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These Pecan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies are soft, cakey fall versions of everyone’s favorite cookie, packed with pumpkin & spice flavors! You won’t be able to stop at one!
I love me some punkin’, ya’ll.
At thirty-one, I am an admitted “basic white girl.” I’ve come to terms with it. I’m so OK with it.
If it means I get to kick my way through fall leaves in my fuzzy boots, pumpkin spice coffee in hand, then I’ll even change my middle name to Basic.
I can even claim to have started an Instagram hashtag – #embracingbeingbasic. Look it up. It’s all my pre-fall pumpkin nonsense…
And a couple of random people who are apparently basic for different reasons.
JUST TAKE ME TO THE PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES ALREADY!
If you’d rather skip my (pretty darn helpful) tips and tricks, essential cooking info, and similar recipe ideas – and get straight to this deliciously easy pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe, just scroll right on down to the bottom of the page where you can find the printable recipe card!
This recipe was originally published on September 28, 2015. It was updated with a revised recipe and additional content, photos, and a video on October 18, 2019.
I’ve eaten a lot of cookies in my life, but nothing tops a chocolate chip cookie.
They contain so many well-rounded flavors: the molasses-spiked sugar, the smooth butter, the rich chocolate. They can be thin and crispy or thick and chewy, and they’re loved just the same.
They’ve always been my favorite cookie to eat at Christmas time, and until a few years ago, that was the only time I ever made them.
Nana made lots of sweet treats for the house, but cookies were something that were exclusive to Christmas.
I often had to get my cookie fix elsewhere, and the store-bought kind were never enough.
The first time I ever ate a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie was while in junior high. My friend Chrissy’s mom had baked up a batch on a random weekend I was sleeping over, and I had yet to discover my love of anything and everything pumpkin.
Those cookies were an awakening. And became a bit of an obsession.
Every chance I got, I’d put in a request for a batch of them. Birthday, Christmas, good report card. She wasn’t even my mother, and I was practically begging her to feed me cookies.
Eventually, I tried to pry the recipe out of her, so I could just make them myself. To no avail. She wouldn’t give it up!
Now, as an adult, I work pumpkin chocolate chip into my Christmas cookie repertoire every year, and every year I’ve tried a different Pinterest recipe, to try to find out what the secret to her amazing version was.
I still haven’t found it (admittedly, my memory of exactly what they tasted like is slightly fuzzy.) And no, this recipe isn’t it, either. But can I tell you something?
I think….I think it’s even better.
Maybe it’s the addition of the pecans, or use of brown sugar to make them extra soft.
Or because I used more pumpkin purée or more spice.
Maybe it’s all the extra chocolate chips I toss in, on top of what the recipe calls for. I really don’t know, but there’s one thing I do know:
These are, without a doubt, the best pumpkin chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made.
If you’re a pumpkin lover, I promise that this recipe won’t do you wrong.
Tips for the Best Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Can I use fresh pumpkin instead of canned? Of course! If you prefer homemade roasted pumpkin, you can easily sub it for the canned stuff. Sure! Fresh pumpkin holds more water than canned pumpkin, so I recommend draining some of the liquid out first through a nut milk bag or cheesecloth.
Can I use a different fat than butter? Yep! If you’d prefer to use an oil (vegetable, coconut, avocado) or applesauce, simply mix the sugars and other wet ingredients together all at the same time, then follow the rest of the recipe as written.
I don’t care for nuts – can I leave them out? Sure! My original version of this cookie recipe had no nuts, just twice the chocolate chips. You could even add a different chip – butterscotch, cinnamon, or toffee bits!
Can the cookie dough be refrigerated overnight? Yes – chilling the dough before baking makes the cookies even puffier and fluffier.
Can I freeze the chocolate chip pumpkin cookies? You sure can! Scoop the dough into cookie-sized balls and plop them on a cookie sheet, then freeze them. When they’re frozen, transfer them to a plastic zipper bag and bake as many as you like when you need a little treat, adding 3-5 more minutes when baking. You can also freeze baked cookies in an airtight container.
LOOKING FOR MORE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPES?
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Bronados
- Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookie Sticks
- Salted Gingerbread Chocolate Chip Cookies
HELPFUL KITCHEN TOOLS FOR MAKING PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES:
- Baking Sheets
- Mixing Bowls
- Hand Mixer
- Rubber Spatula
- Whole Pecans
HOW TO MAKE PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES:
ORDER OUR #1 BEST SELLER COOKBOOK!
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Pecan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg room temperature
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon milk
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, or with a hand mixer, cream sugars and butter for 2 minutes until fluffy. Add pumpkin puree, vanilla, and egg and mix until incorporated
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and spice. In another, smaller bowl, dissolve baking soda into milk.
- Add both the flour mixture and soda-milk mixture to the sugar mix. Beat on low until just combined - don't over mix!
- Fold chocolate chips and pecans in gently with a spatula.
- Using a tablespoon cookie scoop, drop dough on to prepared parchment, spacing cookies about 1 inch apart. They don't spread much, just puff up. If you'd like, sprinkle additional chips and pecans on top - it just makes 'em look pretty.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on your oven. Don't over bake, but be sure the cookies don't look wet in the middle before removing them from the oven.
- Allow to cool on baking sheets for a couple minutes, then remove to cooling racks. Repeat with remaining dough. Enjoy with a big glass of milk or a pumpkin spiced coffee!
Video
Nutrition
PIN THIS PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPE FOR LATER!
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie says
Oh I love that you added pecans to these cookies! I’ve seen alot of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies but these may have just taken the cake…cookie?
Rachel @ {i love} my disorganized life says
These look so delicious, don’t think I’d WANT to stop at just one, even if I could!
Gwen @simplyhealthyfamily says
My favorite cookieeeeeee!!!! Your recipe looks perfect! Saving and sharing! oxox
Liz says
Yup, we love chocolate chip cookies around here, but my family loves them pure and simple! I, however, love shaking things up with nuts, toffee, coconut…and now pumpkin 🙂
Veronica Gantley says
Goodness gracious!! This looks amazing! I will definitely want to try this
Kristin @ Dizzy Busy and Hungry says
These cookies look absolutely amazing! I love chocolate and pumpkin together!
Wendy, A Day in the Life on the Farm says
These are absolutely going on my to make list this holiday season. Thanks for sharing