Soft Pumpkin Cookies with a muffin-top texture and soft, gooey chocolate pockets! They’re bakery-worthy and come together in just one bowl.
For pumpkin cookies without chocolate chips, try these soft and thick Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting.
author’s note
Easy One-Bowl Soft Pumpkin Cookies!
Every fall, I can’t resist making all the pumpkin treats. Last year, I spent weeks testing pumpkin cookie recipes because I wanted one that reminded me of the cookies my mom used to bake. They weren’t crisp or chewy like a classic chocolate chip cookie. Instead, they had a fluffy, muffin-top texture with melty chocolate throughout.
After several rounds of testing (and plenty of pumpkin cans later), I finally nailed the version I now make every year. These Soft Pumpkin Cookies strike the perfect balance of fluffy, spiced, and chocolatey. They bring back the flavors I loved growing up, but with a little upgrade in texture and flavor.
If you’re after a cookie that feels like the very best part of a muffin top, this is it.
Featured Comment
“I can’t believe it has taken me this long to write a review because I have been making this recipe for years and it is the most requested recipe among all of my family and friends. Seriously, no matter the season and what other great recipes I make, everyone keeps asking for these.”
– Jan
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Tips / Swaps |
|---|---|
| Canned Pumpkin | Use pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Pat the pumpkin with paper towels if it looks watery. |
| Vegetable Oil | Keeps the cookies soft. Swap half with melted butter for richer flavor. |
| Brown & White Sugar | The combo creates sweetness and a soft bite. |
| Pumpkin Pie Spice | Pre-blended for ease, or make your own with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice. |
| Chocolate Chips | Semi-sweet balances the sweetness, but milk chocolate or even white chocolate also work beautifully. |
Quick Tip
Pumpkin pie spice is a delicious combination of warming spices (like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice). Find it with the other spices in the grocery store, or you can make your own!
How To Make Soft Pumpkin Cookies
- Wet: In one bowl, stir pumpkin, both sugars, oil, egg, and vanilla until smooth.
- Dry: Stir in spices, baking soda, baking powder, salt, flour, and chocolate chips. Mix gently. Don’t overwork.
- Optional Chill: Pop the dough into the fridge for easier scooping.
- Bake: Scoop onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until just set.
- Finish: Press extra chocolate chips into the tops of warm cookies and let cool.
Storage
- Baked: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2–3 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days. For longer storage, freeze and warm before serving.
- Unbaked Dough: Scoop dough balls, freeze on a tray, then transfer to a container. Bake from frozen and just add a couple of minutes.
Use Leftover Pumpkin In These:
Soft Pumpkin Cookies
Video
Equipment
- Large sheet pan (15" x 21")
- Parchment paper or silicon baking mat
Ingredients
- 1 cup canned pumpkin not an entire can, not pumpkin filling
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar lightly packed
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice see note 1
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips divided
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
- Red food coloring or orange food coloring, optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add 1 cup canned pumpkin (not entire can), granulated sugar, brown sugar, vegetable oil, egg, and vanilla. Mix until completely smooth. If desired, add in food dye—this will give you a darker, more “pumpkin-looking” cookie. (The photos have 3 drops of orange food coloring.) Mix until completely smooth.
- Without stirring between these additions, add in cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, salt, flour, 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips, and regular chocolate chips. Mix by hand or with an hand mixer until just combined. Do not overmix. The dough is wet, thick, and sticky!
- Cover tightly and chill dough for 30 minutes up to 10 hours. Chilling is not necessary, but it makes dough easier to work with and intensifies flavors.
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat. Use a 1-tablespoon measuring spoon to scoop out balls of dough onto the sheet pan. Try to smooth or round the balls, but it’s okay if they’re a bit bumpy; the dough is messy to work with. Bake for 8–11 minutes and remove. Use remaining 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips to press a few more chocolate chips on the tops of the cookies straight out of the oven.
- Let cookies stand on the sheet pan for 3–4 minutes before using a spatula to transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Repeat baking process with remaining dough, keeping dough in the fridge until it’s scooped into cookies (colder dough = easier to work with!) For a fudgy pumpkin pie-type cookie, chill cooked cookies in the fridge—delish!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I can’t believe it has taken me this long to write a review because I have been making this recipe for years and it is the most requested recipe among all of my family and friends. Seriously, no matter the season and what other great recipes I make, everyone keeps asking for these.
I follow the recipe exactly and it always turns out great. I often double it. I like to do a mix of dark chocolate chips and semi sweet, and I usually add a little bit extra pumpkin pie spice. Make sure to chill the dough and keep in mind that the flavor of the cookies enhances the 2nd day. Enjoy!
I am so thrilled to hear this! Thanks so much for taking the time to write this comment! Thanks Jan!
I won the office baking contest with this recipe! I absolutely LOVE these cookies and have made them every fall for the past several years. They’re soft and very much like muffin tops and absolutely delicious! Even family members who aren’t early into pumpkin love these!
I am so thrilled to hear this! What a compliment! Thanks for your comment Aela!
I followed the directions exactly and they turned out horrible, pumpkin does not belong in cookies. The texture was like a cake, very dense and disgusting will never make again or recommend anyone to make this awful recipe.
Sorry you didn’t love this recipe June! These aren’t typical cookies, as described in the post and similar to what you ended up with (“These cookies aren’t your typical type of cookie. They are thick, chewy, soft, and cake-like– resembling a muffin top.”) Sorry this wasn’t for you!
We LOVE this cookie! I made 5 large
bakery style cookies for our son’s family and the grandkids (all teenagers that love a cookie store called Crumbles) raved about them and said my cookies were definitely good competition for Crumbles! That is their highest compliment!
I am so thrilled to hear this! Thank you so much Debby! 🙂
What would happen if i used a whole egg instead of just an egg yolk?
Texture will be too wet
I made these yesterday and they turned out awesome. I did make a few substitutions though, first I only had 3/4 of a cup of AP flour so I added 1/4 of almond flour and 1/4 cup of coconut flour. Then I swapped the egg with a flax egg to make it vegan and used coconut oil as my oil. Then I added non dairy white chocolate and mini dark chocolate chips. I also didn’t chill the dough and my daughter had no problem working with it!
Thanks so much for sharing your changes! Glad you enjoyed these!