Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Fun fact, did you know Halloween is my favorite Holiday? Growing up,  it was mostly because of the bags full of candy and the fun of trying to convince my sister to trade me all her Reese’s Cups. In college & my early 20’s it became more of a fun excuse to dress up and go out with friends. Now, Halloween is my one chance a year to convince my boyfriend to watch scary movies with me and to bake all things CHOCOLATE!

So, it was only natural that this year I made the perfectly chocolatey and orange filled treat for you all. These pumpkin chocolate chip cookies have been a hit at every party I’ve brought them to.  Almost everyone who has tried these cookies has said they remind them of a soft slice of pumpkin bread in cookie form- and I say yes to that!

Since these cookies have so few ingredients, they happen to be super easy to make too. It’s also worth mentioning that refrigeration of the dough really does bring out the pumpkin flavors in these cookies. I know you’re probably like- but why?! I just want those cookies now! It is seriously so worth it to take the time to chill your dough.

To prove this theory, I first baked these cookies without any refrigeration. The result was that the cookies spread out a bit too much and frankly were too soft and crumbly even after cooling. With just an hour of refrigeration, though, this problem was solved! The best version was actually the cookies I baked after a full 24 hours of refrigeration.

The reason you want to chill your dough is that the refrigeration helps solidify the fat (coconut oil) in the dough leading to cookies that spread less while baking and hold together better once cooled. Also, the sugar will absorb some of the liquid over time leading to a drier dough with a higher concentration of sugar. This leads to a sweeter cookie with a more complex flavor. Basically, this is just my nerdy food science loving way of saying that just 1 hour of refrigeration is all you need to make cookies that taste ten times better, so don’t skip it!

Hope you enjoy one last excuse for some Fall pumpkin baking before all the Thanksgiving recipe mayhem starts. Hope to see you back here next Wednesday and Happy Halloween friends!

-TSG

In case you are looking for some of the tools & ingredients used in this recipe, I’ve put a few of my favorites for you here:

1. Okay guys I have discovered the BEST Vegan chocolate chips. If you are on team Dark vs. Milk chocolate then let me introduce you to PASCHA Dark Chocolate Baking Chips. Not only do they taste good, but they photograph pretty darn well too . They pair perfectly with these sweet pumpkin cookies too as they are not overly sweet chocolate chips.
2.  I bake all my cookies on Unbleached Parchment Paper and absolutely love the texture of cookies this way. Just spray with a little cooking spray before baking and you will get the perfect soft cookies!

Print Recipe

Vegan Soft Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies Yum

Course

Desserts, Vegan Desserts

Cuisine

Vegan Desserts

Keyword

Cookies

Servings

cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste/extract
• 1.5 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Course Desserts, Vegan Desserts Cuisine Vegan Desserts Keyword Cookies Servings cookies Ingredients 1/2 cup melted coconut oil 1/2 cup pumpkin puree 3/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup white sugar 2 tsp vanilla bean paste/extract 1.5 cups all purpose flour 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp baking soda 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Begin by adding your melted coconut oil, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, white sugar, and vanilla bean paste to a large mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until smooth.
2. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and baking soda. Whisk to evenly mix. Slowly pour this dry mixture into the large mixing bowl with the wet ingredients and gently beat with an electric mixer until a thick dough is formed. Next, gently fold in 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips.
3. Add the dough to the fridge, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. This helps the dough form a better flavor. You can also leave the dough covered up to 24 hours in the fridge for even better flavor.
4. Once you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325F. Lightly spray a baking pan with cooking spray or top with parchment paper. Take the dough out of the fridge and use a cookie scoop to scoop 1 Tbsp sized cookies onto the baking pan. Leave a few inches between each cookie and flatten each cookie a bit with a fork before baking. Before baking, take the additional 1/4 cup of chocolate chips that was set aside and add 3-5 chips to the top of each cookie.
5. Add to the oven and bake for 12-14 minutes until edges are beginning to brown, but center is still soft.
6. Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies cool for 5-10 minutes on the warm pan. The cookies will be very soft and need some time to firm up on the tray, so do not remove right away. Use a spatula to remove from the tray after they have cooled. Eat warm or place on a cooling rack until ready to enjoy!
7. *Cookies are best enjoyed day of, but will keep in a closed container at room temperature up to 5 days. You can also freeze the scooped dough up to 1 month if you are not ready to bake all the cookies at one time. If you do use frozen dough just add a few minutes baking time*

Recipe Notes

• If you don't like the taste of coconut oil, you can use refined coconut oil which doesn't have the taste of coconut at all!

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