Okay, I have to be honest with you. This is THE recipe I make every single fall without fail, and this year I finally went back and tweaked it just a little bit, and oh my gosh. It is pure perfection now. I took one off the cooling rack, ate it standing at my counter, and then immediately ate a second one. No regrets whatsoever.
Here is what makes these so special. They are genuinely CHEWY, which if you have ever made a pumpkin cookie before you know is not a given. Most pumpkin cookies come out soft and cakey and puffy, and that is fine, but it is not what I want in a cookie. These have that dense, bendy, chewy middle with slightly crisp edges. Then the brown butter comes in with this gorgeous nutty, toasty flavor that plays SO well with the pumpkin and the warm spices. And then they are absolutely loaded with chocolate. Duh.
The best part is how easy they are. There is no mixer required, no complicated steps, nothing fussy. You brown your butter, you mix everything up, you chill the dough for thirty minutes, and you bake. That is it. These are the cookies I want on a chilly Sunday afternoon with a coffee, and the ones I bring to every fall gathering because they disappear in about four minutes flat.
P.S. Do not skip the thirty minute chill! Pumpkin puree adds a lot of moisture to cookie dough, and chilling is what keeps these from spreading into thin sad puddles. It also firms up that brown butter and lets the spices bloom. Thirty minutes is truly the minimum, but if you have an hour, even better.
Ingredients Needed
- Unsalted Butter: A full cup, and we are browning ALL of it. This is where the whole nutty, toasted flavor of these cookies comes from. Melt it over medium low heat in a light colored pan, swirl it constantly, and cook until the milk solids at the bottom turn golden and it smells like toasted hazelnuts. Scrape every last browned bit into your bowl, that is where all the flavor lives!
- Light Brown Sugar: The main sweetener here and a huge part of why these are so chewy. The molasses in brown sugar holds onto moisture and gives you that soft bendy center we are after. It also adds this warm caramel note that is perfect with the brown butter and pumpkin. Pack it firmly into your measuring cup.
- Granulated Sugar: Just a quarter cup, but it is doing important work. It helps the edges crisp up and gives you those pretty crinkly tops. Brown sugar alone would make these too soft all the way through, so this little bit of white sugar balances the texture. Do not leave it out!
- Pumpkin Puree: Two thirds of a cup of pure pumpkin puree, NOT pumpkin pie filling. This is what makes these taste like fall and keeps them wonderfully moist. Make sure you are grabbing the can that lists pumpkin as the only ingredient. If your puree looks watery, blot it with a paper towel first for an even chewier cookie.
- Eggs: Two large eggs bring richness, structure, and that gorgeous golden color. They bind everything together and keep these cookies from being crumbly. Room temperature eggs mix in more evenly, so I set mine out while the butter cools. It makes a real difference in the final texture.
- Vanilla Extract: One teaspoon rounds out the brown butter and makes everything taste warmer and more dessert like. It is a small amount but you would absolutely notice if it was missing. Use a good pure vanilla if you have it since there is nowhere for it to hide here.
- All Purpose Flour: Two and three quarter cups gives these cookies their structure and that perfect chew. Spoon and level your flour instead of scooping straight from the bag, because packed flour will make your cookies dry and dense. This is the number one thing people get wrong in cookie recipes!
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: One teaspoon of that classic cozy blend with nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cloves. It is what makes these taste unmistakably like fall the second you bite in. If yours has been sitting in the cabinet since last Thanksgiving, please buy fresh. Old spices taste like dust and these cookies deserve better.
- Cinnamon: An extra one and a half teaspoons on top of the pumpkin pie spice, because I want that cinnamon flavor to really come forward. It makes your entire kitchen smell like a fall candle while these bake. Warm, cozy, and the perfect partner for brown butter.
- Baking Powder: One teaspoon gives these just enough lift so they are chewy and not dense. It is what creates those slightly puffed centers that settle into perfect ripples as they cool. Check that yours is not expired, it loses its power faster than you would think.
- Salt: Half a teaspoon, and it is absolutely essential. It balances all that sugar, sharpens the chocolate, and keeps the cookies from tasting flat and one note. Without it these would be sweet in a boring way. Never skip the salt in a sweet recipe.
- Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips: A full cup of classic chips scattered throughout so you get chocolate in every single bite. Semi sweet is the sweet spot here because it is not so sweet that it competes with the pumpkin. They hold their shape while baking and give you those perfect little pockets of chocolate.
- Coarsely Chopped Dark Chocolate: Half a cup, chopped by hand, and this is my favorite part. Chopping a bar gives you big melty puddles and shards and dust that swirl right through the dough, which chips just cannot do. The darker chocolate adds depth and keeps things from getting too sweet. It is a small extra step with a HUGE payoff.
- Flaky Sea Salt: Optional but so worth it. A little pinch on top of each warm cookie makes the chocolate taste more chocolatey and the brown butter taste even nuttier. That sweet and salty contrast is what takes these from great to unforgettable.
Substitutions and Modifications
- No pumpkin pie spice? Use 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon allspice or cloves instead.
- All dark chocolate or all semi sweet works fine. Just keep the total at 1 1/2 cups so the ratio stays right.
- Milk chocolate is lovely here if you like a sweeter cookie, and white chocolate with pumpkin is SO underrated.
- Add 1/2 cup of chopped toasted pecans or walnuts for crunch. Very fall, very good.
- Salted butter works, just cut the added salt down to 1/4 teaspoon.
- For a gluten free version, use a 1 to 1 gluten free baking flour and chill the dough for a full hour instead of thirty minutes.
- Want them a little spicier? Bump the pumpkin pie spice to 1 1/2 teaspoons. The dough can absolutely handle it.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- They are actually CHEWY, not cakey, which is genuinely hard to pull off with a pumpkin cookie and is exactly why I keep coming back to this one.
- The brown butter adds this nutty toasted flavor that makes them taste like they came out of a bakery case, and it only takes about five extra minutes.
- No mixer, no fussy steps, and they are loaded with two kinds of chocolate. Easy enough for a random Tuesday, special enough for every fall gathering you have.
Equipment Needed
- Light colored saucepan or skillet for browning butter
- Large mixing bowl
- Medium mixing bowl for dry ingredients
- Whisk
- Rubber spatula
- Cutting board and sharp knife for chopping chocolate
- Cookie scoop (about 2 tablespoons)
- Baking sheets
- Parchment paper
Brown Butter Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chewy brown butter pumpkin chocolate chip cookies loaded with semi sweet chips and chopped dark chocolate. Nutty, warmly spiced, and never cakey, these are the easiest and BEST fall cookie recipe you will make all season!Print Recipe Pin RateServings: 24 cookiesVideo
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup dark chocolate coarsely chopped
- Flaky sea salt for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Start by browning your butter. Add the full cup of unsalted butter to a light colored saucepan over medium low heat. Let it melt completely, then keep swirling the pan as it foams and bubbles. After about 6 to 8 minutes the milk solids at the bottom will turn a deep golden brown and it will smell like toasted nuts. Pull it off the heat right away and pour everything, browned bits included, into a large mixing bowl.
- Let the brown butter cool for a full 5 minutes before you do anything else. This matters! If it is too hot when it hits the eggs later it will start to scramble them, and we are not doing that.
- Whisk the light brown sugar and granulated sugar into the cooled brown butter until everything is glossy and combined. It will look a little grainy and that is exactly right.
- Add the eggs, vanilla extract, and pumpkin puree. Whisk until the mixture is completely smooth and uniform. It should look silky and pale orange.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Getting the leavening and spices evenly distributed now means no surprise pockets later.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a spatula until JUST combined. A few streaks of flour are fine at this point. Overmixing is what turns cookies tough, so go gently.
- Now chop your chocolate. Take your dark chocolate bar and coarsely chop it on a cutting board, leaving some big chunks and some little shards. Fold it in along with the semi sweet chocolate chips until everything is evenly scattered through the dough.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Please do not skip this! The pumpkin adds a lot of moisture and the chill is what keeps these thick and chewy instead of flat.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line your baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop the chilled dough into balls, about 2 tablespoons each, and space them a couple of inches apart.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers still look slightly underdone and puffy. They will look a little soft in the middle and that is EXACTLY what you want. Pull them now.
- Let them cool completely on the pan. This is the step everyone rushes and it is the whole secret to the chewy texture. They finish setting up as they cool, so give them time.
- Finish with a pinch of flaky sea salt on top if you would like, then get ready for these to disappear immediately!
Storage Instructions
- Counter: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Tuck a slice of bread in the container to keep them extra soft and chewy.
- Fridge: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. Let them come to room temperature before eating, or warm one for 10 seconds in the microwave for that fresh baked melty chocolate moment.
- Freezer: Freeze baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months. You can also freeze the scooped raw dough balls for up to 3 months and bake straight from frozen, just add 2 extra minutes to the bake time.
Tips and Tricks
- Use a light colored pan for browning your butter so you can actually see when the milk solids turn golden. In a dark pan it goes from perfect to burnt before you notice.
- If your pumpkin puree looks watery, blot it between paper towels before measuring. Less water means a chewier cookie, every time.
- Spoon and level your flour instead of scooping from the bag. Packed flour is the fastest way to a dry, cakey cookie.
- Chop the chocolate bar by hand instead of using all chips. Those big melty puddles and little shards running through the dough are what make these look and taste bakery worthy.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Why are my pumpkin cookies cakey instead of chewy?
Almost always too much moisture or too much flour. Blot your pumpkin puree if it looks watery, spoon and level your flour instead of scooping, and do not skip the chill. This recipe is built specifically to give you a chewy cookie, so follow those three things and you are golden.
Can I skip the chilling step?
I really would not! Pumpkin puree makes for a wetter dough, and without that 30 minute chill these will spread thin and lose their chew. If you have the time, an hour is even better. It is the most worthwhile wait in the whole recipe.
Do I have to brown the butter?
You can use regular melted butter and still get a good cookie, but the brown butter is truly the personality of this recipe. That nutty toasted flavor against the pumpkin and chocolate is what makes people ask what your secret is. It only takes about 6 extra minutes!
Can I use pumpkin pie filling instead of pumpkin puree?
No, please do not. Pumpkin pie filling is already sweetened and spiced, and it will throw off both the flavor and the texture completely. Look for the can that lists pumpkin as the only ingredient.
How do I know when they are done?
Pull them when the edges are set but the centers still look slightly underbaked and puffy. They keep cooking on the hot pan as they cool, so if they look fully done in the oven they will be overbaked by the time they cool. Trust the underdone middle!
Can I make the dough ahead of time?
Absolutely! The dough keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days, and you can scoop it into balls and freeze it for up to 3 months. Bake straight from frozen and just add about 2 minutes to the bake time. Fresh cookies whenever you want them.
Do you LOVE Pumpkin?! Check out MORE of my Favs:
Brown Butter Salted Caramel Pumpkin Bundt Cake – The Ultimate Fall Dessert
Fluffy Brown Butter Chocolate Swirl Pumpkin Muffins (Bakery-Style Fall Muffins)
Brown Butter Salted Caramel Pumpkin Cake
Let’s Stay in Touch!
If you make these Brown Butter Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, I NEED to see them! Snap a photo of that chocolate pull and tag me @munchiesbymallory on Instagram and TikTok. It genuinely makes my whole day to see what you are baking in your kitchens. And if there is even the slightest chill in the air where you are, consider this your official sign to go brown some butter. Happy baking, friends!
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