These chewy pumpkin cookies are bursting with fall flavors! Every bite feels like being wrapped in a cozy blanket. They are baked with lots of pumpkin puree, and the warm spices bring the whole flavors together. The recipe is very easy, and you can make the dough in under 10 minutes and each cookie is just 99.8 calories!
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Why This Recipe Works
We first published our pumpkin cookie recipe back in 2017 but after years of developing recipes like our delicious pumpkin dinner rolls and pumpkin chocolate chips muffins, we thought it was time for the cookies to get an upgrade! Here's why we love these soft pumpkin cookies so much!
Simpler recipe - These are straightforward pumpkin cookies compared to most of the recipes out there. There's no patting the pumpkin puree or making brown butter first. Just simple mixing takes a maximum of 4-5 minutes.
Soft and chewy texture - These cookies are not cakey and thick like most pumpkin cookies are. They're soft and chewy, and the texture is even better days after being baked.
Improved and tested - We've tested this recipe for 4 times, adjusting the ratio of flour, sugar, butter, and even the chilling time. We've improved our recipe so that the cookies have that chewy texture without the recipe being too complicated.
Packed with flavor - These chewy pumpkin cookies are packed with fall flavors like our amazing healthy mini pumpkin pies. They have nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, just to name a few.
99.8 calories per cookie - Yes! These pumpkin sugar cookies are not only delicious but are also leaning toward low-calorie cookies. Which is always a bonus, right?
Ingredients For This Recipe
Pumpkin puree - Not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin puree is purely mashed pumpkin without other extra ingredients added. I use Libby's pumpkin puree because it's amazing and works great! If you want to make homemade pumpkin puree, see how I made and used it in my delicious fudgy pumpkin cheesecake brownies and cream cheese-filled pumpkin bread loaf. Just make sure to drain it using a cheesecloth for 24 hours to discard the extra liquid, and then dap it with kitchen paper to remove excess moisture.
Pumpkin pie spice - This will help bring out the flavor of pumpkin and everything autumn in these pumpkin-spiced cookies. Don't skip it. If you want a stronger pumpkin flavor, add more pumpkin pie spice, not pumpkin puree to avoid affecting the dough's consistency. My homemade pumpkin pie spice is super easy and fast to make.
Granulated and brown sugar - I love the combo of these two sugars to give these chewy pumpkin cookies the perfect spread and chewy texture. Granulated sugar makes the cookies spread more than brown sugar alone. Brown sugar helps give a chewy texture to the cookies.
Step-By-Step Instructions
1. Mix dry ingredients. Add all-purpose flour, pumpkin pie spice powder, cinnamon powder, salt, and baking soda in a bowl and mix well using a spoon. Set aside.
2. Whisk wet ingredients. Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, melted butter, egg, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract into a stand mixer bowl. Mix for 1 minute until everything is well incorporated using a paddle attachment.
3. Chill and assemble. Add the dry ingredients mixture into the bowl, and mix just until everything is well combined. Chill the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes, uncovered. Using a 1.5 tablespoon ice cream scoop, scoop the dough, gently roll it into a ball, and coat it in sugar (optional but highly recommended!). Place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, with 2 inches of space in between.
4. Bake. Bake in a preheated oven at 350ºF (175ºC), on the middle rack, using the top and bottom heat for 8 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven and bang it against the kitchen counter 4,5 times to flatten the cookies. Continue baking for another 3 minutes and give another 4,5 bangs as soon as they're out of the oven. Leave for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy your chewy pumpkin cookies!
⭐ See the recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
Recipe Expert Tips
- Use the spoon and level method to weigh the flour. Spoon flour into the cup measurement without compacting it, and level it with the back of a knife. Don't scoop the flour using the cup measurement because you'll end up with extra flour, making the cookies tough and cakey, instead of chewy. I highly recommend using a kitchen scale because I use it all the time like in my moist healthy chocolate chip pumpkin bread. It's more precise.
- Chill the dough. This will make the cookies chewy! The longer you chill the dough, the chewier the cookies will be, but also they won't spread so much. 30 minutes is the right spot for me for chewy and flat cookies.
- Keep the dough in the fridge while not using it. This will prevent the dough from getting too soft and sticky, resulting in cookies that are too flat.
- Don't overbake. 11 minutes is perfect for me for these chewy pumpkin cookies. The longer you bake, the cookies will turn crispy instead of chewy. Since all ovens are different, I highly recommend using a portable oven thermometer to get an accurate temperature. I use it every time I bake.
How To Store And Freeze
Store - Keep these chewy pumpkin cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to 5 days. The longer they sit, the chewier they get and they taste even better!
Freeze - Freeze baked cookies in an air-tight container for up to 2 months. To freeze raw dough, scoop and roll it into balls. Line them on parchment paper, not touching each other, and fast-freeze them for 2 hours. Once solid frozen, place the balls in an air-tight container for up to 2 months. Let them come to room temperature, roll them in sugar (optional), and follow the baking steps in the recipe.
Recipe FAQs
I don't recommend it because it has too much liquid. But if you really have to, here's what you do. Drain the pumpkin puree in a cheesecloth for 24 hours, to discard the excess liquid. Pat the puree 4-5 times with kitchen paper to remove the moisture. Even that, unfortunately, I can't guarantee that the cookies will come out exactly the same.
No, definitely not. Pumpkin puree is just mashed cooked pumpkin. It's 100% pumpkin with no other ingredients in it. Pumpkin pie filling combines pumpkin puree with other ingredients like sugar and spices.
Yes. Only 30 minutes of chilling gives you a miracle of soft and chewy pumpkin cookies. The longer you chill the dough, the chewier the cookies will be. Although it also means they'll be thicker. I find my sweet spot at 30 minutes for chewy and flat cookies.
More Pumpkin Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Chewy Pumpkin Cookies
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Equipment
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 1¾ cup (228 g) all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice use our recipe for homemade blend
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
Wet ingredients
- ⅓ cup (80 g) pumpkin puree preferably Libby's 100% pure pumpkin, canned
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter softened
- ¾ cup (150 g) packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For rolling
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C), no fan. Place the rack in the middle. Line bakings sheets with parchment paper.
Dry ingredients
- Whisk the flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.1¾ cup all-purpose flour, 1½ tsp pumpkin pie spice, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp baking soda, ¼ tsp baking powder, ½ tsp fine salt
Wet ingredients
- Spread pumpkin puree over a plate. Press paper towels on top several times until the puree is thicker and less glossy. You should have about roughly ¼ cup (60 g), left after blotting.⅓ cup pumpkin puree
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar for 2-3 minutes on medium-high speed, until lighter and fluffy. This adds enough air for the cookies to puff slightly in the oven, then settle into those rippled tops. Don't overbeat until very pale and airy, or the cookies can become too puffy and spread less.¾ cup unsalted butter, ¾ cup packed light brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar
- Beat in the egg yolk, blotted pumpkin, and vanilla and mix until combined, scraping down the bowl as needed.1 large egg yolk, 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Add the dry ingredients and fold them in with a spatula just until no dry flour remains. The dough should be soft and scoopable. Don't overmix.
Shape and coat
- Mix the granulated sugar and pumpkin pie spice for rolling.½ tsp pumpkin pie spice, ¼ cup granulated sugar
- Scoop about 3 tablespoons (48-50 g) of dough per cookie and gently roll in the spiced sugar. Keep the natural scoop shape. Don't flatten the dough or shape it taller.
Bake
- Arrange the cookies well apart on the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 10-12 minutes, until the edges look set but the centers are still soft and slightly underdone.
- As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, place a round glass or cookie cutter around each one and gently swirl it in a circular motion. This rounds the edges, gathers the cookie slightly inward, and helps create a thicker cookie with more defined ripples.
- Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes so the centers can finish setting, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Notes
Originally published on Oct 28, 2017. Updated with improved text, recipe, and pictures on Sep 30, 2023.
Vicki says
I made these cookies with butternut squash substituted for pumpkin. I used less sugar because of the sweetness of the squash. All other pumpkin cookies I've made turned out way too moist for my taste, but these are not too moist...just right! This will be my go to recipe from here on!
Bea & Marco says
Hi Vicki, thank you so much for sharing this! We’re so happy to hear the recipe worked well with butternut squash too, and that the cookies came out chewy and not too moist. That was exactly the texture we were going for, so this made us really happy. Thanks again for taking the time to leave a comment!
Kirsti says
My first pumpkin cookies for this year. They came out delicious.
Thank you for the recipe.
Bea & Marco says
Yeay, that's awesome! Thanks, Kirsti!
Vicki says
I made these cookies with butternut squash substituted for pumpkin. I used less sugar because of the sweetness of the squash. All other pumpkin cookies I've made turned out way too moist for my taste, but these are not too moist...just right! This will be my go to recipe from here on!
Nina says
It was wonderful, thank you
Bea says
Awesome, I'm happy that you liked it, thanks Nina!
Rain Ng says
I remember making them last year and my sisters loved them so much!! I will make them again very soon, thanks!
Bea says
Yay, I'm happy to know they liked them 🙂 Thanks for the feedback!