These pumpkin white chocolate chip cookies are soft, tender cookies made with ¾ cup pumpkin purée, brown sugar, four warm spices and 1½ cups of white chocolate chips. One batch makes about 24 cookies and takes about 27 minutes: 15 minutes to mix, 10 to 12 minutes at 350°F.
Pull them while the centres still look a little soft. That one habit decides whether they come out tender or dry.
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- Yield: about 24 cookies, from roughly 2 tablespoons of dough each
- Oven: 350°F (175°C), two parchment lined baking sheets
- Bake: 10 to 12 minutes, then 5 minutes resting on the tray
- Pumpkin: ¾ cup plain purée, not pumpkin pie filling
- Spices: 1½ tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp nutmeg, ¼ tsp cloves, ¼ tsp ginger
- Keeps: 4 days at room temperature, 2 months frozen
Why Pumpkin Makes These Cookies Soft and a Little Cakey
Pumpkin purée is mostly water. In the oven that water turns to steam, so the dough puffs instead of spreading, and the crumb comes out soft and slightly cake-like. That is what this dough is meant to do. With ½ cup butter and one egg against ¾ cup purée, you get a pillowy cookie, not a crisp one.
Want them a bit denser and chewier? Spread the purée on a double layer of paper towels for a few minutes before you measure it, and spoon the flour into the cup and level it off. Scooping straight from the bag packs in extra flour, and the cookies turn into dry little cakes.
The spices are whisked into the flour with the baking powder, baking soda and salt, so every cookie tastes the same. Together they add up to 2½ teaspoons. Brown sugar keeps the cookies moist and adds a light caramel note, and the white chocolate brings the creamy sweetness that pumpkin lacks on its own. I have baked them with dark chocolate too, but white chocolate lets the cinnamon and ginger come through.
Canned Pumpkin, Fresh Purée or Pie Filling?
Canned pumpkin purée is my pick for cookies. It has the same thickness every time, so the dough behaves the same every time. Homemade purée works if you drain it until it is as thick as canned; my guide to making pumpkin purée shows how. Wet, freshly blended purée makes flat, gummy cookies.
Canned pumpkin pie filling is not a swap. It already has sugar and spices in it, and the cookies come out too sweet and too soft to hold their shape. Check the label for 100% pumpkin.
Mixing the Pumpkin White Chip Dough
Beat the soft butter with both sugars for 2 to 3 minutes, until it looks lighter in color and fluffy. Then mix in the purée, the egg and 2 teaspoons of vanilla. It will look loose and a little curdled. That is normal with this much pumpkin and it smooths out once the flour goes in.
Add the flour mixture slowly and stop as soon as you no longer see dry streaks. Extra mixing builds gluten and gives you tough, bready cookies. The dough should be thick but scoopable, softer than a regular chocolate chip dough.
Fold in the 1½ cups of white chocolate chips with a spatula. Keep a small handful back to press on top of each mound before baking; that is what gives the photo look. If you like white chocolate with fruit, my white chocolate cranberry cookies use the same idea with a chewier dough.
When to Pull Pumpkin Cookies From the Oven
Scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie and leave 2 inches between them. Bake at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes. Pumpkin dough hardly browns, so do not wait for golden edges. Look for edges that are set, tops that have gone from shiny to matte, and centres that still look a touch underdone.
Leave them on the hot tray for 5 minutes. They finish setting there and firm up enough to lift onto a rack without folding. Cool them completely before you stack or store them.
Cakey, Flat or Gummy: Fixing Pumpkin Cookie Problems
- Too cakey and puffy: too much flour or very wet purée. Spoon and level the flour, blot the pumpkin, and press each mound down slightly before baking.
- Flat and spread out: the butter was melted or very warm, or the purée was watery. Chill the scooped dough for 30 minutes and bake again.
- Gummy in the middle: pulled too early or the purée was wet. Give the next tray 1 more minute and check for matte tops.
- Dry the next day: overbaked. Take them out at 10 minutes next time.
- Bland: old spices lose their smell. If your cinnamon smells faint in the jar, it will taste faint in the cookie.
Keeping White Chocolate Pumpkin Cookies Soft for Days
Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. The moist tops turn a little tacky after the first day, so lay them in one layer or put parchment between the layers. For longer storage, freeze the baked cookies for up to 2 months and let them thaw on the counter for about 30 minutes.
For a cookie tray, they sit well next to crisper bakes like pumpkin sugar cookies or the jam centres of pumpkin spice thumbprint cookies.
Short Answers on Pumpkin Chip Cookies
Can I use pumpkin pie spice instead of the four spices?
Yes. Use 2½ teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice in place of the cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger.
Do I need to chill this dough?
No, it bakes straight away. Chill it for 30 minutes only if your kitchen is warm and the first cookies spread flat.
Can I use white chocolate chunks or a chopped bar?
Yes, use the same 1½ cups. A chopped bar melts into softer pools because it has fewer stabilisers than chips.
Why are my pumpkin cookies so soft?
Soft is how this recipe is meant to be: ¾ cup purée adds a lot of moisture. Blot the purée and measure flour carefully for a slightly firmer cookie.
More Pumpkin Cookies and Bars to Bake Next
- Pumpkin pie cookies, for the taste of pie in a hand held cookie
- Pumpkin cheesecake cookies, with a creamy centre
- Pumpkin oatmeal cookies, heartier and chewier with oats
- Pumpkin blondies, if you would rather bake one pan than four trays
Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Cookies
These pumpkin white chocolate chip cookies are soft, tender fall cookies made with pumpkin purée, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and plenty of white chocolate chips. One batch makes about 24 cookies in around 27 minutes, baked at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes. The purée makes the crumb pillowy and slightly cakey, so pull the tray when the tops turn matte and the centres still look a little soft. Bake them for a Thanksgiving cookie tray, a fall bake sale, lunch boxes or a holiday cookie swap, or serve them with coffee or hot cocoa. Swap the spices for 2½ tsp pumpkin pie spice if you like. Keep them 4 days at room temperature or freeze for 2 months.
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups white chocolate chips (plus extra for topping)
Instructions
PREHEAT THE OVEN: Set the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
MIX DRY INGREDIENTS: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger until evenly combined.
CREAM BUTTER AND SUGARS: In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar with a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
ADD WET INGREDIENTS: Mix in the pumpkin purée, egg, and vanilla extract until fully incorporated. The batter may appear soft, which is expected.
COMBINE MIXTURES: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing just until combined. Avoid overmixing to keep the cookies tender.
FOLD IN CHIPS: Gently stir in 1 ½ cups of white chocolate chips until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
SCOOP AND SHAPE: Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, portion rounded balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets. Press a few extra white chocolate chips onto the tops for a bakery-style look.
BAKE: Place the baking sheets in the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges are set but the centers still look slightly soft.
COOL: Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Use plain pumpkin purée, not pumpkin pie filling, which already contains sugar and spices. For a slightly denser, chewier cookie, blot the purée on paper towels for a few minutes and spoon and level the flour instead of scooping it. Pumpkin dough barely browns: take the cookies out when the edges are set and the tops look matte, even if the centres look soft, and let them rest 5 minutes on the tray. If the first tray spreads flat, chill the scooped dough for 30 minutes. 2½ tsp pumpkin pie spice can replace the four spices. Store cooled cookies in one layer or with parchment between layers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.
Nutrition Information
Yield
24Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 190Total Fat 8gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 20mgSodium 111mgCarbohydrates 29gFiber 1gSugar 18gProtein 2g
