Description
These Brown Butter Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies are rich, chewy, and loaded with fall flavors. Browned butter adds a nutty depth, while cooked pumpkin puree keeps the cookies soft without making them cakey. Warm spices and melty chocolate chips make these cookies irresistible.
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, sliced into 1‑tablespoon sized pieces
⅔ cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 cup dark brown sugar or light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 large egg yolk, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all‑purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
1½ cups chopped semisweet chocolate or chocolate chips, divided use
Flaky sea salt for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
- Brown the butter – Melt the butter in a light‑colored skillet over medium heat. Stir constantly until it foams, the milk solids separate and settle on the bottom, and the solids turn browned and the butter smells nutty. Then immediately transfer the butter (including the browned bits) into a glass bowl and place in the refrigerator or freezer until it is no longer warm to the touch but still liquid.
- Cook the pumpkin – In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook the pumpkin puree for 10–15 minutes, stirring regularly, until excess moisture has evaporated and the puree is thick and paste‑like. Transfer it to a bowl and refrigerate to cool to room temperature.
- Preheat & prep – Preheat your oven to 350 °F. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.
- Mix wet ingredients – In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooled browned butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Beat with an electric handheld mixer for about 3‐4 minutes until light and creamy. Then add the cooled pumpkin puree, the egg, the egg yolk, and vanilla extract; beat until combined.
- Mix dry ingredients – In a separate bowl (or you can add directly) add the flour, ground cinnamon, baking soda, salt, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and cardamom. Add this dry mixture to the wet ingredients and beat just until no streaks of dry flour remain.
- Fold in chocolate – Fold in about 1 cup of the chopped chocolate with a silicone spatula. Save the remaining chocolate to press into the tops of each cookie dough ball later.
- Portion dough – Use a 1.5‑tablespoon cookie scoop to portion out cookie dough balls onto the lined sheets about 2 inches apart. Press some of the reserved chocolate pieces into the tops of each cookie ball.
- Bake – Bake the cookies in batches for 10–12 minutes (at 350 °F) until the edges are golden brown and the tops no longer look raw, but the centers still appear slightly under‑baked.
- Finish & cool – Immediately upon removing from the oven, sprinkle flaky sea salt (if using) on top of the warm cookies. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Measure flour properly to avoid dry cookies.
Chill dough if cookies spread too much.
Cook pumpkin puree to prevent excess moisture.
Sprinkle flaky salt for a flavor boost.
Freeze dough balls for make-ahead baking.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 11 minutes per batch
- Category: Dessert
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 147 kcal
- Sugar: 12.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 19.2 g
- Protein: 1.3 g