These are the BEST pumpkin cookies around! With brown butter, warm spices, and pumpkin mixed into the dough, they're deliciously soft, perfectly sweet, and full of cozy fall flavor. We also use a few very simple tricks to make sure these cookies bake up chewy and NOT cakey at all!
the best pumpkin for pumpkin cookies
When choosing a can of pumpkin puree, make sure you grab one that specifically says it's "pure" or "100%" pumpkin puree. Pumpkin should be the ONLY ingredient.
Be careful not to use pumpkin pie filling - it contains added spices and sugar which can throw off the flavor and texture of the cookies.
When picking the pumpkin puree, it's also important to note that the moisture level can differ from brand to brand. I've tried these cookies with a lot of different brands and they always turn out perfectly delicious every time.
But that being said, for an extra chewy cookie, brands with lower moisture content are best and yield the most consistent results. One of my personal favorite brands is Libby's pumpkin puree - I feel like it's really the best option to use for baking because of its firmer texture.
I would also avoid fresh or organic pumpkin purees as these tend to carry a lot more moisture.
how to make chewy pumpkin cookies
Pumpkin puree adds quite a bit of water to the cookie dough and this additional moisture can easily cause cookies to bake up cakey and thick. While there's nothing wrong with that, that's not what I'm going for with this recipe.
This recipe is designed to yield fudgy and chewy cookies with crisp edges and soft centers. Essentially, they have the same texture as a classic chewy cookie but these feature a heaping ½ cup of pumpkin - but don't worry, they don't compromise on the chewiness! Here's how we achieve a chewy, NOT cakey texture:
- Brown butter: Not only does the brown butter add INCREDIBLE flavor, but it also helps with maintaining a chewy cookie texture. The process of browning butter helps remove some of the excess water in the butter as it evaporates - so that helps compensate for the extra water that we're adding in with the pumpkin puree.
- Baking soda + cream of tartar: Getting the right balance here was a bit of a challenge because this combo is what helps the cookies spread to the perfect thickness. Pumpkin puree can lead to extra thick cookies. So using just the right amount of baking soda and cream of tartar helps the cookies spread perfectly!
- Two sugars: Sticking to the traditional cookie route, we're using both brown and granulated sugar. The dark brown sugar helps weigh the cookie down while the granulated sugar helps with spreading the cookies out. They also help us strike the perfect texture balance, giving us cookies that are crisp, chewy, and soft.
- Egg yolk: Egg whites contain more water than the yolks - so leaving them out further helps with reducing the overall moisture in the dough. The richness and the density of the egg yolk makes for an extra chew cookie.
- Maple syrup: Using a liquid sugar like maple syrup encourages the cookies to spread out and flatten as they bake. This also helps prevent overly tall / thick / cakey cookies.
more tips
- measuring your flour: For accurate measurements, it's best to use a food scale to weigh out your flour. If you don't have a scale (or just prefer to use cups), make sure you use the spoon and level method to measure the flour: spoon the flour into your cup and use a flat utensil to level off the excess. Never use the measuring cup to scoop out the flour directly from the bag - this can pack in more weight and dry out the cookies!
- spices: If you don't have pumpkin pie spice, an equal amount of ground cinnamon works great as a substitute. You could also use your own favorite blend of fall spices or make your own pumpkin pie spice at home!
- brown butter: It's VERY important to ensure you don't move on with any steps in the recipe before the brown butter has cooled to room temperature. If the brown butter is warm, it can cause the cookies to overspread.
- room temperature: Along with the brown butter, the other refrigerated ingredients should also be at room temperature to ensure the batter mixes up smoothly. Room temperature ingredients will incorporate more easily, giving you an even textured cookie.
- dark brown sugar: You can use light brown sugar if that's all you have on hand, but the added moisture in dark brown sugar makes these cookies extra soft and chewy!
- mixing the dough: Take care not to overmix the cookie dough to ensure the cookies come out tender and soft! Overmixed dough can lead to dense and hard cookies.
storing pumpkin cookies
Once cooled to room temperature, keep the cookies covered tightly with plastic wrap or stored in an airtight container or plastic bag to seal in freshness. Pumpkin cookies will keep for about 4-5 days at room temperature or around 1 week in the fridge. You can also freeze the cookie dough balls to bake later!
how to freeze pumpkin cookie dough
To freeze, arrange the scooped cookie dough balls (without coating in sugar) on a parchment lined baking sheet and pop them into the freezer for about 1 hour or until frozen solid. Once solidified, transfer the balls of cookie dough into a freezer bag and seal tightly (pushing out as much air as you can). Store in the freezer for up to 2-3 months.
When it comes to baking frozen cookie dough, you can bake them straight from the freezer (no need to thaw beforehand).
To bake the frozen cookie dough, take the dough balls out of the freezer and roll in the cinnamon sugar. If the sugar isn't sticking to the frozen cookie dough, allow them to sit for 10 to 15 minutes at room temperature or until the surface of the dough just begins to thaw and then try again. Bake for an extra 1 to 2 minutes to account for defrosting.
check out these other recipes!
• Giant Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie
• Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cookies
• Brown Butter Maple Blondies
• Chewy Maple Brown Sugar Cookies
• Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake Bars
• Spiced Pumpkin Truffles
Lastly, if you made this or any of my recipes, be sure to leave a comment and review below! I love hearing your thoughts! Also tag me on Instagram @eatsdelightfulblog so I can see what you're making.
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Chewy Pumpkin Cookies
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 14-16 cookies
Description
These are the BEST pumpkin cookies around! With browned butter, warm spices, and pumpkin mixed into the dough, they're deliciously soft, perfectly sweet, and full of cozy fall flavor. We also use a few very simple tricks to make sure these cookies bake up chewy and NOT cakey at all!
Ingredients
For the pumpkin cookie dough:
- 1 cup (225g) unsalted butter
- 2 ¼ cups (290g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice or ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup (160g) dark brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120g) pure pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
For the sugar coating:
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice or ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Brown the butter: Add butter to a medium skillet or saucepot. Place the butter over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the butter has melted, simmers, and eventually turns a rich brown color. This whole process will take about 5 to 8 minutes.
- Working quickly so the butter doesn't continue to cook due to the residual heat from the pan, pour it into a large bowl. Set aside to cool completely to room temperature. The butter should still be liquid but should no longer feel warm. *Hot butter will cause the cookies to overspread!
- Preheat your oven to 350F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- The key to a perfectly chewy cookie starts with ensuring the flour is measured correctly. Make sure to either measure by weight or by using the "spoon and level" method (see above post for more detail).
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt to combine. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine cooled brown butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Whisk together until you no longer see dry granules of sugar. The mixture will look a little grainy but that's fine!
- Whisk in the egg yolk, maple syrup, vanilla, and pumpkin puree.
- Add in the flour mixture and fold together until you no longer see any dry streaks of flour. The cookie dough should hold a scoop shape, but if it's soft, pop it into the fridge for 20-30 minutes or until firm enough to scoop.
- In a medium bowl or plate, mix together sugar and pumpkin spice for the sugar coating.
- Use a large 2 oz cookie scoop to portion out balls of cookie dough. Drop the dough into your bowl of spiced sugar and roll it around to coat all sides.
- Arrange 4 or 5 of the cookie dough balls on your parchment lined baking sheet, leaving at least 3 inches of space between each ball of dough.
- Bake the cookies in the center of your preheated 350F oven for 11-13 minutes or until puffed and golden brown along the edges.
- Cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet then transfer onto a wire rack and set aside to continue cooling. The centers of the cookies will sink slightly.
- Allow the baking sheet to cool then continue baking the cookies in batches until all the dough is used up.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 11 minutes
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