This recipe for Pumpkin Cookies with Oil is on the wholesome side given the pumpkin, good fat, and (optional) white wheat flour. The texture is very cakey to the point where the cookies are almost little round cakes, and the flavor is just right for fall. The chocolate chips make them extra good, so don’t leave them out. Even though I named this pumpkin cookie recipe Pumpkin Cookies with Oil, they are really Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.
White Whole Wheat Flour
I first posted this back when white whole wheat flour was more popular. I only buy white whole wheat occasionally now, which means I usually just make these with all-purpose flour. I recently made a batch of these "the old way" with the white whole wheat flour and thought the cookies were better. Maybe the white whole wheat flour, which tends to be on the dry side, soaks up some of the moisture from the pumpkin.
Amount of Oil
These cookies call for a little less oil than some of the other popular recipes so the texture is different. They are still moist, but with less oil the texture is denser and stiffer. Some people like the lower fat texture, some people don't. If you are on the fence about it, you might want to try one of the recipes that has at least ½ cup oil to 2 cups of flour. These Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Cookies are good. They have buttermilk powder in the dough which softens the texture plus an easy icing.
More Pumpkin Cookies With Oil and/or Butter
Here are a few other good ones. I've honestly lost track of all the great pumpkin cookie recipes out there and am due to try some more.
- Pumpkin Bread Breakfast Cookies -- These are on the healthy side (still good!) and have pumpkin seeds and cranberries.
- Sue's Pumpkin Cookies -- An old one from Sue which includes a frosting.
- Here's one that's supposed to be like the Kroger Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies. Its also frustrating me to no end because I can't make them as good as Kroger's!
- Roasted Pumpkin Cookies -- You dry out the pumpkin a bit by baking it.
Recipe
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies with Oil
Ingredients
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons double-acting baking powder
- 2 cups all purpose flour or white whole wheat flour 9 oz/250 grams
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Beat pumpkin, egg, sugar, oil, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and baking powder together in a mixing bowl. Make sure all the leavenings are dissolved (no lumps). Add the flour and stir just until it is mixed in, then stir in the chocolate chips.
- Using a very generously rounded tablespoon measure, drop onto parchment lined cookie sheets spacing about 2 inches apart (cookies shouldn’t spread much). Bake at 375º for 13 to 15 minutes.
- Remove from tray and let cool.
Anna
Thanks Kim! I really appreciate that. I'm not posting as many recipes these days, but this one is an old favorite for sure.
Kim F
Made these again. I can always count on your recipes being awesome.
Anna
I am so glad you like them! Thanks for the tip on using homemade pumpkin puree.
Patricia Mapley
I am just now making these wonderful cookies for the second time. The first time I made them with semi sweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips and raisins. WOW, they were great. Today I am using only the milk chocolate chips and a bit more cinnamon and some cloves. Both times I used home grown pumpkin puree.
Kim F
Made these this weekend. I loved how mild the pumpkin flavor was and I also loved that the cookies were not too sweet.
Anna
Hmmm, I know what you mean about things being too pumpkin-y or vegetable-like, but I never noticed that with these cookies. I'm sure the cinnamon helps mellow the pumpkin, but I don't think that if I left it out I'd not like the cookies. Could it be the brand of pumpkin you are using? I use Libby's brand. Or maybe you just might need a different recipe.
This one has more flour and more sugar (to mellow out the pumpkin)
https://www.cookiemadness.net/2009/10/pumpkin-nut-and-chip-cookies/
And this one has more flour AND sour cream. Is your grocery store Kroger?
https://www.cookiemadness.net/2007/12/kroger-pumpkin-chocolate-chip-cookie-clone/
You probably just need a recipe that has a little less pumpkin flavor.
Emily
Love your blog! I've been making things from Cookie Madness for years, but I think this is my first comment. The bakery in my grocery store sells a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie and I am looking for a clone recipe. These look exactly the same, and have the same texture, but mine tasted too pumpkiny (I love pumpkin, so I didn't think that was even possible). My husband and I agreed they tasted like vegetables. I have to admit, I did omit the cinnamon because the ones from my grocery don't taste cinnamony at all. But now I'm thinking maybe the cinnamon is to mellow the pumpkin flavor? What do you think?
Justin
I keep making these cookies by tha batch! They are my all time favourite! It's nice to have a recipie that doesn't use butter 🙂
Lori Beckman
Try the cinnamon chips in stead of the chocolate ones or mix the 2 .
Devin
LOVE IT! This is just the recipe I was looking for! Thanks a bunch. YUM!
Anna
Hi Misha,
Your best bet would be to make the dough, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, put it in a freezer bag, and then bake the cookies right before the wedding. If you want to bake the cookies, you can do that too. Bake the cookies and wrap them in little groups of 3 or 4 wrapped tightly with something like Press and Seal. But my advice is to just freeze the dough and bake the night before. They'll taste much fresher that way.
Misha
Hi! I LOVE these cookies and make them all the time. A friend of mine has requested that I make them for her Autumn-themed wedding and I was wondering if these freeze well and how I should go about it.
Thank you!
Kim Bouchard
I make these all the time, but I add oatmeal. Simply one of the best cookies I make!
Harcourt Breton
i totally agree... i think these cookies are delicious and healthy... anything with vanilla bean is always good... if you find it hard to find vanilla bean check out my vanilla shop (click my name for link)... you could find premium natural vanilla beans and vanilla powder directly from Madagascar at a bargain value... have fun ^^
Emily
Anna,
My Aunt asked me to make her some "heatlhful" cookies for the holidays (an oxymoron in my book). I tried these cookies and they are simply divine! I doubt that my Aunt will believe that they are healthful! Whether or not these cookies go on to cure cancer is irrelevant; I know they'll bring holiday cheer. What could be more healthful than that?
Really really excellent. Thank you for this recipe!
jenna @ foodwithkidappeal
these are great! i made them for playgroup and they went over well with my family and the boy's friends. i substituted 1/4 cup flour for flax seed for extra omega 3s. you can check kid appeal blog for more details on the nutrients in this cookie. thx for sharing the recipe! jenna
Hallie
I agree. Cakey can be good sometimes, my boyfriend loved these and I hope my office likes them too. I'm bringing them in for Halloween. They aren't like normal cookies and I really liked that about this recipe because pumpkin is not always a common flavor in cookies, and is more common in cakes and muffins etc. these cookies pulled from that with their consistency. Everyone who I've given them to so far loved them.
Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
Anna
Amy, Mark, Stefanie and Lindsey -- thanks for the feedback! I was a little hesitant about this recipe because the cookies were cakey, but I guess we all agree that cakey can be good sometimes.
Lindsey
Anna, I made a double batch of these to take to my Brownie unit's Enrollment Night yesterday, as a treat for the girls and the parents who came to watch.
They went like hot cakes! The other leaders and I didn't even get to have any and I've now been "hired" by my non-baking co-leader to make her a batch.
Thankfully, I tested one before I went to the meeting, and I can say that they are delicious. Just how I like my cookies: soft, moist, and cakey 🙂
Stefanie
I found this site a few days ago and I love love love it!!
I made these cookies and they are so delicious! Chocolate and pumpkin is definitely the best combo around! Thanks for all the great cookie ideas
Mark
Awesome cookie. Good bite to them, kind of cakey but not too thick and a good way to use some pumpkin. I think you could also split the choc. chips with half peanut butter chips and make them super good too. Thanks for posting.
Amy
My family gobbled these up! Unsurprisingly, another hit from Anna--you haven't steered me wrong yet 🙂
Anna
Jenn, I'm glad you liked them! I wasn't sure how they'd go over since they are a bit healthier than the buttery and richer kind. I thought they were good.
Jenn
These baked up gorgeous and tasty. Thanks for the recipe!
Cecily T
I am usually a lurker-baker, and have made quite a few things from your blog. But I have to say, I tried pumpkin-chocolate muffins last year, and everyone at my house agreed that they would be better with cinnamon chips. The chocolate-pumpkin combo is just not popular here. Just another option. I think I'll make these with the cinn. chips to try them out.
Thanks for the recipes!
runjess
Those look really good and I've been wanting to make something with pumpkin.
Anna
I'm thinking you might get a dense, chewier cookie if you used melted butter instead of room temp butter. That would be worth a try.
The recipe above, however, is SUPER cakey.
Dorothy
i love pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! all the ones i've ever had before are super cakey. is there such thing as a chewy pumpkin cookie?!
Amy
mmm, those sound great!
what's double acting baking powder? how should I adjust if I only have regular powder?
sharon
OK, pumpkin is going on my grocery list. These are just too good to pass up!
VeggieGirl
Hooray for the new dishwasher; and fabulous cookies 🙂
Joanna
yummy. i love pumpkin anything. i just made pumpkin scones and the smell of them was just intoxicating. haha
clumbsycookie
Hello Autumn! Chocolate chips make everything better! I like the orangey color!
Kelsey
Okay- this is too crazy! I JUST made a batch of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies this morning! I used butter, added some ginger, and didn't use baking soda. I love these cookies because they are so fallish!
Tory
Is there a substitute for double acting baking powder? I think mine is just regular? Thanks!
Amy D.
I love chocolate and pumpkin. I was just at HEB--should have grabbed a can of pumpkin. Hope you like your dishwasher.
Katrina
I made some of these and posted them a few weeks ago, but mine are made with butter. It's nice to know oil is a good substitute. They are very cakey, but there's just something about them that is SO good this time of year. It's gotta be the chocolate!
I need to get more pumpkin!
Veronica
Hi Anna-I was looking for pumpkin cookies to make for a party for my daughter this weekend-these look great! I just love pumpkin flavored stuff this time of year.