Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

These pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are soft, chewy, and loaded with melty chocolate, with none of the cakey, muffin-top texture most pumpkin cookies have. Brown butter gives them a deep toffee-caramel flavor, and one simple trick with the pumpkin purée is what keeps them chewy instead of puffy.

 

If you’ve ever made pumpkin cookies and ended up with something closer to a muffin top than a cookie, you’re not doing anything wrong. That’s just what happens when you put a lot of canned pumpkin into a cookie dough. The fix is simple, and it’s the whole reason this recipe works.

These have crisp golden edges, a soft chewy center, real pumpkin flavor, and warm fall spice. The browned butter adds a nutty, caramel depth you can’t get any other way. They’re the cookie I make the first cool weekend of the year, and then about fifteen more times before Thanksgiving.

These browned butter pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are the epitome of fall comfort, with a soft and chewy texture that melts in your mouth. The nuttiness of the browned butter adds a rich depth of flavor, perfectly complementing the warm spices and subtle sweetness of pumpkin. The cookies are tender without being cakey, with a slight crisp around the edges and a soft, chewy center, making them an irresistible fall favorite.

As the fall season approaches, there’s no better way to embrace the flavors of Fall than with a batch of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. This recipe takes things up a notch by incorporating browned butter, which adds a rich, nutty flavor to the cookies.

We’ll also talk about a crucial step for achieving the perfect texture—blotting the pumpkin puree to remove excess moisture. Let’s dive into how you can make the ultimate pumpkin chocolate chip cookies with browned butter!

I have already shared my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie Recipe plus my Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe and now this is your classic pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe with browned butter to bring toffee, caramel notes into these chocolate chip pumpkin cookies.

Why You’ll Love These Pumpkin Cookies:

They’re chewy, not cakey. This is the whole point. Blotted pumpkin, egg yolks only, and browned butter work together to give you a real cookie texture.

Brown butter flavor. Ten extra minutes on the stove turns regular butter into something nutty and caramel-like that makes these taste bakery-made.

Real pumpkin flavor without the sogginess. You get the spice and the pumpkin without the wet, bready crumb.

No mixer required. Everything comes together in one pot and one bowl.

They freeze beautifully. Both the dough and the baked cookies, so you can have fresh warm cookies all season.

Chewy vs. Cakey Pumpkin Cookies

Before you pick a pumpkin cookie recipe, it helps to know that there are really two completely different cookies going by the same name.

Cakey pumpkin cookies are soft, domed, and light, closer to a muffin top than a cookie. They’re usually made with a full cup of pumpkin, a whole egg, oil instead of butter, and baking powder. If that’s the cookie you grew up with, there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s a specific nostalgic thing and plenty of people prefer it.

Chewy pumpkin cookies spread rather than puff. They have crisp edges, a dense, soft center, and they behave like a chocolate chip cookie that happens to taste like fall. Getting there requires deliberately limiting the moisture in the dough.

This recipe is firmly the second kind. If you want the cakey version, this isn’t the recipe for you, and I’d rather tell you that now than have you bake a batch and be surprised.

Why Are My Pumpkin Cookies Cakey?

Because canned pumpkin is mostly water.

When you add a cup of pumpkin purée to a cookie dough, you’re adding a lot of moisture. That moisture turns to steam in the oven, the cookies puff up, and instead of spreading and setting into a chewy cookie, you get something light, domed, and bready. It’s the same reason a muffin is a muffin.

There are three things that fix it, and this recipe does all three:

1. Blot the pumpkin. This is the single most important step in the recipe, and there’s a full walkthrough below.

2. Use only ½ cup of pumpkin. Less water going in means less steam. You’ll notice that’s less pumpkin than most recipes call for, and that’s deliberate.

3. Skip the egg whites. Egg whites are mostly water too, and they set up light and airy. Using two yolks instead of a whole egg gives you richness and chew without the puff.

How to Blot Pumpkin Purée

This takes about two minutes and it’s the difference between a cookie and a muffin top.

Measure a generous ½ cup of pumpkin purée and spread it in an even layer, about a quarter inch thick, across two stacked paper towels. Lay another paper towel on top and press down gently with your palm across the whole surface. Don’t mash it, just press.

Peel the top towel away and you’ll see how much water it pulled out. Lay down a fresh towel and press once more. Two rounds is usually enough.

What you’re left with should look noticeably thicker and darker, closer to tomato paste than the loose purée that came out of the can. It’ll also have shrunk a bit, which is why you start with a generous ½ cup rather than a level one.

A few notes: blot right before you use it rather than in advance, don’t use a clean kitchen towel instead of paper towels since the purée sticks to cloth and you’ll lose too much, and if you’re doubling the recipe blot in two separate batches rather than one thick layer.

But Will They Actually Taste Like Pumpkin?

Yes. This is the question I get most, because ½ cup of pumpkin looks low next to recipes calling for a full cup.

Here’s the thing…the recipes using a whole cup of pumpkin are the cakey ones. More pumpkin doesn’t get you more pumpkin flavor in a cookie, it gets you more water. Canned pumpkin is fairly mild to begin with, so most of what reads as “pumpkin flavor” is actually the warm spice blend alongside it. That’s why I use a full two teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice here, which is on the generous side, along with the browned butter to give everything depth.

You get the flavor. You just don’t get the sogginess.

Ingredients:

Here is what you need to make brown butter pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Scroll down to the recipe card to find amounts and detailed instructions.

• Butter: Take the time to brown it. It’s what gives these cookies their nutty, toffee, caramel flavor.
• Brown Sugar
• Sugar
• Egg Yolk: This recipe calls for two egg yolks since egg whites can cause the cookies to be slightly cakey.
• Vanilla Extract
• Pure Pumpkin Puree: Make sure to use 100% pure canned pumpkin with nothing added to it.
• Pumpkin Pie Spice: If you desire more pumpkin spice flavor, add 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice. You can also add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.
• Flour
• Baking Soda
• Salt
• Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: I suggest using semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips. My favorite chocolate chips are Ghirardelli, Guittard, and Trader Joe’s.

How to make Brown Butter Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies:

• 1. Brown the butter. Melt the butter in a large pot or deep skillet over medium-low heat, following the method above. Pour it into a heatproof bowl as soon as the brown bits form.
• 2. Add the sugars. Stir in the brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth and caramel-like. Set aside for 15 minutes to cool before adding the yolks, or they’ll scramble.
• 3. Add the egg yolks and vanilla. Whisk in the vanilla. Once the mixture is no longer hot to the touch, whisk in the egg yolks one at a time until smooth and glossy.
• 4. Blot and add the pumpkin. Blot a generous ½ cup of pumpkin purée as described above, then fold it into the butter mixture.
• 5. Fold in the dry ingredients. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Fold just until no dry streaks remain. Don’t overmix.
• 6. Add the chocolate chips. Make sure the dough isn’t warm before folding them in or they’ll melt. Hold back ¼ cup to press on top after baking.
• 7. Chill the dough. At least 30 minutes, though 24 to 48 hours is even better. Chilling firms the dough for a chewier cookie and lets the flavors deepen.
• 8. Bake. Heat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment. Scoop into balls using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop and space them well apart. Bake 9 to 13 minutes, until the edges are golden but the centers still look soft and slightly underdone.
• 9. Finish them. As soon as they come out, press the reserved chocolate chips into the tops. Cool on the sheet 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack.

Can I Make These Without Brown Butter?

Yes. Plain melted butter works and the cookies will still be soft and chewy, because the chewiness comes from the blotted pumpkin and the egg yolks, not the browning. Melt it, let it cool for 10 minutes, and carry on with the recipe as written.

What you’ll miss is the nutty, caramel depth, which for my money is the best part of these cookies. If you’ve got five extra minutes, brown it. If you don’t, make them anyway.

Browning butter intensifies its flavor and gives the chewy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies a deep, nutty undertone that pairs beautifully with the pumpkin and spices.

Storage:

Place in an airtight container for up to 2-3 days for the freshest cookies.

How should I store cookies in the freezer?

Let the cookies cool completely after baking. Arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in the freezer for about an hour to flash freeze. This prevents them from sticking together.
Once frozen, transfer the cookies to a freezer-safe airtight container or gallon-sized Ziploc plastic bag. Cookies can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.
When ready to eat, thaw the cookies at room temperature or warm them in the microwave for a few seconds.

More Pumpkin Recipes:

There are so many pumpkin recipes on Modern Honey from pumpkin bread to award-winning pumpkin pie to pumpkin cake and more. Here are some of the most popular pumpkin recipes…

The Best Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Best Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin Dump Cake with Yellow Cake Mix (Easy Recipe)

Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Milk Bar Hilly’s Pumpkin Caramel Pie Recipe

Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chewy Brown Butter Pumpkin Cookies

Best Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies