Rich, sweet and indulgent pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! They’re secretly healthy, made using wholesome ingredients like oat flour and molasses, but so incredibly delicious, you’d never guess! Perfect to enjoy in cooler months, or all year long.
Although these cookies scream fall, they’re perfect any time of year!
They’re soft and chewy, rich and warming, and loaded with chocolate chips!
Inspired by my oatmeal pumpkin cookies, I decided that vegan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies were next to appear on the blog. 😉
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You’ll love these cookies!
- They’re healthier than most, using wholesome ingredients.
- Perfectly sweet, but not too sweet.
- Simple to whip up with just a handful of items (and no weird ingredients!)
- They’re allergen and special diet friendly: nut free, gluten free, oil free, vegan, vegetarian, dairy free, soy free and corn free.
Ingredients
To make them, you’ll only need 9 ingredients, 1 bowl, and about 20-25 minutes.
- Make sure to use pure pumpkin puree and NOT pumpkin pie filling.
- To keep these cookies vegan, use pure dark chocolate chips or vegan chocolate chips.
- Fancy molasses is sweeter than blackstrap molasses, so I highly recommend fancy. If you don’t have molasses you may use more maple syrup in its place.
- Tahini is our fat content to hold these cookies together, but you may also use peanut butter, almond butter, pecan butter, cashew butter or any nut or seed butter in its place, with slightly different results.
Instructions
(This is a summary with step by step photos, full recipe measurements and instructions are in the recipe card below.)
Add the wet ingredients to a large bowl and mix well. (photos 1-2)
Then add the dry ingredients to the same bowl and mix to combine. (photos 3-4)
Finally, fold in the chocolate chips. (photos 5-6)
Use a cookie scoop to make your cookies and add them to a parchment lined baking sheet. (photo 7)
Using damp fingers (to prevent sticking), gently press and shape your pumpkin cookies, as they won’t spread much in the oven. (photos 8-9)
Press a few extra chocolate chips into your cookies, if you’d like and then bake for 10-11 minutes. (photos 10-11)
NOTE: They may appear underdone, but they’ll firm up more as they cool.
Enjoy with a cold glass of cashew or oat milk. Or make it a warm cup of my sugar free pumpkin spice latte.
Substitutions
- If you don’t have fancy molasses, do not use blackstrap in its place. Unlike the sweet tones of fancy molasses, blackstrap can be quite bitter. Instead, you may use more maple syrup if you don’t have fancy molasses on hand, with slightly less rich results.
- For the tahini, you may use any nut or seed butter that you have on hand. Keep in mind that nut butters like peanut or almond have strong flavours and may overpower some of the pumpkin flavour. So my recommendations are tahini (sesame seed butter) or cashew butter.
- No pumpkin puree? You may also use pureed butternut squash or sweet potato puree as I’ve done with these sweet potato cookies.
Storage
Keep your leftover cookies in a sealed container at room temperature for 3-4 days, or refrigerate for up to 1 week.
To freeze, make sure the cookies are completely cooled first. Then freeze in an air tight, freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
Thaw in the fridge overnight, or on your counter for 2-3 hours.
Expert Tips
- Weigh the flour using a kitchen scale, if possible. This will yield the most desirable results. Using too little or too much flour will alter the texture of your cookies.
- If you do not have a kitchen scale, measure 2 cups of flour, but do not scoop from the bag. Spoon it into the measuring cup and level off with a knife.
- These pumpkin cookies don’t spread much, so use slightly damp hands/fingers (to prevent sticking) to press them down and shape into rounds before baking.
- Gently press down a few extra chocolate chips on top of each cookie, before baking for the ultimate gooey goodness.
- The cookies may appear slightly underdone at the 10-11 minute mark, but remove them from the oven anyway, as they’ll firm up more as they cool. Do not overbake, or they’ll get dry.
- Let your cookies cool for 5-10 minutes before transferring them from your baking sheet. Hot cookies can easily break, so walk away if you need to. 😉
More pumpkin desserts
If you tried this recipe, please let me know in the comments below. I always love hearing from you! Don’t forget to Subscribe to This Healthy Kitchen to be among the first to get my new recipes! You can also FOLLOW ME on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube to see more delicious food.
Buon appetito
Rosa
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
Wet Ingredient
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup fancy molasses or more maple syrup, if preferred
- ¼ cup tahini or creamy cashew or almond butter
Dry Ingredients
- 220 grams oat flour gluten free if preferred (approx. 2 cups)
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Fill In
- ⅓ cup vegan chocolate chips or more
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a large baking tray with parchment paper. (Use 2 trays if they are smaller.)
- Add the wet ingredients to a large bowl and mix well. Then add the dry ingredients to the same bowl and mix until combined. Lastly, fold in the chocolate chips.
- Use a cookie scoop to divide the batter into approx. 26 cookies on your baking sheet/s. Then use a spoon or damp fingers to gently press each cookie down and shape them into rounds, as they won't spread much during baking. Make them about ¼ inch thick. Then, if you'd like, press a few more chocolate chips into the tops of each cookie.
- Bake for 10-11 minutes and remove from the oven. They may seem a little underdone, but they'll firm up more as they cool. Let them cool for 5-10 minutes before transferring and enjoy.
Vickie says
Both my husband and I loved these cookies! Something funny though. I printed this recipe from your website and followed the recipe, but, after the cookies were baked, I noticed the tahini was left off the printed recipe. They were still delicious and now I will try them with the tahini! 😄
Rosa says
Hi Vickie, thanks so much for the review! I’m so glad you enjoyed them, even without the tahini. 🙂
Sarah says
I did this yesterday. I didn’t have any fancy molasses thus added more maple syrup. What is fancy molasses anyway? I have the usual molasses that I use for ginger cookies. I didn’t want to chance it.
My taste testers (children and husband) gave it a two thumbs up! My daughter who is vegan, said that this recipe is a keeper.
I got 18 cookies and only 7 left – a testament of how good it is!
Will certainly be making it soon.
Rosa says
Hi Sarah, fancy molasses is sweeter, and best for baking. Here in Canada our options are fancy or blackstrap, I’m not sure which kind you have.
So glad that everyone enjoyed the cookies. Thanks so much for the review! 🙂