These homemade pumpkin white chocolate cookies are super soft and chewy! Loaded up with pumpkin flavor and a bit of maple syrup, these pumpkin cookies are the perfect Fall cookie! Plus, you don't need a mixer to make these cookies.
I am so happy that it's pumpkin season! The Fall season is my favorite time to bake, and I love anything pumpkin. With all the warm spices, pumpkin custard pies, brown butter oatmeal cookies, cinnamon rolls with apple pie filling and mini apple pies with puff pastry, it really is the best time of year!
These super soft and chewy pumpkin white chocolate chip cookies are similar to a sugar cookie, but packed with pumpkin flavor. I've also added some maple syrup for extra sweetness and because I think it pairs well with the pumpkin!
Each pumpkin cookie dough ball is rolled in pumpkin pie spice sugar, giving you a pumpkin snickerdoodle flavor! This sugar coating is really going to amp up the pumpkin spice flavor.
If you love pumpkin recipes, then you have to try my pumpkin muffins with streusel topping, pumpkin walnut bread, pumpkin pie with graham cracker crust and pumpkin pie smoothie!
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Why you'll love this recipe!
- Easy Recipe: This is a really simple recipe and you don't even need a mixer! You'll just need some bowls, a whisk and a rubber spatula.
- Brown Butter: The cookies are made with browned butter, giving them a nutty and toasted taste.
- White Chocolate: Each cookie is loaded up with white chocolate chips!
- Pumpkin Spice Sugar: The cookies are rolled in pumpkin spice sugar before being baked, giving them a beautiful glittery look.
- The Best Texture: these cookies are soft and chewy, not cakey or dry!
Ingredients Needed
- Pumpkin Puree: make sure you're using 100% pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling.
- Flour: I've only tested this recipe with all purpose flour.
- Maple Syrup: I love adding a bit of maple syrup flavor to these cookies!
- Egg Yolk: Because of the pumpkin, you don't need a whole egg. Otherwise, a whole egg would make the cookies cakey.
- Spices: The cookies have warm spices like ground cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.
- White Chocolate Chips: I love adding white chocolate chips to these cookies but you can use milk chocolate, semisweet chocolate chips or leave them out entirely.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: Start by browning your butter. Place the butter in a small or medium pot on the stove over medium-low heat. Let the butter melt, then it should begin to foam and sputter. Stir with a rubber spatula until you can see small white milk solids at the bottom of the pan. Those milk solids should turn a golden brown and it should smell toasty and nutty. Turn off the heat and pour the brown butter into a bowl. Let cool.
Step 2: In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and pumpkin spice.
Step 3: Once the butter is cool, add the light brown sugar, white sugar and maple syrup.
Step 4: Pat the pumpkin puree with a kitchen towel. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract as well as the pumpkin puree. Whisk until smooth.
Step 5: Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Stir in the white chocolate chips. Place the bowl in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350ºFahrenheit.
Step 6: Scoop out 2 tablespoons of cookie dough using a large cookie scoop or spoon. Whisk the white sugar and pumpkin spice in a small bowl and roll each cookie dough ball in the sugar. Place the cookie dough balls 3-4 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-14 minutes.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before removing to a wire cooling rack.
Expert Tips & Tricks
- Kitchen Scale - I always recommend using a kitchen scale as it's the most accurate way to bake! It's really easy to add too much flour, giving you dry and cakey cookies.
- Bakery Style Cookies - Keep ¼ cup of white chocolate chips to the side. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven gently press the extra chips on top of each warm cookie. Use a biscuit cutter or large glass to gently scoot the cookies into a perfect shape.
- Slightly Underbake - I always recommend slightly underbaking your cookies! That is going to give you a soft and chewy cookie, no dry cookies here!
- Patting the Pumpkin Dry - Don't skip out on patting the pumpkin dry with a paper towel! Pumpkin puree has a lot of moisture, so I recommend patting until dry before adding to the other ingredients.
Recipe FAQs
I recommend giving the cookie dough just 25-30 minutes in the fridge so they don't spread out too much in the oven while baking! It isn't too long to chill so don't skip it.
The edges should be set but the middles will still look slightly underbaked. You want that underbaked middle because the cookies are going to continue baking on the baking sheet!
Since this recipe doesn't use a whole can of pumpkin, use leftover pumpkin to make pumpkin biscotti, a pumpkin pie smoothie, pumpkin muffins with streusel topping, or healthy pumpkin banana bread!
Storage
Keep the baked pumpkin cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.
To freeze, you can freeze the baked white chocolate chip pumpkin cookies in a ziploc bag or freezer safe bag for up to 2 months. Let thaw at room temperature before enjoying.
Try these fall-related recipes next!
If you've made this recipe, make sure to leave a ⭐️ rating and review below! I love seeing when you make my recipes, so tag me on Instagram @alpineella so I can see! You can also follow along on Pinterest, Facebook and TikTok!
Recipe
Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 1 large egg yolk room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- ¼ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup white chocolate chips
Pumpkin Pie Sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Once melted, increase the heat to medium and let the butter begin to foam. Keep cooking and stirring with a spatula, until the butter begins to brown and gives off a nutty smell (2-3 minutes). Pour into a medium bowl and let cool completely.¾ cup unsalted butter
- Once the brown butter has cooled, whisk in the white sugar and light brown sugar as well as the maple syrup.1 cup light brown sugar, ¼ cup white sugar, 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- Pat your pumpkin puree with a kitchen towel to get rid of extra moisture.
- Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract, along with the pumpkin. Whisk until smooth.1 large egg yolk, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, ¼ cup pumpkin puree
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon.1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, 2 cups all purpose flour
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until a dough forms. Stir in ½ cup of white chocolate chips (keep ¼ cup to the side). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.¾ cup white chocolate chips
- While the cookie dough chills, preheat the oven to 350℉/175℃ and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Scoop out the cookie dough using a large cookie scoop or spoon so the cookie dough balls are about 2 tablespoons. Whisk together the white sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Roll each cookie dough ball in the sugar.½ cup white sugar, ½ tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- Place on the prepared baking sheets, keeping the dough balls 3-4 inches apart.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10-14 minutes. The edges should be set but the middles will still look underbaked. Gently press on the extra white chocolate chips for that bakery style look!
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