These chewy pumpkin spice cookies are perfect for pumpkin spice season! They have so much flavor from canned pumpkin puree and warm spices, perfect to add to your Fall baking list. They're soft with chewy centers and crisp edges, not cakey at all! Plus, this recipe requires no chill time and comes together in less than 20 minutes for the best Fall treat.
Pumpkin season is here, and there's no better way to celebrate than by making these pumpkin spice cookies! They are soft, chewy cookies with so much cozy Fall flavor from pumpkin pie spice. They're rolled in spiced sugar for crunch to complement their soft centers.
Pumpkin recipes can be hard to master because pumpkin puree is so moist. But this pumpkin spice cookie recipe yields a batch of cookies with chewy centers and crisp edges. Each bite melts in your mouth and is truly delicious!
If you love all things pumpkin, try these pumpkin molasses cookies, cream cheese frosted pumpkin bread, pumpkin spice brownies, pumpkin biscotti, pumpkin cream cheese muffins, or pumpkin bread with streusel!
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Real pumpkin- These pumpkin cookies are made with actual pumpkin puree and Fall spices - no artificial flavors here!
- Chewy cookies that aren't cakey- Pumpkin puree has a lot of moisture, which is great for pumpkin cupcakes, cakes and pumpkin bread. However, it can make pumpkin flavored cookies more cakey than chewy. The excess water is squeezed out of the pumpkin before adding it to the cookie dough, ensuring that these cookies are soft and chewy!
- Mixed by hand- This recipe uses melted butter just like my peanut M&M cookies and chocolate chip sugar cookies. It encourages the cookies to spread in the oven and makes it so you don't have to use an electric mixer or stand mixer! All you need is a mixing bowl, a whisk, and a rubber spatula. They're so easy to make!
Key Ingredients
- Pumpkin puree- Use pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling is sweetened and already has spices added, and we don't want that! We're going for real pumpkin flavor from actual unsweetened pumpkin!
- Unsalted butter- Make sure to use melted unsalted butter to encourage the cookies to spread in the oven. You can make brown butter on the stove to bring these cookies to the next level!
- Granulated sugar- Sweetens the cookies also helps them get perfectly crisp edges!
- Brown sugar- Brown sugar adds a hint of molasses flavor and moisture, which makes the cookies soft and chewy. If using measuring cups, make sure to pack it into your measuring cup to get an accurate measurement. Light or dark brown sugar work, but I personally went for light brown sugar to not overpower the pumpkin flavor.
- Egg and egg yolk- An egg helps bind the ingredients together while the additional egg yolk adds richness. Use room temperature eggs so they mix into the other ingredients easily.
- All purpose flour- I highly recommend weighing your flour in grams with a digital food scale for the best results. Flour can be easy to overmeasure with measuring cups, making the cookies dense. If using measuring cups, avoid packing it in too much.
- Baking powder and baking soda- These leavening agents make the cookies rise by reacting with heat and acid. They should be fresh or they won't work, so make sure to check the expiration date!
- Pumpkin pie spice- This is a blend of cozy Fall spices including ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice. You can buy a pre-made mix or make your own at home!
For the full list of ingredients and quantities, see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Substitutions and Variations
- White chocolate chips- Add 1 cup of white chocolate chips to make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! White chocolate pairs perfectly with pumpkin spice flavors.
- Chopped nuts- Feel free to add about ยฝ cup of chopped pecans, walnuts, or other nuts to the cookie dough before baking. I recommend toasting the nuts beforehand for an even cozier flavor.
- Maple extract- Add ยผ teaspoon maple extract with the vanilla to add a delicious warm flavor perfect for the Fall season. If you try this, be sure to use maple extract, not maple syrup. Syrup will add too much moisture, creating a cakey texture.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: Start by drying your pumpkin with a paper towel or cheese cloth. This is essential for making chewy, delicious cookies that aren't cakey! Spread your pumpkin on a plate lined with paper towels and place another paper towel on top. Lightly press to absorb the liquid. If you have a cheesecloth, you can squeeze out the water on to a plate or in the sink. Press or squeeze until the pumpkin has reduced from ยฝ cup to ยผ cup and set aside.
Step 2: Next, vigorously whisk the melted unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together in a large bowl until smooth.
Step 3: Mix in the pumpkin, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla until fully combined.
Step 4: Gradually add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt to the wet ingredients. Fold gently until the cookie dough comes together and no dry clumps of flour remain.
Step 5: In a small bowl, whisk sugar and a couple teaspoons pumpkin pie spice together. I recommend using coarse sugar like cane sugar for a better crunch, but granulated sugar works too!
Step 6: Use a medium cookie scoop (about 1.5 tablespoons) to scoop the cookie dough. Roll into balls with your hands, and then roll each one in the bowl of cinnamon sugar.
Place 8 cookie dough balls on each of the prepared baking sheets and bake one sheet at a time at 350ยฐF for 10-12 minutes until the cookies are golden brown and the edges are set. The centers should look slightly underdone.
Step 7: Let the cookies cool on the hot baking sheet for 5 minutes. The centers will continue to bake and get perfectly chewy! Transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Expert Baking Tips
- Measure your flour correctly. This is always my number 1 baking tip! I always measure my flour in grams with a scale because it is incredibly easy to overmeasure with measuring cups. Too much flour causes dry cookies! If you don't have a scale, use the spoon-and-sweep method to measure the flour. Fluff up the flour in its bag, then scoop it into your measuring cup until it's overflowing. Don't pack it in! Swipe the excess off back into the bag and you're good to go.
- Use room temperature ingredients. Ensure your melted butter, eggs, and pumpkin are all room temperature so they blend together easily and bake up evenly.
- Dry the pumpkin. This may seem like a weird, unnecessary step, but you have to dry the pumpkin to get chewy, not cakey pumpkin cookies! Make sure to squeeze out water until you have half the amount of pumpkin you started with.
Storage Tips
Make sure your pumpkin spice cookies are completely cool, then transfer them to an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Freezing Instructions
- How to freeze cookie dough: Follow the recipe through scooping the dough. Place the cookie dough balls on a lined cookie sheet and freeze for 2 hours or until frozen solid. Transfer the frozen dough to a sealed container and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen as directed, adding an extra 1-2 minutes to the bake time.
- How to freeze baked cookies: Make sure the pumpkin cookies are completely cool and then transfer to an airtight container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Let the cookies thaw overnight in the refrigerator or at room temperature before eating them.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use homemade pumpkin puree. However, homemade pumpkin puree has a lot more water than canned pumpkin puree from the grocery store. You'll have to remove more moisture so you get chewy pumpkin cookies that aren't cakey.
Pumpkin cookies often turn out cakey because of the high moisture content in pumpkin puree. This moisture, combined with too much baking powder or baking soda, can cause the cookies to puff up and get airy and cakey. To prevent this, make sure to fully dry out the pumpkin! Also measure the leavening agents accurately.
You don't need to chill the cookie dough, which is one of the best parts about this recipe!
Pumpkin puree has a lot of water, which is amazing for muffins and cakes, but the extra moisture can make cookies soft or even a bit soggy. This is another reason why it's so important to squeeze the moisture out of your pumpkin with a cheesecloth or pat it with a paper towel.
Baking the cookies a little longer may also help to dry them out slightly while still keeping them soft.
More Fall Recipes to Try
๐ Recipe
Easy Chewy Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Equipment
- 1 medium cookie scoop 1.5 tablespoon capacity
Need Metric or US Customary Measurements?
Use the buttons below to toggle between grams and cups!
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cookies
- 122 grams pumpkin puree
- 200 grams melted unsalted butter room temperature
- 150 grams granulated sugar
- 55 grams brown sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 egg yolk room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 300 grams all purpose flour
- ยฝ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- ยฝ teaspoon salt
Cinnamon Sugar
- 50 grams granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Dry your pumpkin by spreading it on a plate and blotting with paper towels. You can also squeeze out the water using a cheesecloth. Dry until ยผ cup pumpkin is left. Do not skip this step!122 grams pumpkin puree
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the melted unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until well combined.200 grams melted unsalted butter, 150 grams granulated sugar, 55 grams brown sugar
- Vigorously whisk the pumpkin, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract into the butter mixture until smooth with a paste-like texture.1 large egg, 1 egg yolk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Fold half of the flour into the wet ingredients until only a few streaks of flour are left. Add the rest of the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Fold until no dry streaks remain.300 grams all purpose flour, ยฝ teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, ยฝ teaspoon salt
- Combine the sugar and pumpkin pie spice in a small bowl with a fork.50 grams granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- Use a medium cookie scoop to portion the cookie dough. Roll each scoop into balls.
- Drop each ball into the bowl of spiced sugar, rolling around until evenly coated. Place the balls 1-2 inches apart from each other on the lined baking trays (about 8 per tray). Press down gently on each to encourage spreading.
- Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until the edges are set and the middles are puffy.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the hot tray for 5 minutes. Carefully transfer them to a wire cooling rack. Let the cookies cool completely and enjoy!
Jim
These cookies were absolutely delicious!
Kim
These were delicious and made the house smell amazing, but mine came out soft like cake instead of chewy. What did I do wrong?
Megan Weimer
There might have been too much moisture from the pumpkin!
Emma
such amazing cookies! all of my friends and family enjoyed them. 100% fall