Soft Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookie Recipe

I woke up yesterday determined to find the soft chocolate chip pumpkin cookie recipe from my youth. While I couldn’t duplicate my mother’s recipe, I did get close. This recipe produced incredibly soft, fluffy cookies that are almost cake-like. I also flirted with adding icing to the cookies for decoration, but we largely preferred the finished product without the glaze. Also, my piping skills are terrible – if you have a steadier hand (and let the cookies properly cool), you can go to town creating the best Halloween jack o’ lantern treats or Thanksgiving “turkeys” from this delicious chocolate chip pumpkin cookie recipe.

Soft Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookie Recipe Ingredients

Cookies

2 1/2 Cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (Note: I used White Lily Light Baking Flour to make “fluffy” cake-like cookies)

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1 1/2 Teaspoons Cinnamon

1/4 Teaspoon Ginger

2 Sticks (16 Tablespoons) Softened (not melted) Unsalted Butter

1/2 Cup Brown Cane Sugar

1/2 Cup Pure Cane Sugar

15-ounce Can Pumpkin Purée

2 Large Eggs

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract (Note: I used the double strength from Penzeys)

1 1/2 Cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (Note: I used Callebaut discs because we already had them, but any semi-sweet chocolate chips will work)

Icing

1 1/2 Cups Confectioners’ Sugar

2 1/2 Tablespoons Whole Milk (Oat Milk can work, but it will create thinner icing)

1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookie Recipe Steps

Step 1 Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger in a bowl and then set aside.

Step 2 In a stand mixer (or separate large bowl), cream the butter, brown sugar, and regular cane sugar. If you want an almost cake-like cookie, you’ll want to beat these ingredients until they are light and fluffy.

Step 3 Scrape down the sides and slowly add the pumpkin, two large eggs, and vanilla extract. Then add the chocolate chips and stir gently to mix.

Fall desserts Halloween Thanksgiving Adding the pumpkin to the creamed butter and sugar soft chocolate chip pumpkin cookie recipe those someday goals — Adding the pumpkin to the creamed butter and sugars

Adding chocolate chips to the pumpkin cookie mix those someday goals

Step 4 Place bowl into the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.

Step 5 Preheat your oven to 375°F.

Step 6 Prepare your cookie sheets by putting down parchment paper (my go-to) or greasing them.

Step 7 Using an ice cream scoop or soup spoon, drop dough balls onto the prepared cookie sheets, taking care to keep them separated. Bake at 375°F for between 16 and 18 minutes. Note: At my elevation, using a gas oven, 16 minutes saw the sides browning.

Step 8 Allow the cookies to cool on the sheet for 5 minutes.

Step 9 Press chocolate chips as jack o’ lantern eyes before moving to a rake for additional cooling time.

cute face soft chocolate chip pumpkin cookie those someday goals — That bottom cookie looks like a smiling face to me even without the icing.

Making Cookie Icing

The cookies are delicious and cute without icing, but if you do want to add a glaze, prepare it now while the first batch is cooling.

Step 10 In one bowl, stir the confectioners’ sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until all the sugar lumps have been dissolved.

Step 11 Add the icing to a piping bag or snipped plastic bag.

Step 12 Drizzle the icing across the cookies once they are cooled (the icing will just run if the cookies are too hot – I found that out the hard way). You can also pipe a smiling face, jack o’ lantern stripes, or any other decoration that strikes you.

creepy smiling face soft chocolate chip pumpkin cookie recipe those someday goals — This smiling face looks creepy to me, so I’m thinking it is perfect for Halloween. But skilled people can pipe all sorts of cookies perfect for Halloween or Thanksgiving.

soft chocolate chip pumpkin cookie recipe icing faces stripes those someday goals — One piped face and many stripes made the cookie plate

fall desserts Thanksgiving Halloween soft chocolate chip pumpkin cookie recipe icing without icing plate those someday goals — In the end, we had a mix of soft chocolate chip pumpkin cookies with and without icing.

Note: I left some cookies bare. I added “eyes” to some. I also made some stripes, and one got a very creepy piped smile. It’s entirely up to you how much icing decoration you would like to add to these soft chocolate chip pumpkin cookies.

For more recipes and wine recommendations, click here. Enjoy!