Vegan Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies
These vegan chocolate chip pumpkin cookies are the perfect cookie for fall. Packed with healthy pumpkin puree and loaded with delicious dairy-free chocolate chips. You will love these classic pumpkin cookies!
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Why make this recipe
These vegan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are soft and cakey with just the right amount of sweetness. This recipe was developed from my classic vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe, but I swapped out the egg replacer with pumpkin and the result was amazing!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Vegan Butter – A high-quality vegan butter that comes in a stick will give you the best results with your cookies. You can use the stick version of my homemade vegan butter, Earth Balance sticks, Country Crock plant-based sticks or Miyoko. If you don’t have any of these, you can use Earth Balance tub butter or even coconut oil. You want to avoid cheap brands of margarine that have too much water content in them.
- Organic Brown Sugar – (the organic sugar is vegan) You can also use coconut sugar or Sucanat. These sugars have molasses in them and give you a softer cookie and great flavor. You can also use white granulated sugar or half white and half brown.
- Vanilla Extract – for flavor.
- Pumpkin – This gives it the pumpkin flavor and serves as the vegan egg replacement in this cookie recipe. You can read more about other ways to replace eggs in baking in my full post on that topic.
- Flour – all-purpose flour makes the most classic-tasting cookies, but whole wheat or spelt flour also gives a delicious texture. These cookies will work well with any gluten-free flour mixes, but they must be a grain-based mix, not almond flour.
- Cornstarch – this is the key to making soft cookies! Just a little cornstarch produces an amazing texture. You can use potato starch as well. If you want a crunchy cookie, swap out the cornstarch with flour.
- Baking Soda – to make your cookies rise and give them a chewy texture.
- Salt – you can reduce the amount, but don’t leave it out completely or the cookies will taste very bland. You may also want to sprinkle the tops with some coarse salt.
- Spices – (optional) If you want your pumpkin cookies to have more of a pumpkin spice flavor, add a dash of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger powder, ground cloves, or pumpkin pie spice to the batter.
- Vegan Chocolate Chips – you can use any brand of vegan chocolate chips that you want. You can find Enjoy Life brand at many major grocery stores or there are many other brands that are unexpectedly vegan like Trader Joe’s semi-sweet chocolate chips or the Belgian dark chocolate chunks from Aldi.
Helpful tools
- Baking Sheet – a good quality cookie sheet that is heavy or an Airbake cookie sheet that helps ensure that the bottoms of your cookies don’t burn.
- Mixing Bowl – to make the cookie batter. You can also use an electric mixer or stand mixer, but a simple bowl and a wooden spoon will do the trick.
How to make vegan pumpkin cookies with chocolate chips
Step 1 – Take your butter out of the fridge about 1 hour before baking to allow it to come to room temperature or place it in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds to warm it a little.
Step 2 – Preheat your oven to 375° F (190° C).
Step 3 – Mix 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree, 1/2 cup softened vegan butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 tbsp granulated sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until smooth and creamy.
Step 4 – Add the 1 cup flour, 2 tbsp corn starch, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt then mix again until all of the dry ingredients are incorporated.
Step 5 – Add 1/2 cup of vegan chocolate chips and stir well again.
Step 6 – Use a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop to spoon balls of cookie dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
Step 7 – Place a few more additional chocolate chips on the top of the dough ball to make your cookies look pretty.
Bake the cookies
Step 8 – Bake at 375° F (190° C) for 9-11 minutes until they have flattened and are just slightly brown. They will still look pretty soft and doughy, but that’s okay, they will firm up when cooled.
Step 9 – Allow cooling for about 5 minutes on the cookie sheet before moving to a flat surface or a cookie rack.
Pro Tips
- Slight changes in measurements or baking temperatures make big changes in the outcome of the cookies, so follow the measurements and baking times given to get the results shown in the images.
- Make sure your butter is soft before you start. You can also use melted butter if you wish, but it will give you a chewy fudgy texture like in my fudgy vegan chocolate cookies.
- Your dough should be firm and hold its shape when spooned onto the cookie sheet.
Soft or crunchy pumpkin cookies?
The recipe as written with cornstarch will give you soft batch pumpkin cookies. If you want a firmer crispier cookie, replace the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour.
How to make gluten-free pumpkin cookies?
To make these cookies gluten-free, simply swap out the flour with a grain-based gluten-free flour. My homemade gluten-free flour mix works well in this recipe. Don’t use almond flour as a flour substitute in this recipe.
Storage
These vegan pumpkin cookies will keep well on the countertop for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
Freeze: To freeze the cookies, place them in a container with parchment paper between each layer and seal tightly. They will stay good in the freezer for up to 3 months.
If you like chocolate chip cookies, you have to try my vegan peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, vegan whole wheat chocolate chip cookies, and my vegan double chocolate chip cookies too!
More vegan pumpkin recipes
Vegan chocolate chip pumpkin cookie recipe
Vegan Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies
Ingredients
Wet ingredients
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, (one stick) softened
- 1/2 cup vegan brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons vegan sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Dry ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 2 tablespoons corn starch, (or 2 additional tablespoons flour)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup vegan chocolate chips
Equipment
Instructions
- Take your butter out of the fridge about 1 hour before baking to allow it to come to room temperature or place it in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds to warm it a little.
- Preheat your oven to 375° F (190° C).
- Mix 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree, 1/2 cup softened vegan butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 tbsp granulated sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until smooth and creamy.
- Add the 1 cup flour, 2 tbsp corn starch, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt then mix again until all of the dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Add 1/2 cup of vegan chocolate chips and stir well again.
- Use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop to spoon balls of cookie dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Place a few more additional chocolate chips on the top of the dough ball to make your cookies look pretty.
- Bake at 375° F (190° C) for 9-11 minutes until they have flattened and are just slightly brown. They will still look pretty soft and doughy, but that's okay, they will firm up when cooled.
- Allow cooling for about 5 minutes on the cookie sheet before moving to a flat surface or a cookie rack.
Notes
- Slight changes in measurements or baking temperatures make big changes in the outcome of the cookies, so follow the measurements and baking times given to get the results shown in the images.
- Make sure your butter is soft before you start. You can also use melted butter if you wish, but it will give you a chewy fudgy texture like in my fudgy vegan chocolate cookies.
- Your dough should be firm and hold its shape when spooned onto the cookie sheet.
- If you want a firmer crispier cookie, replace the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour.
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating and review below!📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
Delicious and easy. Made mine with all purpose gluten free flour and they are Devine! I did add a tap of pumpkin pie spice because I can’t do pumpkin cookies without spices. Will definitely keep this recipe for future use!
I’m so happy that you liked them, Diane!