Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
These chewy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are soft, gooey, and packed with warm fall spices and melty chocolate. Made with brown butter and blotted pumpkin for that signature chewy texture. No cakey cookies here!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup cold unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup Libby's Pumpkin Puree room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 large egg yolks room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 2/3 cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour *See notes below for measuring*
- 2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup finely chopped chocolate bar or chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C. Line two baking trays with parchment paper and set them aside.
- Brown the butter in a large stainless steel pan. While it cooks, it will foam, pop, and crackle—this is normal! Stand nearby, watch, and stir it occasionally so it doesn’t burn. When the bottom is covered in brown bits of butter and it smells nutty, remove the pan from the heat. You should have just under 1 cup of browned butter (184 g). Scrape the butter into a glass measuring bowl and place it in the fridge for 50-60 minutes, stirring it every 10-15 minutes until a thermometer inserted reads 75°F. The butter must be cool but still liquid!
- Spread the pumpkin puree on a plate. Press a stack of paper towels into it and soak up the extra liquid. Then, scrape the pumpkin into a pile and re-spread it around the plate. Continue doing this, using a new stack of paper towels to keep absorbing the extra liquid, until the pumpkin feels pretty dry, like soft playdough, and now measures roughly 1/3 cup (75 grams).
- When the butter is cool, whisk in the brown sugar and granulated sugar for exactly 1 minute. It will look like pale wet sand.
- Whisk in the egg yolks, vanilla, and dried pumpkin puree until combined.
- Fold in the flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips until just combined.
- Scoop the cookie dough with a 3 tbsp cookie scoop, roll them between your palms, then place them on the prepared baking trays spaced 2-3 inches apart. You will have roughly 15 cookies. For pools of melted chocolate, chop the chocolate into larger pieces and press more on top before baking!
- Bake one tray at a time for 9-13 minutes or until the edges are golden brown but the middle is slightly underbaked. Straight out of the oven, use a large round cookie cutter to scoot the edges in to make them thicker and perfectly round. Let the pan cool on a wire cooling rack completely then remove the cookies and enjoy!
- Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. You can refrigerate or freeze the cookie dough balls, just bring them to room temperature before baking. This can take about 1 hour for refrigerated dough and 2 hours for frozen dough.
Video
Notes
*Measure your flour properly. This is my #1 baking tip! Do not ever scoop a measuring cup into your flour as this always leads to using too much flour. Instead, use the spoon-level method. This means fluffing the flour first, then spooning it into your measuring cup/spoon. For the BEST results, use a kitchen scale!*
For pools of melted chocolate, chop the chocolate into larger pieces and press more on top before baking!
Blot the pumpkin. This is my #1 baking tip for the best pumpkin cookie! Not removing the liquid from the puree will make your cookies more cake-like and not chewy.
Why are my cookies puffy and cakey? Did you blot the pumpkin to remove all of the excess moisture? The dried pumpkin puree should be soft and malleable but not wet. Also, double-check that you didn't add too much flour to the dough!
Why are my cookies flat after baking? This can happen when the oven temperature is too low or the flour isn't measured properly (and it needs more flour). Also, double-check that your butter was cooled to the proper temperature (75°F).
