These pumpkin butter chocolate chunk cookies are simply classic chocolate chip cookies with just the right touch of pumpkin and spice. This cookie recipe was made for pumpkin butter. Pumpkin butter is sweet, concentrated and already spiced, and just perfect for these cookies. Add a good healthy dose of dark chocolate chunks and this might be the most fall cookie ever.
I'm feeling a bit late to the fall flavour party this year and I just had to get this classic cookie in before we move on to cranberry and peppermint.
Pumpkin butter is one of my favourite fall flavours. If you have ever been gifted a jar of this deep golden spread you know exactly what I am talking about. Once I've had my fill of pumpkin butter on buttered toast, I find a home for the rest of the jar in baked goods. Like these pumpkin butter muffins.
Because pumpkin butter is so concentrated, you need just a little bit to give your baked goods a rich pumpkin flavour. Throw in some pumpkin spice and it is fall. Cozy. Warm. Sweet.
Speaking of pumpkins... these pumpkin cookies were inspired by this little pumpkin. Meet the newest family member. He's been keeping me busy. Cozy. A little spicy. Sweet.
How to make pumpkin butter chocolate chunk cookies
Step 1 Make the cookie dough
Like most cookies, I start by mixing the dry ingredients in a medium bowl to combine and then set this aside while I deal with the wet ingredients.
I prefer my standmixer for creaming together the butter and sugar. Mix well. You want the butter and sugar to be light and creamy. Make sure you start with room temperature better. It will take a couple of minutes and butter and sugar will almost look whipped when it is ready. Add the pumpkin butter and mix until creamy.
See this post for tips on how to measure flour for baking cookies, muffins and quick breads. How to measure flour....
On low speed add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until fully incorporated. Add the chocolate chunks. You can mix these in by hand or use the machine at low speed and just turn a few times.
Step 2 Chill the cookie dough
These cookies need to be chilled before baking. Chilling makes sure they don't spread too much when they bake and will give you that nice chewy texture that makes these pumpkin cookies so wonderful.
TIP: Chilling cookie dough before baking will prevent the cookies from spreading into flat puddles in the oven. Chilling allows the butter to come back to solid and bind with the flour, resulting in a denser and chewier cookie. Chill this dough for at least 30 minutes. Overnight is okay too.
Step 3 Bake
When ready to bake. Measured out 2 tablespoon-sized balls of cookie dough. I used a #40 cookie scoop to do this... which is just shy of 2 tablespoons but I usually do heaping scoops. Most cookie scoop sets will come with a #30 or #40 as the medium scoop.
TIP: Baking scoops make easy work of evenly sized cookies. Most cookie scoop sets come with 3 different scoops. The medium-sized is the best for this type of cookie and usually is a #30 or #40-size scoop.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and space cookies at least 2 inches apart. You will get about 9 cookies per sheet. Don't be tempted to overcrowd.
Bake at 400 degrees until the cookies spread and flatten, about 12 minutes. They will begin to brown slightly around the edges and on the bottom.
Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes on the baking tray before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Ingredient notes
Pumpkin butter
You can make your own or buy it. If you don't have pumpkin butter you can use canned pumpkin in its place in an equal amount. The flavour will not be quite as intense.
Dark chocolate
This is a good place for deep dark chocolate. I'm in love with these dark chocolate chunks from Chipits this year. 70% dark chocolate. The slightly larger size means a bigger hit of chocolate in each bite. Use your favourite brand.
Pumpkin Spice
Another buy or make ingredient. I have a recipe here for pumpkin spice. It's a simple mix of things you probably already have on hand in your kitchen. But you can also find pre-made pumpkin spice mixes in the spice section of most stores. Just avoid any with added sugar -- you don't need that here.
Butter
A special word about butter in this recipe. You can use plant-based butter here and these cookies could be made vegan (if you are also careful about your chocolate chip choices). I generally bake with dairy butter, but I have made these with plant-based vegan butter. Just make sure you use a variety that is specifically made for baking. In either case, start with room temperature, soften butter.
This recipe is made for sharing. This recipe easily doubles and results in a sturdy cookie that travels well. Perfect for gift-giving, potlucks or bake sales.
Cookies will keep at room temperature for several days in a covered container. Freeze well for up to three months.
More pumpkin recipes you might like:
๐ Recipe
Pumpkin Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ยฝ cups all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 4 teaspoons pumpkin spice You can make your own spice mix
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup butter Feel free to use a plant-based butter that is specifically made for baking. Typically this is found in the refrigerated section of the store next to all butters.
- ยฝ cup brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- ยฝ cup pumpkin butter
- 1 ยฝ cups dark chocolate chips I used 70% dark chocolate chunks
Instructions
- For the dry ingredients: in a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cornstarch, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and baking powder. Set aside.2 ยฝ cups all-purpose flour, 6 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, 4 teaspoons pumpkin spice, 4 teaspoons baking powder
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the pumpkin butter and continue to beat at low speed until fully incorporated and creamy. This should take a couple of minutes.1 cup butter, ยฝ cup brown sugar, 1 cup white sugar, ยฝ cup pumpkin butter
- Add the dry ingredients and mix at low speed until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and gently mix into the batter. You can do this by hand or just with just a couple of spins of the stand mixer blade. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for a least 30 minutes.1 ยฝ cups dark chocolate chips
- When you are ready to bake. Preheat your oven to 400ยฐF and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove chilled dough from the refrigerator. Using a cookie scoop - I like a #30 or #40 size for this cookie (or the middle size in a set) -- a generous 2 tablespoons - scoop dough and place at least 2 inches apart on the parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-13 minutes. Do not overbake! Remove cookies from the oven when the bottoms start to brown.
- Allow cookies to cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet before moving to a cooling rack.
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