Bursting with pumpkin flavor and white chocolate chips, these pumpkin white chocolate chip cookies are an easy and delicious fall dessert.
These pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are such a fun and simple fall themed treat. Similar to oatmeal chocolate chip cookies or pecan chocolate chip cookies, these are a simple drop cookie with 15 minute prep time, making them a perfect dessert for fall bake sales or holidays like Halloween and Thanksgiving.
This pumpkin cookie recipe is bursting with white chocolate chips, which pairs perfectly with the cinnamon pumpkin flavor. And, unlike most pumpkin cookies which are puffy and cakey due to the extra moisture in the pumpkin puree, these are crispy on the outside and super moist and chewy on the inside.
Why you’ll love them:
- Not cakey: These are no puffy, cake-like pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. They’re crispy and chewy, just like a traditional chocolate chip cookie!
- Easy: these are a simple drop cookie, with a 15 minute prep time!
- Delicious: With a slight cinnamon flavor and the sweetness of the white chocolate, these pumpkin cookies are the perfect fall treat.
Ingredients
- Brown Sugar: The recipe uses light brown sugar, but you can substitute dark brown sugar in a pinch.
- Butter: This recipe calls for unsalted butter, but you can substitute salted butter by cutting the added salt to ¼ tsp.
- Chocolate Chips: The recipe calls for white chocolate chips, but you can use your favorite chocolate chips here. Semi-sweet chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, milk chocolate, Even chopped up chocolate bars or chocolate chunks will work great, as will M&Ms or cinnamon chips.
- Canned Pumpkin: be sure to use canned pumpkin puree, not canned pumpkin pie mix.
How to Make
Step 1: Make cookie dough
Remove water from pumpkin: this is a very important step in the cookies. Using paper towels or a clean tea towel, wrap up the pumpkin puree and squeeze out the water. The more water you can squeeze out the better! You can also dry out the pumpkin puree on a stovetop, by stirring constantly and simmer out the moisture. Be sure to let the pumpkin cool before adding to the cookies.
Cream butter and sugar: Using a standing mixer with the beater attachment, or a hand held mixer with a large bowl, mix the granulated sugar, light brown sugar, and unsalted butter for 2-3 minutes until fully combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Add wet ingredients: Mix in vanilla, pumpkin puree, and egg yolk, until combined, scraping down sides of bowl with a spatula as needed.
Add dry ingredients: Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Mix until just combined, being sure not to overmix the cookie dough.
Fold in chocolate chips: Using a spatula gently fold in the white chocolate chips. You can also use your favorite chocolate such as semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped up white chocolate bars.
Step 2: Chill Dough
Pre-scoop Dough: Once the dough is mixed, place 2 tablespoon balls of dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment. An ice cream scoop works great for this.You don’t have to worry how far apart they are as we are chilling the cookie dough, not baking it.
Cover and Chill: Chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Alternatively you can simply chill the entire bowl of cookie dough, but it makes it a little harder to scoop out into balls to bake once it has been chilled so I prefer to scoop it in advance.
Step 3: Bake Cookies
Preheat the oven to 350 ℉. Line another baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Put the chilled cookie dough balls onto the baking sheet, 2-3 inches apart as they’ll spread out in the oven.
Bake in the pre-heated oven for 9-12 minutes until the edges start to brown. Remove from oven and immediately tap the pan on the top of the oven. This will help the cookies settle down.
Then, let the pumpkin white chocolate cookies cool on the baking tray for a 5-10 minutes. Once they’ve started to firm up move the cookies to cooling rack to finish cooling. Once cool, enjoy!
Variations
- Pumpkin spice chocolate ship cookies: replace the cinnamon with pumpkin spice mix.
- Pumpkin dark chocolate chip cookies: use dark chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips in place of the white chocolate.
- Pumpkin caramel cookies: Use soft caramel pieces in stead of white chocolate chip.
- Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies with nuts: Add in 1/2 cup of your favorite chopped nuts such as almonds, walnuts, or pecans.
Tips and Tricks
- Measure out the flour using the spoon and swipe method of fluffing up the ingredients and then spooning into the measure cups and swiping the excess off the top with a knife. If you dip the measuring cup directly into the flour it can pack down and you will add too much flour to the recipe.
- Try using an ice cream scoop to get even sized cookies!
- You can use your favorite chocolate chips, chopped chocolate bars, M&Ms, cinnamon chips, etc.
- Be sure to chill the dough for at least 30 minutes.
- Firmly tap the pan on the oven once they’re done, this will help settle them down and give the cookies a slight crinkle top.
- This recipe makes about 20-22 cookies and can be doubled for a large batch.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Part of what typically makes pumpkin cookies so puffy and cake like is the extra moisture in the pumpkin puree. Squeezing out the liquid helps eliminate this problem and keeps the cookies chewy.
I personally think Libby’s is the thickest and works beautifully, but you can use your favorite brand of pumpkin puree. Just make sure that it is pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie mix, and blot it dry to get rid of most of the liquid.
My favorite way to get perfectly round, picture perfect cookies is the cookie cutter hack of turning cookies to perfect circles. You can also use a heat safe bowl or large cup.
Try making pumpkin pie or pumpkin cream cold brew coffee!
Yes, the baked and cooled cookies can be frozen up to a month and the unbaked cookie dough can be frozen in balls up to a month. Just bake a few minutes longer until done.
Storing and Making Ahead
These cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days (if they last that long)!
The baked pumpkin white chocolate chip cookies can also be frozen up to a month. The unbaked cookies can also be frozen up a month and baked frozen. Just bake a few minutes longer until done.
Looking for more fall recipes? Check these out!
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Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- Mixer
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper or a silicone baking mat
INGREDIENTS
- ½ cup unsalted butter 1 stick, softened
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tbsp pumpkin puree ¼ cup plus 2 tbsp
- 1 egg yolk
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour (180 g) spooned and leveled
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt decrease to ¼ tsp if using salted butter
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Using paper towels or a clean tea towel, wrap up the pumpkin puree ion a few layers of paper towels or a tea towel, and squeeze out excess liquid.
- Cream the butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar for 2-3 minutes until fully combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Mix in vanilla extract, pumpkin puree, and egg yolk.
- Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Mix until just combined.
- Gently fold in chocolate chips.
- Chill the cookie dough 30 minutes. If desired, pre-scoop the cookie dough into 2 tablespoons balls of dough before chilling.
- While dough is chilling, preheat oven to 350 ℉.
- Put the chilled dough balls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mat, keeping the cookies 2-3 inches apart as they’ll spread in the oven.
- Bake in the pre-heated oven for 9-12 minutes until the edges start to brown. Remove from oven and immediately tap the pan on the top of the oven to help the cookies settle down.
- Let cool on the baking tray for a 5-10 minutes.
- Once they’ve started to firm up move the cookies to cooling rack to finish cooling. Once cool, enjoy!
Notes
- Measure out the flour using the spoon and swipe method of fluffing up the ingredients and then spooning into the measure cups and swiping the excess off the top with a knife. If you dip the measuring cup directly into the flour it can pack down and you will add too much flour to the recipe.
- Try using an ice cream scoop to get even sized cookies!
- You can use your favorite chocolate chips, chopped chocolate bars, M&Ms, cinnamon chips, etc.
- Be sure to chill the dough for at least 30 minutes.
- Firmly tap the pan on the oven once they’re done, this will help settle them down and give the cookies a slight crinkle top.
- This recipe makes 18-22 cookies and can be doubled for a half batch.
- These cookies will last 3-5 days in an airtight container at room temperature and can be frozen up to two months.
carolynn says
these have been my favorite pumpkin white chocolate chip cookie recipe!
Melea says
Followed the recipe and tips! Cookies turned out white and had no pumpkin taste at all.
Sophia says
Hi, with brown sugar and pumpkin in these cookies I’m not sure how these could turn out white?! At minimum they should have the same color as regular chocolate chip cookies due to the brown sugar.