Pumpkin cookies are always something that have intrigued me. I was determined to create a recipe that honored pumpkin and the fall spirit, while staying true to the chocolate chip cookie texture I love. I find that sometimes pumpkin cookies can be a bit cakey or too moist, but with a few changes and tricks I came to a recipe that I’m very excited to share.
After trying a first batch, I had the idea to add in crushed graham cracker for a similar texture to my graham chocolate chip cookies. Not only did this help to soak up some of the moisture from the pumpkin puree, but it adds that extra touch of "pie" flavor from the graham and adds to the perfect texture of this cookie.
There are a few other tricks in this recipe that help to get just the right texture. Two of the most important are using just a small amount of pumpkin puree and an egg yolk (rather than a full egg). I updated this recipe to use a smaller amount of pumpkin puree to help ensure you don't get a cakey cookie from too much moisture. Using just an egg yolk, instead of a full yolk, will also bring the level of moisture down leading to the best end texture.
For your chocolate, I recommend using a mixture of chopped semisweet chocolate and semisweet chips. Originally I used half semisweet and half white chocolate, but I chose to keep it consistent - that said, if you're a white chocolate fan, I guarantee it works great in this recipe!
I do recommend using a stand or hand mixer for this recipe but if you don’t have one or a hand mixer on hand, you can definitely make the dough without that equipment. Just be sure to move with patience and allow your ingredients to fully combine, especially the pumpkin purée, before moving to the next step. For scooping your cookie dough, I love these scoops from Cook'n Feel (I use the medium scoop usually for cookies) or this large scoop from Oxo.
Ingredients:
1 stick (1/2 cup, 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter at room temperature 113g
1/2 cup granulated sugar 96g
1/4 cup light brown sugar 48g
1 egg yolk from a large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree 33g
1 + 1/3 cup all purpose flour 160g
4 sheets graham cracker (about 2/3 cup) crushed to a powder 60g
3/4 teaspoon pumpkin spice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 oz semisweet chocolate (about 1/2 cup)
Total time: About an hour
Prep time: About 15 minutes
Bake time: 9-11 minutes
Quantity: 12 cookies
Cooking instructions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Place your graham crackers into a plastic bag. Use a heavy flat tool, rolling pin, or large pan to completely crush your graham crackers. You want them to be as close to a powdered state as possible, but don't worry if there is some variance. Set aside for later.
Place your room temperature butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar into your stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Bring your stand mixer slowly from a low to high speed and allow it to combine the butter and sugars for 2 to 3 minutes.
Pause your stand mixer, and scrape down the sides of your butter and sugar mixture as well as your paddle attachment using a spatula to ensure that no pockets of butter and sugar go unmixed. Then, add in your egg yolk, vanilla extract, and pumpkin puree to your butter and sugar. Slowly bring your stand mixer back to a high speed and allow it to combine your mixture for another minute. Pause to scrape down the sides of your bowl and paddle attachment, then run your mixer again for another minute or two until your mixture is even in color and a bit fluffy.
Add in your dry ingredients, flour, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and crushed graham cracker. Start your mixer at a slow speed. Bring it up to a medium speed, mixing until just incorporated. You can pause, scrape down, and mix again, being sure to reach down to the bottom of your bowl where there might be some unmixed dry ingredients.
Finally, chop your chocolate if needed and add all of your chocolate into your dough. You can reserve some if you’d like to top your cookies later. Turn your mixer on at a low to medium speed to disperse your chopped chocolate and continue to mix for about 30 seconds until your dough has fully formed.
Onto two lined cookie sheets, I used parchment paper, portion out your dough using a large scoop (should be about 2.5 - 3 tablespoons). It should make about 12 scoops. If you reserved some chocolate, you can gently press it into your dough now. Be sure to flatten your scoops down with the palm of your hand as they won't spread much naturally.
Bake for 9-11 minutes at 350 degrees, allow your cookies to cool for about 5-10 minutes and enjoy!
I always think fresh baked is the best option, but these cookies will stay fresh in both taste and texture for a few days if stored in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also store them in an airtight container in the fridge to give them a couple of extra days. I recommend reheating slightly in the microwave, but unlike other cookies these really will still taste delicious even after the first day they're baked. If you choose to save some of your dough to bake later, place the scooped dough on a cookie sheet and into the freezer for 12-24 hours. Once the dough is fully frozen you can transfer your scooped dough into a plastic bag or airtight container and bake any time. To bake from frozen, set your oven to 325 and bake for 12-14 minutes.
Carb and serving info:
Servings: 12 cookies
Carbs per serving: 36
Carbs for full recipe: 434
Carbs from chocolate: 110
Note: Carb information is calculated based on the specific ingredients I used to cook with to help guide my own insulin to carb ratio when dosing before I eat my home cooked recipes.
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