Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies! - These soft and chewy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are perfectly spiced and loaded with chocolate chips. It's the best Fall cookie yet! Easy to make with only a 15-minute chill time.
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The Best Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
October rolls around and everyone, including myself, goes pumpkin crazy. Seasonal changes bring festive flavors, and these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are the classic quintessential Fall cookie.
What makes these cookies so great?
Most pumpkin cookies are soft and cakey, almost bread-like, but these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are soft and chewy with crispy edges. In this post, I share my mastered techniques for ultra chewy pumpkin cookies. Trust me when I say, if you love all things pumpkin spice, then you are going to swoon over this delicious, easy, pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Other pumpkin favorites include my famous Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin Bundt Cake, Pumpkin Biscuits, and of course Pumpkin Pie.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you will need to make these chewy gluten-free pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.
- Gluten-Free Flour: Bob Mills 1 to 1 Gluten-Free Flour blend works great in this recipe. Make sure to weigh the flour on a food scale for better accuracy.
- Pumpkin: Be sure to use 100% pumpkin purée, not pumpkin pie filling!
- Dark Brown Sugar and White Sugar: A combination of dark brown sugar and white sugar creates a soft
- Egg Yolk: The egg yolk help enriches the dough and gives these cookies a chewy soft texture. Adding a whole egg will alter the texture.
- Melted Butter: Melted unsalted butter makes these cookies ultra chewy. For a dairy-free option, you can use dairy-free butter or coconut oil.
- Vanilla Extract: Use a high-quality vanilla extract for the best flavor.
- Baking Soda and Baking Powder: A combination of both baking soda and baking powder helps lift the cookies while keeping them soft and chewy.
- Salt: Salt helps balance the sweetness in the cookies.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: A combination of warming spices that gives these cookies a festive flavor.
- Cinnamon: I like to add a bit more cinnamon to tone down the cloves in the pumpkin pie spice blend. A quarter teaspoon goes a long way.
- Chocolate Chips: Use any high-quality chocolate of your choice. My favorite chocolate chip brands are Ghiradelli, Guittard, and Enjoy Life. You can use dark chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, or even white chocolate chips.
Blotting The Pumpkin
Pumpkin contains about 90% water, which helps keeps baking items moist, such as muffins, cakes, or pumpkin bread. In order to create a soft and chewy non-cakey cookie, you want to remove as much moisture from the pumpkin as possible while keeping the flavor.
To achieve this, start by folding two paper towels in half and placing them in a small bowl. Using a food scale, measure out 90 grams of pumpkin purée. Spoon the pumpkin on top of the folded paper towels, and let the pumpkin rest for 3 minutes while the paper towels absorb the excess water.
Fold another paper towel in half and carefully flip the pumpkin inside the bowl onto the fresh paper towel.
Continue to blot the pumpkin using all corners and sides of the paper towel until relatively dry. Repeat a third time if needed.
The final weight of the pumpkin should be between 55-58 grams, which will be used for the recipe.
How to Make Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, brown sugar, and blotted pumpkin purée. Mix to combine.
Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.
Add the dry ingredients. Stir until combined, with no streaks of flour remaining.
Fold in the chocolate chips. Cover the pumpkin cookie dough and refrigerate for 15 minutes. While the cookies are chilling, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
After 15 minutes, use a spoon to scoop out 1.5 tablespoons or (30 grams) of dough. Roll the dough in between clean palms. Place the balls of dough 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheet and bake for 9 to 10 minutes or until the edges are set.
Remove the cookies from the oven.
Allow the cookies to rest on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Variations
One of our favorite variations of this recipe is to make white chocolate pumpkin pecan cookies. Replace the dark chocolate chips with ¾ cup white chocolate chips and add ⅓ cup of finely chopped toasted pecans.
Storage
Store leftover cookies in a tightly sealed container at room temperature for up two days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Alternatively, you can freeze the cookies by wrapping them individually in a large storage bag and storing them in the freezer for up to two months. Remove the bag from the freezer the night before serving.
FAQ
Yes, these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies can be made vegan. Use vegan butter or coconut oil, vegan-friendly chocolate chips, and skip the egg yolk.
If you are not a fan of pumpkin pie spice, you can substitute 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg.
If you can not find pumpkin pie spice you can use 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¾ teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon cloves for a traditional pumpkin spice blend.
**Optional** Add ¼ teaspoon cardamom.
Yes, you can make the dough up to 2 days ahead of time. Just make sure to let the bowl sit at room temperature for 30 minutes prior to baking.
Recipe
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup butter, melted (dairy free or regular)
- ⅓ cup pumpkin purée, thoroughly dried (measure 90 grams and blot to get 50 grams) see note*
- 1 large egg yolk
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- 1⅓ cup (180 grams) gluten-free flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, brown sugar, and blotted pumpkin purée. Mix to combine.
- Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients. Stir until combined, with no streaks of flour remaining.
- Fold in the chocolate chips. Cover the bowl with foil and place in the refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes.
- While the cookie dough chills, line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350°F.
- After 15 minutes, use a spoon to scoop out the dough, about 1.5 tablespoons or (30 grams). Roll the dough in between clean palms. Place the balls of dough 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheet and bake for 9 to 10 minutes or until the edges are set.
- Remove the cookies from the oven. Allow the cookies to rest on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Sarah says
I made these delicious pumpkin chocolate chip cookies last weekend. My kids loved them! Thanks for the recipe.
Rebecca Taig says
Hi Sarah!
Thank you so much for leaving a review. It's great to hear that you and your kids enjoyed this recipe. 🙂
Becca
Sarah says
I am thinking of making these as I am a huge pumpkin spice fan. I have a question about the egg- why only the yolk? How would my results vary if I used a whole egg. Sorry if I scrolled past the answer already 🙂
Rebecca Taig says
Hi Sarah!
In order to get a chewy pumpkin chocolate chip cookie, you'll want to use just the egg yolk, as it gives the cookies an extra rich flavor and tender chewy texture. Using the whole egg will provide structure, but will dry out the cookie.
Save the white for an egg white omelet or check out my Italian almond cookie recipe that uses only egg whites.