These easy pumpkin chocolate chunk cookies are soft, thick and fluffy. With a cake-like texture, you will love this fall inspired cookie. Filled with the flavors of pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and cardamom. Loaded with chunks of semi-sweet chocolate. A delicious and satisfying treat. Pair this autumn cookie with your favorite hot beverage and you have a moment to savor.

Three chocolate chip pumpkin cookies on a plate in front of a rack of cookies.

Pumpkin chocolate chunk cookies on a cooling rack.

Why You’ll Love These Cookies

Flavor – An amazing blend of fall spices go into these cookies. Made with butter not oil. It’s like eating a slice of pumpkin bread but in a smaller size. You won’t be able to stop at one.
Quick – These cookies are ready in about 30 minutes including the time it takes to mix the batter together.
No chilling required – These cookies don’t spread even without chilling the dough. Time saver!
No stand mixer needed – All the equipment you need is two bowls, measuring spoons and cups plus a spoon. So easy. No need to get out the heavy stand mixer.

My family loves these pumpkin cookies in the fall. This treat has the perfect amount of pumpkin flavor. Other times of the year, I make plain chocolate chip cookies and they are devoured, too.

Ever since I discovered cardamom which I use in this apple cider donuts recipe, I have loved the added depth of flavor. I used this spice in these cookies and love the results.

Nine chocolate chip pumpkin cookie dough mounds on a baking sheet.

In Creating This Recipe- My Testing Results

I have made these cookies with less flour to see if I could get a flatter cookie that was chewier. But this still resulted in a cakey texture. With less flour, they did spread more but didn’t offer the same satisfying bite of pumpkin flavor.

Pumpkin purée has a lot of moisture so the additional flour is needed.

In a taste test, my family hands down loved the thicker, puffier cookie. This recipe. I have to agree with them!

Various baking ingredients to make pumpkin chocolate chunk cookies.

Ingredients Needed For This Recipe

All-purpose flour – unbleached flour is preferred.
Baking powder and baking soda – these are leavening agents that make the cookies rise.
Granulated sugar – provides the right amount of sweetness.
Brown sugar – I used light brown sugar but dark brown sugar could be used instead.
Pumpkin purée – canned pumpkin purée not pie filling.
Butter – one stick of melted butter makes this cookie very tender.
Spices – pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and cardamom gives this cookie a delicious fall flavor.
Salt – enhances the flavors of this cookie.
Egg – one large egg at room temperature.
Vanilla extract – I always recommend using real vanilla extract. Imitation vanilla won’t give you the depth of flavor like real vanilla extract will.
Chocolate chunks – using chunks instead of chips give a greater chocolate taste.

How To Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Cookies

For the complete measurements and instructions, see the recipe card below.

Over medium heat, melt the butter. Remove from the heat to cool.

A whisk in a bowl filled with flour and spices.

Whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt in a medium size bowl. Set aside.

Using a spoon to mix pumpkin, egg and sugar in a bowl.

In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin purée, sugars, melted butter, egg and vanilla extract. Mix thoroughly.

A spoon stirring flour and pumpkin mixture together in a bowl.

Pour the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture. Stir till just combined.

Pumpkin chocolate chunk cookie batter in a bowl with a spoon.

Stir in the chocolate chunks.

Cookie dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Using a large cookie scoop, drop dough onto parchment lined baking sheets, two inches apart. Place into a preheated 350℉ oven and bake for 13 – 18 minutes or until golden brown.

Two baking sheets of finished cookies on a stove top.

Tips For The Making Best Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Cookie scoop – to get a big cookie, I use a large cookie scoop #20 that holds 3 tablespoons of cookie dough. This is my favorite size. This makes a nice large cookie to sink your teeth into. Cookie scoops help to maintain even sizing for your cookies.
Parchment paper – using parchment paper keeps the cookies from sticking to the baking sheet. This makes clean up much easier, too.
Good quality chocolate chunks – I used Belgian chocolate which makes these cookies a bit decadent. Buy the best quality chocolate for an outstanding flavor.
Decorate the tops of the cookies – the chocolate chunks come in a ten ounce bag. I didn’t use the whole bag which meant I had leftovers. Using these leftover chunks, I put three pieces of chocolate on top of each cookie. This made for a pretty presentation and an extra bite of chocolate.
When using two baking sheets – to ensure the cookies bake evenly, rotate the baking sheets halfway through the baking time. I always place the two baking racks in the middle of the oven to get the best heat and airflow.

Storing Homemade Cookies

How long do pumpkin chocolate chunk cookies last?
- Homemade cookies will stay fresh for up to 3 days stored on the kitchen counter in an airtight container. Any longer than that and they will go stale.
Can pumpkin chocolate chunk cookies be frozen?
- For the best quality, these cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months. Be sure to store them in a dated resealable freezer bag with wax paper between the cookies so they don’t stick together.