Skinnytaste > Main Ingredient > Pumpkin Recipes > Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Made with pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and mini chocolate chips these Pumpkin Spice Cookies are soft, chewy, and dotted with chocolatey goodness. Ready in less than 30 minutes!

Pumpkin spice cookies on a placemat

The Best Pumpkin Spice Cookies

These fabulous pumpkin spice cookies were inspired by by Best Low Fat Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. I swapped out the apple sauce for pumpkin puree, then added lots of pumpkin pie spice. The end result? A perfectly pumpkin-y cookie!

These cookies are chewy, soft and sweet to perfection. But I must warn you, these cookies can be really addicting. If it’s hard to stop at just one or two, make sure you have family or friends to share these with!

A few of my other pumpkin desserts are Pumpkin Hazelnut White Chocolate Biscotti, Pumpkin Butterscotch Bars, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, Pumpkin Banana Bread and Pumpkin Spiced Snickerdoodles.

Why You’ll Love This Pumpkin Spice Cookie Recipe

What makes these pumpkin spice cookies so special? Let me tell you a few reasons!

  • Soft and chewy. These cookies have the BEST texture! Soft, chewy, and dotted with chocolate chips throughout. No dry, cake-like cookies here!
  • Just the right amount of pumpkin flavor. These pumpkin spice cookies are loaded up with pumpkin pie spice and just a small amount of pumpkin puree, creating the perfect balance of flavors.
  • Great way to use leftover pumpkin puree. This recipe doesn’t call for a lot of pumpkin puree, so if you have any leftover puree from another pumpkin recipe, save it for these yummy cookies!

What You’ll Need

These pumpkin spice cookies are made with pantry staples, plus pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice. See the recipe card below for exact measurements.

  • Flour – Equal parts whole wheat pastry flour and all purpose flour make up the base of these cookies. Using some pastry flour instead of all regular flour creates a softer base to the cookies.
  • Baking soda – Helps the cookies rise in the oven.
  • Pumpkin pie spice – Adds the classic warm pumpkin flavor.
  • Salt – Helps to enhance the other flavors.
  • Sugar – Equal parts granulated and brown sugar sweeten these cookies.
  • Butter – Melted, to add moisture to the dough,
  • Egg white – Helps to give the cookies shape and structure.
  • Pumpkin puree – Only a small amount is needed to give these cookies the pumpkin flavor.
  • Vanilla extract
  • Mini chocolate chips – Regular chocolate chips would also work.

How to Make Pumpkin Spice Cookies

You may be surprised at just how quick and easy these cookies are to prepare. Just 10 minutes in the oven!

Process shots of how to make pumpkin spiace cookies
  • Make the dough. Combine the flours, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugars, butter, egg white, pumpkin, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Slowly whisk in the dry ingredients.
  • Bake. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
  • Cool. Let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet then remove the cookies from the pans to cool on wire racks.
Pumpkin spice cookies on a baking sheet

Tips for Success

Here are a few things to keep in mind when making these pumpkin spice cookies.

  • Add water if needed. If the batter looks more “crumbly” than smooth, add just a drop of water at a time until it smooths out.
  • Don’t overmix the dough. As you combine the ingredients, stir just until the flour is fully incorporated.
  • Avoid overbaking. These cookies need just 8 to 10 minutes in the oven, so keep an eye on them. Overbaking will lead to dry cookies.

Proper Storage

  • Room temperature. Store pumpkin spice cookies in an airtight container or ziploc bag for up to 4 days at room temperature.
  • Freezer. Once they’ve cooled completely, you can also freeze these cookies in a ziploc bag for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter and enjoy.

More Pumpkin Dessert Recipes

Skinnytaste Simple promo banner

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

4.50 from 4 votes
8
Cals:171.4
Protein:1.4
Carbs:34.7
Fat:5
Made with pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and mini chocolate chips these Pumpkin Spice Cookies are soft, chewy, and dotted with chocolatey goodness. Ready in less than 30 minutes!umpki
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
A fabulous Fall pumpkin spiced chocolate chip cookie! This is what happens when you take the Best Low Fat Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe and swap out the apple sauce for pumpkin puree, then add lots of pumpkin pie spice!
Prep: 35 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 45 minutes
Yield: 12 servings
Serving Size: 2 cookies

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp butter, melted
  • 1 egg white
  • 2 tbsp pumpkin puree
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Line two cookie sheets with non-stick silicone baking liners such as Silpats (I highly recommend for best results) or lightly spray cookie sheets with cooking spray.
  • In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, salt and pumpkin spice; stir to blend.
  • In another bowl, whisk the sugars, butter, egg white, pumpkin puree and vanilla together until light and fluffy.
  • Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in two additions until the batter is very well blended.
  • If the batter looks more “crumbly” than smooth, add just a drop of water at a time (ONLY if needed) until it smooths out.
  • Drop by level spoonfuls about 1 inch apart onto baking sheets.
  • Bake 8 – 10 minutes.
  • Remove from the oven, and let them stand 5 minutes before removing the cookies from the pans to cool on wire racks.

Last Step:

Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.

Notes

Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Nutrition

Serving: 2 cookies, Calories: 171.4 kcal, Carbohydrates: 34.7 g, Protein: 1.4 g, Fat: 5 g, Saturated Fat: 3 g, Cholesterol: 5 mg, Sodium: 113 mg, Fiber: 1.5 g, Sugar: 25.4 g

Categories:

Rate and review this recipe!

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this Recipe:




122 comments on “Pumpkin Spice Cookies”

  1. Very good and soft and chewy like a good cookie should be! I love the pumpkin flavor and the spices really come through. Very good cookie!

  2. Avatar photo
    Jennifer Michalski

    Can this recipe be converted to gluten free?  Could gluten free 1 for 1 flour be used for all the pastry and all purpose flour here?

    I love the idea of this recipe but I need it gluten free.  I have many GF flours so I’m open to suggestions if you have some

  3. My honest opinion, if it wasn’t for the pumpkin pie spice, which is weird with the chocolate chips, you would think that it was just another chocolate chip recipe. You really don’t notice the pumpkin flavor.

    F. Smith

  4. I loved these! Chocolate chip cookies are my favorite and I enjoyed the addition of the pumpkin. I didn’t have whole wheat pastry flour at the time. Instead I used a bit of whole wheat flour and regular app flour.

  5. Made this today – delicious flavor! I used my fresh pumpkin and my first batch was too wet. The cookies are very flat but, still taste great. The second batch I used an extra 1/2 cup of flour and let the mixture rest and the cookies are excellent. I would recommend if you use fresh pumpkin, to increase flour by 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup.

  6. Just made these. Gina I love you!!! Last week I made the low fat chocolate chip cookies and they were divine too. I'm addicted to your amazing recipes and blog!

  7. Gina, the extra pumpkin puree can be put in ice cube trays and freeze over night, then put them in freezer bags. Same goes for tomato paste, any sauces and broths. Works great.

  8. Just made these this a.m. for my daughters' lunchboxes. DELICOUS! Yes, I ate 2…how can I resist! I've made about 50 of Gina's recipe…I have to say that I think I am a skinnytaste addict…I check here first for anything I am thinking of making. There has not been one bad recipe and by that I mean they have all been FANTASTIC! I have the crockpot turkey meatballs in MY lunchbox. Thanks, Gina!

  9. Avatar photo
    LittlePaintedPolkaDots

    So good! I omitted the butter (based on some comments I read on your site) and these were so delicious. I am still working on my self-control. I should probably have hubby hide them from me. They are THAT good!

  10. Crispy/chewy/yummy GOODNESS!!! Made for teacher appreciation, and will make another batch tomorrow for US!! YUM!

  11. Avatar photo
    Elizabeth Huenefeldt

    This recipe is so amazing!! I used 1/4c Splenda Brown Sugar blend instead of brown sugar. I also substituted 2TB of extra virgin light coconut oil for the butter. I could not stop eating these! Also, just FYI, I ran out of whole wheat pastry flour and used whole wheat flour in the amount called for and they turned out great.

  12. They were slightly too spicy for us, but very tasty! I will probably decrease the pumpkin spice a bit the next time, maybe to 1 3/4 tsp. I couldn't find pastry flour, so I used 1/4 cup cake flour and 1/4 cup whole wheat flour to substitute. This only made 19 cookies, but that's find by us!

  13. Best. Cookies. EVER. Even my pumpkin hating husband said they were "Effing AMAZING!" (sorry, just quoting lol)

  14. I used caloriecount.com and came up with (for EACH cookie) – 57 calories – .7 protein – 11.3 carbs – 1 fat – 0 fiber (using regular whole wheat flour + all the rest of the ingredients as listed)

    It's unreal the difference just from using a different program!!

  15. Thank you so much for this recipe. I made them last night – I am a HUGE lover of pumpkin spice anything! These are great!

    1. I used regular whole wheat flour and I did add 2 more tbcp of pumpkin and some more spice. They turned out perfect! The consistency of mine are soft and chewy.

      My family loved them!

  16. Just made these and my husband LOVES them! He is always buying cookies from the store and I told him I wanted him eat healthier so I made these and it worked! Now if I can just get a few…

  17. I made these last weekend and though I liked them, they were a little too sweet for me (and i have quite the sweet tooth!!). I made them again this morning and halved the amount of sugar, upped the amount of spice and they were perfect! Thanks for another delicious recipe!!!

  18. Avatar photo
    Megan Guttman

    Hubby is dairy free so I used 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, coconut oil instead of butter and dairy free chocolate chips! SO good! I did only get 10 cookies out of it though. Will be doubling the recipe later today since they were so good they are gone already!

  19. This recipe was delicious! I used 1 cup whole wheat flour and instead of the egg, I added 1/4 cup applesauce and 1 teaspoon baking powder and they came out very moist and kind of muffin like! I also used dark chocolate chips instead of milk chocolate.

  20. Do you think it would be ok to freeze leftover dough for a later time if I don't use it all right away?

  21. These taste great but I found the batter to be really sticky and the cookies didn't flatten out and turned out more like cookie balls. Any thoughts on why that might be? They had a great flavor but I want to try again to get them right! (I did add a few drops of water)

  22. I just made these tonight since it is fall and they were super yummy!! I made mine with just regular wheat flour and they turned out just perfect.

  23. Avatar photo
    Michelle Gauthier

    I made these tonight. They were terrific! Mine didn't flatten like cookies, but they were still soft in the center and delicious! A must try!

  24. how many points would these be without the chocolate chips? i don't like chocolate…crazy i know!!!

  25. I just made these, they are so good!! I wasn't sure about the whole chocolate pumpkin combo but I was proved wrong 🙂

  26. I was so excited to make these cookies. I made 2 batches. One with chocolate chips and one without. I tried them right out of the oven, just cool enough to eat. I was very disappointed in them. I tried them again the next day and they were amazing! First time I have made a cookie that wasn't better fresh out of the oven. So glad I gave them a chance…they are amazing!

  27. A nice spice level in these. I prefer no chocolate in mine (I actually would prefer chocolate chip cookies without the chocolate. Love chocolate, just not so much in a cookie unless it is a chocolate cookie). FYI, without choc chips is it 3pp for 2. Golden raisins would be a great substitution.

  28. Oh my goodness! These are SO good!! I have to bake them a touch longer than what is stated, but no worries! Ovens are all different! I'm in heaven with these!! :o)

  29. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    Morgan, no I don't think that would work.

    Jaime, yes fold them in at the end.

    Jen, I wish I could solve the mystery why you had success the first few times, and not the last, did you do anything different? Did you change any of the ingredients?

  30. Hi Gina! I have been OBSESSED with making your pumpkin recipes. I've made almost everything on your site that has pumpkin including these cookies. The first time I made them…they were PERFECT. The last couple of times, not so much! My cookies have been runny while they bake. I ended up throwing away the batter the last two times I made them. =( I wanted some with ice cream last night so tried it again but from the consistency of the batter knew they were going to run, so in a moment of genius thought…why don't I just make GIANT cookie. I did and it turned out working out for the best because we just spooned the cookie as it was warm and gooey and topped it with ice cream.

    Any idea why my cookies have been runny? Is it the melted butter? I would love to continue making these as "cookies"!

  31. I've made this recipe a couple times now. First time cooked them too long, so they had to be warmed in the microwave to soften them but still tasted great. Next time added a little extra pumpkin and cooked a little less and they were perfect. Soft and delicious. They freeze really well too, taste just as good when thawed!!

  32. I made these using only whole wheat flour and they turned out AMAZING! After you've mixed the ingredients up, you should add approx. 2 drops of water to loosen the batter up. You do need to cook these longer too – I cooked mine at 350 for about 15 minutes each batch and they turned out perfect!

  33. How in the world did I miss you posting this recipe!!! (Especially after I specially requested it 🙂 ) Thank you so much Gina! 🙂 I will DEF be making these for Thanksgiving!

  34. I just made these and only got 11 cookies out of it, not 2 dozen. Perhaps my spoonfuls were too large? I used heaping tablespoons.

  35. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    Altering the flour could have changed the results. I would add more pumpkin spice, adding more pumpkin might mess them up.

  36. I made these last week they were delightful. I had a question however, if I wanted to have a little mroe of a pumpkin flavor could I add more pumpkin puree to the recipe? Also,I do not have whole wheat pastry flour I used regular wheat flour and I noticed that they did come out a little more cakey. I wonder if it was because of that or if because when I mixed the batter it was very wet so I had to add more flour. I want to make these again for tomorrow just wished it had a hint more of a pumpkin flavor.

  37. I had a problem with the better being too runny as well, though the cookies tasted amazing.

    I'm going to try to make them again and see if I have better results.

  38. I made these last night and they turned out great – thanks! However, I did have the same problem as some others with the batter being too runny. I ended up added more flour to thicken it up – still really delicious, but ran more on the cakey side than I had hoped. I used I can't believe it's not butter instead of real butter, could that have been the problem?

  39. Fantastic. I sent them in to my son's school for a staff appreciation day and had a group request the recipe. The instructions never say to add the chocolate chips, rather than eating them, I just added at the end before spooning out. Also, I don't like the slight crispiness on the outside so I will make the next batch with room temperature butter instead of melting it. Love your site.

  40. This site is AWSOME and ALL your recipes look so YUMMY. I am looking forward to trying MANY of them. Thank You 🙂

  41. These are sooooo good, made them today!! My family loved them!!!!! Thanks for all your great recipes!!!

  42. I just baked these along with the pumpkin bread. Not only does my home smell scrumptious, my husband thinks I'm an angel! Gina, these recipes are exactly what I've been desiring. Thanks for the easy and healthy recipes! My waist thanks you!

  43. I can't believe I'm only just discovering this site now. LOVE your recipes. Trying the pumpkin cupcakes today, using the leftover pumpkin for these cookies later in the week. Hello, Fall!!

  44. Silly me forgot to add the butter, but they came out fine! More of a muffin texture than cookie, but still delicious!

  45. Hey Gina these cookies were delicious in flavor, but I ran into a problem with the consistency. I rechecked all of the measurements and I didn't mismeasure. The dough was more like a batter in consistency, like a thick cupcake batter. To confirm, the butter is to be melted, right? I don't understand what would cause the batter to be so much thinner than pictured. Obviously they didn't bake right as they were. I'm not sure which part I fudged :/

    Thanks!

    1. This might depend on the type of canned pumpkin you bought. I've noticed that the Trader Joe's canned pumpkin is much thicker than the Libby's brand I usually pick up at Safeway.

  46. Just made this and the top of the recipe says it is a serving of 12 but the bottom of the page says two dozen. Confused. I made 12.

  47. This is the first recipe I have had the chance to make from your site, and it was such a great one to start with! I LOVE pumpkin (and chocolate of course) and this was so so good. thank you!

  48. Avatar photo
    popcorngirl12

    Wow, these sound delicious! I am on a kick for using pumpkin right now. I love cookies so this is a win-win! Thanks!

  49. Avatar photo
    Christine Trebendis

    I just made these…delicious!! I forgot to add in the chocolate chips, so when they came out of the oven I added some to each cookie…silly me. My daughter is coming home today from college and she will definitely enjoy them. Thanks for sharing.

  50. eek, I think I went for the wrong consistency on the batter… They still smell good though. I'll try again soon.

  51. I'm gonna whip these up tonight! I don't expect I'll disappointed, your recipes haven't disappointed me yet!

  52. I am in LOOOOOVE! Pumpkin cookies with chocolate chips, how yum yum!!!
    Laura @ A Healthy Jalapeño

  53. Thank you for this recipe!! My family loved them and I was proud to make them using your pumpkin puree recipe.

  54. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    Blending chunks of pumpkin is perfectly fine!

    Butternut squash baby food would work too… Not sure if they sell pumpkin.

  55. I cannot wait to make these for a birthday party this weekend! I can't get enough of your recipes, Gina!!!

  56. I'm super excited to try these! For the pumpkin puree though, could i just blend pumpkin chunks? I have canned pumpkin, but not puree…

  57. Avatar photo
    Extreme Coupon Guy

    Hey, you have a great blog here! I'm definitely going to bookmark you!
    This Pumpkin Spiced Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe ROCKS
    I have a Coupons site/blog. It pretty much covers coupon related stuff.

    Come and check it out if you get time

  58. Just made this and they are SOOOOO YUMMY! With the weather changing and starting to feel more like fall, these were the perfect treat today! Thanks for sharing another delicious recipe 🙂

  59. I can't find pumpkin pie spice anywhere at the grocery store! Any advice on what kind of spices to use to make your own? Or any spice-substitutes?

  60. made these tonight… i must say they are yummy BUT they are a little dry. I went to 3 different stores trying to find pastry flour and couldn't find it so i had to settle with whole wheat flour. Maybe thats the problem 🙁

  61. I made these today, only I used pumpkin butter instead of pumpkin puree and adjusted the sugar and spices a little since the butter is already sweetened and spiced. Honestly, the best cookie I have ever had. My new favorite.

  62. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    So glad you all liked them!!

    Victoria, you can make the pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin butter, pumpkin pancakes, etc with the extra.

    Karen, I'm not sure if it would work without the egg whites, give it a try!

  63. What do you do with the pumpkin puree leftovers? How long will they keep (I could make the pumpkin pie dip or filling I suppose). I'm always curious what you do with the leftovers of an ingredient (like the leftover sweetened condensed milk from the trifle recipe).
    These look good.

  64. Gina,

    Can you use applesauce instead of the egg white? (allergic to eggs) And if so how much do you think?

  65. Definitely a recipe for me to attempt a gluten-free version! I'm thinking dried cranberries with that pumpkin though! Or white chocolate? Oh dear…..

    1. I replaced the flour 1:1 with bob’s red mill gluten free 1 to 1 baking flour and they came out great!

  66. Avatar photo
    katshealthcorner

    Those look AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😀 Pumpkin cookies are my FAVORITE!!!! Especially with the chocolate chips. 😀

  67. These looked so good I made them as soon as I saw the recipe today. I didn't have whole wheat pastry flour, so I used white whole wheat flour and it worked fine.

    These are amazing! I think I have a new favorite fall cookie!

  68. bought pumpkin for your cupcakes – now I'm going to use it for the cookies for a party tomorrow 😉 They'll never know the difference! This will be the 4th recipe of yours I use this week!

  69. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    Samantha, serving size is 2 cookies. One cookie would be 2 1/2 points if there were half points.

    Pastry flour is different than all purpose. I haven't tried it with only all purpose but it should be ok.

  70. How big are these cookies Gina? I can't justify 5 PP for 1 cookies unless it's a big cookie!! I have a PC small scoop, maybe I should use 1/2 of that and change the serving size?

  71. how necessary is it to use pastry flour? I'm dying to make these but all I have on hand is regular whole wheat flour

  72. Thsese look so delicious! If I wasn't out of town I think I'd go to the grocery store today to stock up on ingredients. Can't wait to make these after I return home.

  73. your directions say stir in applesauce, but there is not any in the ingredient list or how much to add??????