Pumpkin and dark chocolate cookies

Name: Pumpkin and dark chocolate cookies
Prep time: 95 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 145 min
Yield: 12 servings

Posted: 11/01/2026Updated: 11/01/2026

Chewy pumpkin cookies with nutty brown butter, warm autumn spices, and chunks of dark chocolate.

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Passive prep: 60 minutesActive prep: 35 minutesPassive cooking: 45 minutesActive cooking: 5 minutes

Ingredients

Adjust servingsServings

Pumpkin purée (should make about 100g needed for the cookie dough)

1 medium Sugar pumpkin

Cookies

100 grams Pumpkin purée
170 grams Unsalted butter
150 grams Light brown sugar
100 grams White sugar
1 large Egg
1 large Egg yolk
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
400 grams Plain flour
1 teaspoon Baking soda
0.5 teaspoon Baking powder
0.5 teaspoon Fine salt
2 teaspoons Ground cinnamon
0.5 teaspoon Ground ginger
0.5 teaspoon Ground nutmeg
0.5 teaspoon Ground cloves
0.5 teaspoon Ground allspice (optional)
175 grams Dark chocolate
Flaky sea salt

Instructions

Pumpkin purée (should make about 100g needed for the cookie dough)

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.
Halve the pumpkin, scoop out the seeds and stringy bits. Place both halves cut side down on a baking tray.
Roast for 40–60 minutes, until the flesh is very soft.
Scoop the flesh into a blender or food processor and blitz until smooth.
Place purée in a sieve or cheesecloth over a bowl and let drain for at least 30 minutes. Squeeze as much of the excess water out as possible.

Cookies

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, stirring often, until golden with brown flecks and a nutty aroma (5–7 minutes). Pour into a heatproof bowl and let cool for 10–15 minutes.
Whisk the cooled brown butter with the brown and white sugar until combined.
Beat in the egg, yolk, pumpkin purée, and vanilla until smooth.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices.
Fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined.
Shape the cookie dough into stubby cylinders then gently push dark chocolate chunks into the cookie dough.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (overnight is even better). Optionally, you can then freeze the chilled dough balls before baking, which will give a slightly chewier texture.
Pre-heat oven to 180°C and line baking trays with parchment paper.
Arrange the cookie dough on the baking tray with space in between them and add a small pinch of flaky sea salt to the top of each.
Bake for 14–16 minutes (or 16-18 minutes from frozen), until the edges are set but centres look slightly soft.
Let them cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

Video tutorial

Helpful notes

Cooking tips

You can completely omit the steps to making brown butter and either use cold cubed butter (more structured and dense cookie) or melted butter (softer and more cake-like cookie).
Chilling the dough in the fridge (1–48 hours) allows the butter to firm up, which prevents cookies from spreading too much, while also giving the flour time to slowly hydrate and deepen the flavour for a chewier texture. Freezing, on the other hand, stops that process because the liquid in the dough turns to ice crystals; it firms the butter completely and pauses hydration, though baking from frozen can produce slightly thicker cookies since the dough stays cold longer in the oven. The best method is to chill the dough first to develop texture and flavour, then scoop and freeze it if you want to store cookies for later.
Shaping the cookie dough into cylinders is personal preference. This shape helps the cookies spread more slowly in the oven giving a thicker centre and chewier texture. The classic ball shape will also work completely fine for a thinner, larger cookie.
Adding the salt before baking will result in a more subtle, integrated flavour as the salt has melted in during baking. If the salt is added after baking, it will sit on the surface and be more distinctly salty.

Alternative ingredients

Coconut oil can be used instead of melted butter but use slightly reduced quantity.
White or milk chocolate can be used instead of dark chocolate.
Butternut squash or sweet potato can be used instead of pumpkin. Sweet potato is slightly denser.
A sugar pumpkin is preferable for its sweetness and lower water content, but if using a regular pumpkin, it will still work. Regular pumpkins tend to have more water, so you may need to roast it a bit longer and drain any excess liquid after blending. Add a little extra white sugar to balance its lower natural sweetness.

Storage instructions

Room temperature: Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3–4 days.

Refrigeration: Unbaked cookie dough can be refrigerated for up to 48 hours.

Freezer: Freeze unbaked or baked cookies in a sealed container or freezer bag for up to 2 months.

Re-heating instructions

Thaw frozen baked cookies at room temperature before serving.

Nutrition and dietary facts

Vegetarian

Per serving:Calories: 383kcal (17%), Protein: 5g (8%), Fat: 11.3g (14%), Saturated fat: 8g (53%), Carbohydrates: 54.8g (20%), Sugars: 27.4g (110%), Fibre: 1.8g (6%)

Note: The nutritional information provided for this recipe is an estimate based on ingredients and cooking instructions as described - it is intended for informational purposes only.