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Say hello to the ultimate fall cookie aka vegan soft and chewy pumpkin chocolate chunk cookies. Created with blotted pumpkin puree, all the classic fall spices, dark chocolate chunks AND sea salt. Prepare yourselves, you’re truly going to become obsessed with this recipe.
Why you’ll love these Vegan Soft and Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Cookies
soft & chewy – the texture isn’t cakey like most pumpkin cookies…imagine a classic soft and chewy cookie, and then add in pumpkin spices… that’s exactly how it tastes.
easy – made with simple ingredients and only a few steps.
delicious – these are the ultimate vegan Halloween cookies!
What you’ll need to make Soft Pumpkin Cookies
- pumpkin puree
- vegan butter
- all purpose flour
- light brown sugar
- granulated sugar
- vanilla extract
- ground cinnamon
- ground nutmeg
- ground allspice
- baking soda
- baking powder
- dark chocolate
Blotting the pumpkin puree…
The secret to pumpkin cookies that aren’t cakey? Blotting the pumpkin puree! I like to do this by placing a sheet or two of the kitchen tissues into a bowl, tip in the pumpkin puree, and then blot the puree with 4-5 tissues sheets.
You don’t want to dry out the pumpkin completely, but rather blot out 70-80% of the moisture.
All about the vegan pumpkin cookie dough…
The cookie dough comes together pretty easily. Start with the melted vegan butter and both sugars, mix until all the sugar has dissolved. Next, mix in the blotted pumpkin puree and vanilla extract.
In another bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, baking soda, baking sugar and salt.
Give the wet ingredients a quick mix again, and pour over the dry. Fold together until combined, then fold in the dark chocolate chunks. I know it may look unusual for cookie dough to be sticky, but trust me, once refrigerated it’ll be super easy to manage.
Cover the bowl with a lid, and refrigerate for 30 mins. However, if you want to make the cookie dough a day before you can refrigerate it overnight too, just bring the cookie dough back to room temp before baking.
Baking the soft pumpkin cookies…
Roll the cookie dough into balls consisting of 1 1/2 tbsps. Place on a baking tray, leaving a big enough gap between as they will spread. Before baking, press in 2-3 little chunks of chocolate into each cookie dough ball – this step isn’t a must, however, if you skip this step you may not have any chocolate chunks on the top of the cookies.
Now, bake for 12-14 minutes.
Once baked, tap the cookies on the counter 2-3 times. Tapping the cookies will help flatten them.
Allow cookies to cool for 15 mins on the baking tray, then transfer onto a cooling rack until completely cooled.
I like to leave the cookies uncovered for 2-3 hours, and then I store them overnight in an air-tight container. The reason I like to wait one day before I eat these cookies is it allows the flavour to develop.
I’m also a massive fan of gooey, warm cookies, so I like to pop the cookie into the microwave before eating!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use vegan chocolate chips? Yes!
What if I only have unsalted vegan butter? Just add an extra pinch of salt to your cookie dough
I don’t have sea salt flakes? Use whatever salt you have, just maybe a little less.
How do I store these cookies? In an air-tight container, on the counter for 2-3 days. You could also freeze these cookies!
More vegan recipes you’ll love
- spiced apple cake with vanilla coffee frosting
- tahini chocolate chip cookies
- soft lemon cookies
- zucchini muffins with chocolate chunks
Ingredients
- 113 g salted vegan butter (melted)
- 150 g light brown sugar
- 53 g granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup blotted pumpkin puree
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 188 g all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground all-spice
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 90 g chopped vegan dark chocolate (plus more for decoration )
Instructions
- Start by blotting the pumpkin puree, by placing 2 kitchen tissues in a bowl, flat. Add in the pumpkin puree, blot 2-4 times with more tissues. (Just blot around 70% off the water out, no more – we don't want dry cookies!!) Measure the pumpkin puree after it's been blotted.
- In a bowl, combine melted vegan butter with both sugars. Add in the blotted pumpkin puree and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
- In another bowl, combine all-purpose flour, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Give the wet ingredients a mix again, then pour over the dry. Fold together until combined, then fold in the dark chocolate chunks. The cookie dough will be a little sticky but don't worry! Cover the bowl with a plate and refrigerate for 30 mins.
- Pre-heat oven at 180°C/356°F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Remove the cookie dough from the fridge, roll into 1 1/2 tbsp balls. Into every cookie dough ball, press 1-3 little chunks of chocolate. Place on the baking tray, leaving a 1-2 inch gap between each cookie, because they do spread! Bake for 12-14 minutes.
- While the cookies are still warm, sprinkle with sea salt flakes. Allow cookie to cool for 10-15 minutes on the baking tray, then transfer onto a cooling rack and cool for 2-4 hours. Enjoy!
Nutrition
- Calories: 231
