These pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are everything I want on a fall day. They're soft, puffy, deliciously spiced, and full of gooey chocolate goodness.
I was originally planning to post these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies in October, but we finished them early, they turned out great, and I just couldn’t wait. Fall or not, these cookies are SO good! Oats, pumpkin, cinnamon, spices, and chocolate baked into big soft pillowy cookies – what’s not to love? These pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are vegan & gluten free, and they will be so perfect for lunch boxes because they’re nut-free(!) as well.
I know so many of you have asked how to make these carrot cookies without nuts. That recipe really needs the almond butter to bind them but THIS recipe holds together beautifully because pumpkin puree is a terrific binder. It’s also easier than grating carrots, which means that you’ll make these so much more often, but I’m warning you – they’ll disappear even faster.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients
Soft, puffy, and totally delicious, these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are secretly healthy! Here’s what makes them SO good (and good for you, too!):
- Flaxseed subs in for the egg in these vegan pumpkin cookies. It also adds a boost of fiber and omega 3-s.
- Oat flour makes them wonderfully puffy and soft.
- Whole rolled oats give them a delicious oatmeal cookie texture and flavor.
- Cinnamon and nutmeg add the perfect notes of pumpkin spice.
- Pumpkin puree is the real star here. Aside from adding essential pumpkin flavor, it acts as a binder and packs in plenty of Vitamin A.
- Cane sugar sweetens them up.
- Coconut oil adds richness.
- Vanilla extract deepens their flavor.
- And chocolate chips make them irresistibly gooey and chocolatey.
Yum!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sure, these cookies are light and fluffy and full of pumpkin flavor, but one of the best parts about them is that they’re easy to make! Here’s what you need to do:
- Make a flax egg by stirring together flaxseed and water, and set it aside to thicken.
- Then, combine the dry ingredients.
- And whisk together the wet ingredients, flax egg included!
- Stir together the wet & dry mixtures, and fold in the chocolate chips.
- Drop dollops of the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake until they’re lightly brown and your kitchen smells like pumpkin spice. 🙂
- Finally, let the cookies cool on the baking sheet (the hard part!), and then enjoy them with a coffee, tea, or cold glass of milk.
These pumpkin cookies are on the cake-y side and resemble a yummy muffin top. Like these Blueberry Breakfast Cookies, you could eat one for breakfast, or enjoy one as a semi-guilt-free midday snack or dessert. They also freeze extremely well. If you do freeze them, thaw them at room temp for an hour (or so), or pop them in the microwave for 8-10 seconds. I love thawing one to enjoy with an afternoon cup of tea.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Variations
Want to change it up? Here are some ideas:
- If you’re not a fan of chocolate, skip the chocolate chips and replace them with walnuts, pecans, or dried cherries.
- Want chocolate + nuts or chocolate + cherries? Then go half and half on the chocolate chips and another mix-in.
- Play with the spices. I love cinnamon and nutmeg here, but cardamom, allspice, and/or ginger would also be good. Or, feel free to use pumpkin pie spice if you keep it on hand!
- Use another kind of squash! This recipe calls for canned pumpkin puree, but baked and mashed kabocha, butternut, or buttercup squash would be great here too. See this post for step-by-step instructions on how to make your own pumpkin puree. (And fun fact: canned pumpkin usually contains a mix of squash varieties anyway!)
More Favorite Cookie Recipes
If you love these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, try one of these yummy cookie recipes next:
- Carrot Cake Cookies
- Chewy Molasses Cookies
- Vegan Sugar Cookies
- Thumbprint Cookies
- Almond Butter Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- No Bake Cookies
- Or any of these 17 Easy Cookie Recipes!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed meal
- 2½ tablespoons warm water
- 2 cups oat flour
- 1 cup gluten free whole rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¾ cup canned pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup cane sugar
- ½ cup melted warm coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips* (see note)
- Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, combine the flaxseed and water. Stir and set aside to thicken.
- Make the oat flour: use a food processor or a blender to process 2¼ cups rolled oats into a fine flour and measure out 2 cups.
- In a large bowl, combine the oat flour, whole rolled oats, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, sugar, coconut oil and vanilla. Add the thickened flaxseed mixture and stir to incorporate.
- Add the pumpkin mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients and stir to combine. Fold in the chocolate chips. Use a large cookie scoop to drop dollops of the cookie dough onto the baking sheet.
- Bake for 16 to 19 minutes or until the tops have browned (don't under-bake). Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before cooling completely on a wire rack. When cookies are completely cool, they can be stored in an airtight container or frozen.
I use Bob's Red Mill's Certified Gluten Free Rolled Oats.
I saw these in my inbox and was eager to try them and transition into the autumn season. Yum- thanks for the recipe!
Yum!!
Rxx
http://www.peppermintdolly.com
These sound so delicious!
It’s never too soon for pumpkin recipes in my book, bring on them all! These cookies look glorious! Pumpkin + chocolate is one of my fav combos!
I can’t wait to make these tonight! Okay, probably a silly question, but I never use flaxseed and want to be sure: Ground into a meal first and not whole, right?
Yes, ground (I just fixed that, thanks for pointing it out!). I usually buy it ground (called flaxseed meal) but you can also grind them yourself – a coffee grinder works best.
Perfect! Thanks so much!
Great! Every nice recipe comes with pumpkin, love this!
Yum Yum Yum! This has me so excited for autumn!
Hello😍
Yum!
I see you aimed for a nut free cookie. I’m wondering the best way to make it oat free? Was thinking almond flour and coconut flakes maybe?
These are mostly all oat, so I’m not sure there’s a 1/1 swap (you might want to search for another recipe), but if you find a combo that works, can you report back? 🙂
would regular white or brown sugar work instead of cane/coconut?
I’m sure it would be fine – white would probably yield the same result, brown sugar might make them a bit chewier (but would probably be delicious). Let me know how they turn out!
OMG!! What a recipe to wake up to sitting in my inbox! Can’t wait to make these! 😊
I’m making these today…
Amy | http://www.yankified.com
I made these today. They came out great! Confession: I used the entire bag of chocolate chips instead of the 2 cups called for. :-O
Hi Elaine, ha, I’m so glad you liked them 🙂
These sound so yummy!!!! I can’t wait to make them. Thanks for the great recipe x http://www.reneesexton.co.nz
These look amazing and it is absolutely not too early to post pumpkin recipes! I made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies last year but I love the idea of adding oats! It would completely change the texture and would work so well with the pumpkin! Can’t wait to try them!
Oh my gosh these look and sound delicious, perfect for the start of autumn!
– Natalie
http://www.workovereasy.com
Yummmm these sound so good! I love the ease of baking with canned pumpkin, and it adds such a nice quality to baked goods. Love!
Looks delicious! Can you replace the flaxseed mixture with an egg?
Hi Mindy, I haven’t tried it but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work!
the egg makes these a bit more cakey – I prefer them with the flax mixture, but they were good either way.
Normally I wouldn’t say “too soon” but, gosh! Today I woke up and it’s suddenly 94 degrees! What happened?! 😀
I never really tire of pumpkin baked goods, though. I’m pinning these.
i’m excited for this one! (but i actually went out and bought almond butter, oat flour and flaxseed for the other cookies which I will make also but not send to school!)
Hi Sarah – I hope you like them both! 🙂
just made these – really good and slightly healthier alternative than standard pumpkin cookies! i tossed in a handful of pepitas too. will now be keeping oat flour and flaxseed on hand 🙂
also my hubby has been snacking on the other cookies with the almond butter and carrots in them, from the freezer – also healthier than what he usually grabs from the cupboard!)
So the pumpkin cookies are good but very cakey. which means they were super crumbly when I gave them to my kids (I picked up a lot from the floor). Any way to make them crispier and less likely to fall apart as soon as little hands get to them?
Hi Sarah, I’ve found that if you bake them a little longer they stay together better (although they don’t get too crisp). Also, maybe try without the pepitas, they could be causing some of the crumble. When I make them, they’re not too crumbly. Hope that helps!
Totally not too soon. Do you have a method for making the puree from pumpkin flesh? It is not really an ingredient that is easy to track down here in the UK!
we have canned puree here in the States- hope you do too!!
Hi Rachel,
I am making pumpkin puree now! Can you get pie pumpkins or sugar pumpkins? They make the best puree.
Clean them, cut them in half from stem to bottom (use a a cleaver or really big sharp knife), clean out the string and seeds (you can roast the seeds if you like them!). Sprinkle them with a little salt and place them flesh side down a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for about 30-45 minutes, until a paring knife goes into the flesh smoothly. Let them cool for about a hour then scoop out the flesh into a food processor. Process about 4-5 minutes, until you get a smooth consistency. You can refrigerate it for a couple days or freeze it for several months. I freeze what I make then use it for baking.
Awesome, thank you! x
does any kind of pumpkin work? or are there certain ones you like best?
I usually like what are labeled pie pumpkins or sugar pumpkins. I find these make the best puree. I haven’t tried other pumpkins–you made need to sweeten them a bit.
Hi Christy, for this recipe I used organic canned pumpkin. Next time I’ll try them with mashed sugar pie pumpkin…
If you can’t have flax seeds, could I substitute almond meal?
no, the flaxseed + water makes a gelatinous mixture that helps things bind instead of using an egg. But if you do a lot of vegan baking, it’s great to have on hand. If you store it in the fridge it lasts a long time.
If you eat eggs, you can skip the flax + water and use 1 egg in this recipe instead. Hope that helps!
Chia seeds might do the trick. They make a super-goopy substance :]
How do you get them flat? They just stayed at the scoop.
But Very Very Yummy!
They’re not flat cookies, sorry if the photos didn’t accurately show that. I’m adding some more that are shot from a different angle..
Thanks Jeanice,
I love your blog and your book! I make your items all the time 🙂
thank you 🙂