Brown Butter Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Brown Butter Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies combine the rich, nutty flavor of brown butter with pumpkin, warm spices, and plenty of chocolate chips. I wanted to give my favorite Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies a fall makeover, and adding pumpkin and pumpkin spice was the perfect way to do it. These cookies bake up with crisp edges and soft, chewy centers, filling the kitchen with the cozy aroma of brown butter and cinnamon.

If you're in full pumpkin mode like I am, my Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake and Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting are two more I bake every single fall.

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Why You’ll Love These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies!

If you've ever been let down by a pumpkin cookie that turned out more like a little muffin top, this is the cookie that will fix that. Most pumpkin chocolate chip cookies come out thick, puffy, and cakey because pumpkin puree is full of water. These are different! A quick blot of the pumpkin and a brown butter base give you a big, soft, chewy cookie that's almost fudgy in the center, with crispy rippled edges and melty pools of dark chocolate on top.

Here's why this brown butter pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe deserves a spot in your fall baking rotation:

• Not cakey, I promise: Blotting the pumpkin puree removes the extra moisture, so you get a chewy, fudgy cookie instead of a puffy, cake-like one. And this step takes just a couple of minutes.
• Brown butter flavor: Browning the butter adds a deep, toasty, nutty flavor that pairs perfectly with pumpkin and warm spices. If you have never browned butter, it is very easy and I have a complete how to brown butter tutorial to help you with the process.
• A secret flavor booster: A little espresso powder adds depth to the spice blend. You won't taste coffee at all, just a richer, warmer cookie.
• Melty chocolate pools: Dark chocolate chips plus a chopped Lindt sea salt dark chocolate bar mean chocolate in every bite and those gorgeous melty puddles on top.
• Crispy rippled edges: A quick pan bang halfway through baking helps the cookies spread and creates those irresistible crinkly edges.
• No chilling required: Mix the dough, scoop, and bake right away. Many recipes want you to chill over night and well I'm not the most patient person - when I want to bake cookies, I need them now!

Equipment Needed

• Light-colored skillet or small saucepan
• Whisk
• Large mixing bowls
• Rubber spatula
• Paper towels or cheesecloth, and a plate for blotting the pumpkin
• Knife and cutting board for chopping the chocolate bar
• Cookie sheet
• Parchment paper
• #20 cookie scoop (about 3 tablespoons)

Key Ingredients

Unsalted butter, browned: The flavor foundation of these brown butter pumpkin cookies. Cooking the butter until the milk solids turn golden gives the dough a nutty, almost caramel-like flavor. Butter loses a little water as it browns, so I start with 2 sticks plus 1 tablespoon to end up with a perfect 1 cup.

Espresso powder: My little secret ingredient. It doesn't make the cookies taste like coffee; it just deepens the flavor and makes the spices shine. You can leave it out, but I really think it's worth adding.

Cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice: Whisked right into the warm brown butter so they bloom and release all of their cozy flavor. I use my homemade pumpkin pie spice, but store-bought works great too.

Pumpkin puree, blotted: This is the key to the whole recipe! Pumpkin puree holds a lot of water, so we blot it with paper towels until it's thick like dough. That's how you get real pumpkin flavor without a cakey cookie. Be sure to use plain pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.

Light brown sugar and granulated sugar: Brown sugar keeps the centers soft and chewy with a hint of molasses, while granulated sugar helps the edges get crisp.

Egg: Just one large egg binds the dough and adds richness without making the cookies puffy.

Vanilla extract: A full tablespoon rounds out the brown butter and spices with warm, sweet flavor.

All-purpose flour: Gives the cookies structure. The dough will be thick, and that's exactly what you want.

Baking soda: Helps the cookies rise and spread just the right amount.

Salt: Balances the sweetness and brings out the brown butter flavor.

Dark chocolate chips: Classic chocolate flavor in every bite, and dark chocolate is so good with pumpkin spice.

Lindt dark chocolate bar with sea salt: Chopping a bar gives you chunks of all different sizes, which melt into those beautiful chocolate pools. The sea salt in the bar adds the perfect little salty-sweet finish.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Brown Butter

Start by browning the butter. In a light-colored skillet over medium heat, melt the butter, whisking occasionally. It will start to sizzle and crackle as the water cooks off and the milk solids separate and settle to the bottom of the pan. Keep cooking, whisking frequently, until those milk solids turn golden brown and the butter smells nutty.

As soon as the butter is browned, remove it from the heat and pour it into the mixing bowl you'll be using for the dough. Be sure to scrape every one of those browned bits into the bowl; that's where all that amazing flavor is! Whisk in the espresso powder, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice, then set it aside to cool for about 20 minutes.

While the butter cools, blot the pumpkin. Spread the pumpkin puree onto a plate lined with paper towels and blot away the moisture. I like to double up the paper towels and give the pumpkin a gentle squeeze. You want it to be about the consistency of dough, and it should measure about ⅓ cup once the water is removed.

Bake Cookies

Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Once the butter has cooled, whisk in the brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg, vanilla extract, and blotted pumpkin until smooth.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir with a spatula. The dough will be thick, but it will come together. Mix just until there are no white streaks of flour left.

Stir in the dark chocolate chips and about ¾ of the chopped chocolate bar. Save the rest of the chopped chocolate for topping the cookies once they come out of the oven.

Use a #20 cookie scoop to portion the dough onto the parchment-lined cookie sheet, spacing the cookies about 3 inches apart. No need to chill the dough; you can bake right away.

Bake for 12 minutes. Halfway through, quickly open the oven, take the cookie sheet, and gently bang it on the oven rack a few times. This pan-banging method helps the cookies spread a little more and gives you that rippled edge that gets so crispy!

When the 12 minutes are up, take the cookies out of the oven and let them cool right on the cookie sheet. While they're still warm, press a few pieces of the reserved chocolate on top to get those melty chocolate pools, and sprinkle with flaky sea salt if you'd like.

Make Ahead

This dough doesn't need to be chilled. In fact, chilled dough won't spread as much, so you'll end up with a thicker cookie. If you'd like to make the dough ahead of time, go ahead and refrigerate it, then just let it come back up to room temperature before scooping and baking.

To freeze: The dough freezes beautifully! I like to scoop the dough into balls and par-freeze them on a parchment-lined tray so they don't stick together, then drop them into a freezer bag. That way I can bake just a few cookies at a time whenever the craving hits. Let the frozen dough balls come to room temperature before baking.

Storage

Once completely cool, store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.

Did you try this recipe? Please let me know what you think! Leave a comment below, and a 5- star rating. I would love to hear from you! Subscribe Here to get new recipes sent straight to your inbox!