Looking for the perfect Fall cookie? Stop the search! These Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies are easy to whip up and use just the right amount of pumpkin and spices to bring Fall flavors to your classic chocolatey cookie.
Naturally dairy-free and egg-free, this fun and simple cookie recipe uses pumpkin puree as a binder. No specialty ingredients or hard-to-find add-ins, and only 8 ingredients and 20 minutes total!
Plus, you’ll learn the key to baking with pumpkin. Hint: you have to remove excess moisture to avoid your cookies being too cakey!
I absolutely LOVE baking with pumpkin (see also: my always popular Pumpkin Muffins with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting), but the excess moisture can sometimes make things like cookies a little tricky, so this technique works wonders!
As a proponent of a sustainable lifestyle, I am always looking for ways to cut back on ingredients with a higher environmental impact. Vegan baking is an easy way to cut back on eggs and dairy to make delicious treats that are easier on the planet.
Green tip: Industrial dairy production has a huge impact on the environment, especially because of the amount of land it takes to sustain and its high amount of greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing your dairy consumption is one great way to reduce your ecological footprint.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients
Here’s everything you need:
- Pumpkin puree.
- Coconut oil. Softened butter works too.
- Light brown sugar. Dark works too.
- Baking soda.
- Salt.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice. If you don’t have any on hand and want to make your own or find an alternative, check out Every Pumpkin Pie Spice Substitute.
- All-purpose flour.
- Dark chocolate chips. Not all dark chocolate chips are vegan, so to keep these dairy-free make sure you check the ingredients. I used the Nestle Plant-Based Chocolate Chips in the cookies pictured.
How to Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
How to Reduce Moisture in Pumpkin Puree
Pumpkin puree not only adds flavor and color to your dough, but it also adds moisture. It can also act as a binder in place of eggs.
However, the excess moisture can often make your cookies too cakey. I’m a chewy and fudgy rather than a thick and cakey kinda gal, so reducing that moisture is worth it to me!
All you have to do is use paper towels to blot the pumpkin puree dry. You can do this right in the mixing bowl.
Don’t worry, it won’t stick. Simply press down on the pumpkin puree to remove excess moisture. Repeat 2-3 times with fresh paper towels to remove as much liquid as possible.
How to Make Pumpkin Cookies with Chocolate Chips
Once your pumpkin puree is dehydrated, add the sugar and coconut oil and use a hand mixer to combine. Beat until the mixture is smooth to cream the oil and sugar together with the pumpkin.
Creaming the fat and sugar actually aerates it, making for a lighter, more melt-in-your-mouth cookie dough.
Next, add the flour, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and baking soda. Use your hand mixer one more time to combine until smooth.
Then, use a spatula to scrape any dry ingredients that may be stuck on the sides of the bowl, and ensure all of the ingredients are nicely integrated.
Next, you can add your chocolate chips and fold them into your dough with the spatula.
How to Bake Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies
This vegan cookie dough only spreads a tiny bit when it bakes. Pretty much how you place the dough on the mat is how the cookies will come out shape-wise.
So, I recommend flattening them before putting them in the oven. The dough is a little bit wet and sticky, so using a cookie scoop is super helpful here.
Plop 6 balls of dough onto a large baking sheet and use your palm or a flat spatula to flatten them down. Then, bake them at 350°F for about 8-10 minutes.
Allow them to cool and firm up before enjoying.
How to Properly Store Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies
These cookies will last up to 7 days in an airtight container at room temperature or two weeks in the refrigerator.
You can also freeze the baked cookies to make them last longer! They’ll stay delicious in the freezer for up to 1 year. However, I highly recommend freezing the unbaked dough. More on that below.
How to Freeze Cookie Dough
If you don’t want to bake the whole batch of cookies, simply bake the number of cookies you want, and freeze the rest of the dough. Shape them all and store the raw cookie dough in a freezer-safe bag.
You can freeze the dough for up to 3 months and bake them fresh as you want to enjoy them. Just add two minutes to your baking time when you are making them from frozen.
Keep in mind this cookie dough does not spread much, and when you bake frozen dough, it spreads even less. You may want to press the dough down the dough even further with clean hands or a spatula, so they are flatter when they come out of the oven.
One-Bowl Vegan Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies
SAVE RECIPE TO COLLECTION PIN PRINT RATEEquipment
- Reusable Baking Mat (optional)
- Cookie Scoop (optional)
Ingredients
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree
- ⅓ cup coconut oil (in solid form)
- 1 cup light brown sugar (tightly packed)
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt + more to sprinkle on top if desired
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line with a reusable baking mat or parchment paper.
- Add your pumpkin puree to a large mixing bowl and use a paper towel to blot the puree, removing excess moisture (use these bamboo paper towels for a more sustainable option!).
- Add the coconut oil and sugar to the bowl with the dehydrated pumpkin puree and cream together with a hand mixer on high (about 2-3 minutes).
- Add flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice and blend until combined.
- Fold in chocolate chips and use a large cookie scoop or heaping tablespoon to spread out cookies on a large, lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until they just start to brown on top. Sprinkle with more salt and let cool completely before enjoying.
Pro Tips
- For the chewiest cookies, blot as much moisture out of the pumpkin puree as possible. Failing to do so will still result in a delicious cookie, it will just have a fluffier and cakier texture.
