spices below.
- Egg yolk – Egg yolks contain protein and fat, which adds chewiness and richness, whereas egg whites can create a lighter, more cakey texture. To avoid cakiness, we’re skipping the egg white here.
- Vanilla extract – For flavor.
- Pumpkin puree – Make sure to use canned pumpkin puree, NOT pumpkin pie filling in these cookies. More on pumpkin puree below.
Browning Butter
Check out my tips and tricks for browning butter in my How to Brown Butter article here. I promise it’s simpler than you might think, and it adds so much depth of flavor to these cookies.
The Pumpkin
I recommend using a high-quality canned pumpkin, like Libby’s Pumpkin Puree, in these cookies. Do not use homemade pumpkin puree, as it can add too much excess moisture, creating cakey cookies. Check out my Fresh vs. Canned Pumpkin article for side-by-side comparisons between using fresh pumpkin puree, regular canned pumpkin, and organic canned pumpkin.
The Spices
Be sure to use fresh spices, as fresh spices will always impart a lot more flavor! If your spices have been sitting in your pantry for years and no longer have a nice, strong smell, they won’t give your baked goods any flavor and your cookies will be bland.
Help! I’m Out of Light Brown Sugar!
Dark brown sugar should work just fine in place of the light brown sugar. You can also make your own brown sugar – learn how to make brown sugar here.
Can I Double This Recipe?
Yes! Simply double all ingredients to yield approximately 50 medium-sized cookies.
Can I Make Larger Cookies?
Sure! Use a large 3-tablespoon cookie scoop and bake at 350°F for about 12-14 minutes.
Do I Have to Chill The Cookie Dough?
Yes – but not for long. Because these cookies are made with brown butter, the butter needs to re-solidify before baking, so chill for 30 minutes before baking.
You can also prepare the dough ahead and “marinate” the cookie dough by storing it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 48 before baking. This will make thicker, slightly chewier, and more flavorful cookies!
How to Store Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Store baked, cooled pumpkin cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days. Store with a tortilla to keep cookies soft for longer.
Can You Freeze Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies?
- Baked Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies freeze very well! Allow cookies to cool completely, then store inside an airtight container for up to a month. Thaw at room temperature and allow to return to room temperature before serving.
- Alternatively, freeze the portioned, slightly flattened cookie dough balls on a parchment paper-lined rimmed baking sheet until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag or airtight container. Store for up to one month. Bake directly from frozen, lowering the temperature to 325°F and adding a minute or two to the bake time. Learn more about freezing cookie dough here.
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Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons (142 grams) unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) light brown sugar
- 1 ½ cups (204 grams) all-purpose flour (see recipe notes)
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon cloves
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup (75 grams) pumpkin puree (see recipe notes)
- 3/4 cup (128 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium stainless steel sauté pan set over medium heat, melt the butter. Swirling the pan occasionally, continue to cook the butter. It should become foamy with audible cracking and popping noises. Once the crackling becomes quieter, continue to swirl the pan or stir until the butter develops a nutty aroma and brown bits start to form at the bottom. Once the bits are amber in color, remove from heat and pour into a mixing bowl. Be sure to keep the brown bits at the bottom of the pan as well, they hold so much flavor!
- Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar to the hot butter and stir to combine. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
- To the cooled butter mixture, add the egg yolk and vanilla, stirring to combine. Stir in pumpkin puree until smooth. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, mixing well after each addition, until a soft dough forms. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Cover and chill the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes or until firm enough to scoop. You can also refrigerate the dough for up to 48 hours, which will intensify the flavors. If refrigerating for an extended period, let dough sit at room temperature until soft enough to scoop, about 1 hour.
- Using a medium spring-loaded cookie scoop or a spoon, roll the dough into 1 ½-tablespoon-sized balls and place on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until set and edges are lightly browned.
- *For larger cookies, shape use a large spring-loaded cookie scoop and roll into 3-tablespoon sized balls and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
- Let cool completely. Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Pumpkin flavor will intensify after a day.
Notes
This recipe was originally published in 2018 and updated in 2024 with recipe improvements and additional tips. Photos by Joanie Simon.
So quick and easy to make (except for the forever lasting 30 Minute wait!). A tad too sweet but otherwise delicious. May cut the sugar a bit next time. And there will be a next time. 🙂
These are incredible! I haven’t been the biggest fan of anything pumpkin. That changed once I started trying HTH recipes! These are amazing and the brown butter just takes it to the next level. I will be making these again in a few weeks!!
The brown butter is the perfect accent to the spices. A must make for fall or any time of the year.
So happy you enjoyed them, Barbara!
These are delicious! The level of spice is perfect, and the brown butter really makes them special! I also appreciated that it was so quick to make them.
Another brilliant baker online suggests blotting canned pumpkin puree, even the orange labeled good stuff, with paper towels to remove some of the excess water. Would such a process improve these cookies in some way? The reviews I’ve looked at are all so favorable that I’m going to make up a batch for the grandkids right now following the directions as given, but will look forward to hearing what Tessa’s genius dreamteam bakers have to say about the blotting process. Thanks for yet another reason to put my diet off for yet another week. (Rating in anticipation and full expectation of superlative results!)
Tried making this with Einkorn fresh milled flour (using your grams) and it was way too dense/dry. FMF is known to soak up moisture! So! Added in a few more teaspoons of pumpkin purée and a few tablespoons of water.
Will definitely work on perfecting it!
It’s darker, so harder to see sides browning.
I used bread flour since it’s what I had on hand but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. They were SO SO good! Everyone gobbled them up! :). Thanks for another great recipe!
I love her book too (for readers who haven’t gotten it). 🙂
So happy to hear that, Debbie! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Can I replace the spices in this recipe with pumpkin spice? If so, how much?
Hi Sammi! We haven’t tried that, but a 1:1 swap for the total of all spices should work just fine. Let us know how it goes 🙂
Gee, I thought I wrote a review for these cookies, but have had such a crazy day, I may have forgot. Anyway, these are awesome cookies! They turned out so good and as they sit on the counter longer, the pumpkin flavor becomes more noticeable compared to when they were warm out of the oven. Just like you said they would:) I doubled the batch and got 46 cookies and they ranged from 30g to 36g balls of dough prior to cooking them. I found they took 15 min to cook at that size. The only change I made to the recipe was I used all purpose flour because I didn’t have bread flour. Tasted great anyway. Thanks again!
Just made a double batch of these little gems! So amazing! I can’t wait to see how they taste after one day, but so far, once they cooled a bit they were delicious! Great recipe, easy to follow and great detail! Thank so much! I literally just found this recipe and will have to check out what else you have for recipes! Loving this one so far:)
OMG, these were amazing! I followed the recipe exactly and these came out perfectly. I used the King Arthur’s 1:1 gluten-free flour and did the 204 grams. They were perfect. I will be making these again soon. Thank you for a great recipe.
Wow yes! Only thing I would do differently next time is more salt