Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies That Are No Big Softies
Deliciously crispy at the edges, chewy in the middle, these cookies are everything I wanted them to be. By golly.
Crispy and Chewy Pumpkin Cookies
1 cup (120 g) white whole-wheat or whole-wheat pastry flour
1 cup (80 g) ground oats
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons (16 g) arrowroot powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup (96 g) vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups (288 g) raw sugar
1/2 cup (122 g) pumpkin purée
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2/3 to 1 cup (117 to 175 g) nondairy semisweet chocolate chips, to taste
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, oats, cinnamon, arrowroot, salt, and baking powder.
In a large bowl, or using your stand mixer, cream together shortening and sugar. Stir in pumpkin and vanilla until combined.
Fold dry ingredients into wet, until combined. Stir in chips.
Divide resulting dough into 12 equal portions, approximately 1/4 cup worth of it. Place on parchment paper or silicone baking mats, such as Silpat, on top of two cookie sheets, and flatten your cookies as much as you want them since they do not spread much while baking.
Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge for as long as you can stand it: 3 hours is ideal, even longer is better, but do your best.
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4).
Bake cookies for 17 minutes, or until golden on top and around the edges. Be careful not to bake them for too long, as they would dry out.
Wait 2 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Yield: 12 large cookies
culinarycory said,
October 23, 2008 at 4:43 am
I love the earthiness of the wooden table against the cookies. They offer a great feeling of home.
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Rosa said,
October 23, 2008 at 5:07 am
What luscious cookies! A gorgeous combo!
Cheers,
Rosa
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sher said,
October 23, 2008 at 5:10 am
Can you believe I have not used pumpkin yet and it is almost Halloween. Boy I am way behind. Maybe this will be dessert this weekend.
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Silvia said,
October 23, 2008 at 5:19 am
Wow!! i just love the idea of pumpkin and chocolate together! thanks for this recipe..what can I add for that cup of chocolate?..mamma mia!
Brava a kiss
Silvia
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Y said,
October 23, 2008 at 6:20 am
Thanks for the recipes! :D You’ve sold me on that first cookie though, so even though I liked the sound of the second one, I think the first will be one I will attempt. Quick question though.. I’m not vegan, and am rather attached to baking with butter. Do you think it would change things much if I used butter instead of shortening? Or is it best not to mess with the recipe?
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Vegetation said,
October 23, 2008 at 6:25 am
Oh My God! *Expires from happiness overload*
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Mihl said,
October 23, 2008 at 6:42 am
I love you and now P. will love you for the creamy chocolate thing!
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Becka said,
October 23, 2008 at 7:05 am
I can’t believe that I didn’t like pumpkin as a kid, what was wrong with me?? Pumpkin chocolate cookies sound amazing, I’m adding them to my list!
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Celine said,
October 23, 2008 at 7:31 am
Y: shortening has a tendency to make for crisper cookies, so I’m not sure butter would do that. pumpkin’s problem in cookies is that it usually makes them way moist, that’s why I chose to use shortening in the first place since I wanted anything but too-moist cookies.
Mihl: woo!
Becka: don’t feel bad, I had never tried pumpkin before moving to the States. so basically, I lived 25 years ignoring the goodness. how’s that for pathetic and sad?
Vegetation: you can’t quit on me!! there are so many cookies to live for.
thanks for dropping by!
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Y said,
October 23, 2008 at 8:54 am
Ok thanks! I’ll give it a go :)
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Nicole said,
October 23, 2008 at 10:27 am
Your cookies always look perfect, like bakery cookies! I’m going to try this recipe, along with like 83 of your other recipes, on Friday!
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Ashley said,
October 23, 2008 at 10:51 am
Yay! I am definitely trying these once mid-terms are over. Crispy pumpkin cookies! I’m so excited!
And those pots de creme look so heavenly on a cold day like today. :-)
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VeggieGirl said,
October 23, 2008 at 11:02 am
3 amazing recipes from 1 amazing baker – love it!!
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Heather said,
October 23, 2008 at 12:10 pm
i’ve been waiting for you to post this recipe. however, your note regarding WW pastry flour: is that for the first pumpkin cookie or the second pumpkin cookie? i don’t have white whole wheat but tons of WW pastry. mmm, i am so excited to make these! you’re genius, celine.
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Celine said,
October 23, 2008 at 12:12 pm
for any recipe except for yeast bread really, Heather. let me know how they turn out, if you get a chance to make them?
[ps: I'm no genius. I can't rock the hair the way Einstein does.]
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Kelly said,
October 23, 2008 at 3:13 pm
These cookies look amazing as always. I’m a sucker for anything sitting so elegantly on your wood table, not to mention the crispy outside chewy inside is my favorite cookie combo. Yum!
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aTxVegn said,
October 23, 2008 at 3:25 pm
If this pumpkin cookie recipe is your dream, it will be my heaven. And the chocolatey pb stuff without soy too – oh boy oh boy.
Why would a store just quit carrying ww pastry flour? That’s just mean.
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allularpunk said,
October 23, 2008 at 3:29 pm
i have been anxiously awaiting this recipe. annnd i have about that much pumpkin left in a can from a recent pumpkin spree in my kitchen. guess what i’m making tonight!
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allularpunk said,
October 23, 2008 at 3:34 pm
wait! i didn’t even read the whole post! 2 pumpkin cookie recipes!? omg, which one do i make?? and that pbchocolate concoction looks pretty effin amazing too.
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Vegannifer said,
October 23, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Congrats on finding your perfect pumpkin cookie recipe. That’s awesome. They look seriously incredible and I would eat ten of them right now if I could! Pumpkin and chocolate chips sounds like a great dream.
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Amy said,
October 23, 2008 at 4:53 pm
The perfect pumpkin cookies?! Yay! I have a wee sugar pumpkin I need to roast and make puree out of. Do you think oat flour would work instead of ground oats? These sound lovely and perfect for fall.
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kickpleat said,
October 23, 2008 at 4:59 pm
i’ve got some leftover pumpkin and these cookies look amazing! which to choose??
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jessy said,
October 23, 2008 at 5:00 pm
these all sound wonderful! the pumpkin cookies sound perfect, indeed. i love a cookie that’s got both crunchy edges and a sooooooft center! mmmmmmmm! i’m imagining them now! and should i get off my lasy butt and make some i’d be able to eat them right now. yay!
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veganview said,
October 23, 2008 at 5:27 pm
I would never have thought of pumpkins cookies! These sound sooo good, you had me at the chewy in the center sentence ;)
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Celine said,
October 23, 2008 at 6:39 pm
kickpleat & allularpunk: I totally recommend the first one over the second one. as I mentioned, the latter is a bit less of a surefire hit.
Amy: oat flour would totally work! usually people don’t have it but have flakes, that’s why I chose that way of doing it instead.
Vegannifer: they’re big, so I doubt you’d manage to fit 10 of them after a meal! unless…no lunch and dinner? maybe that would work out.
Diann: I know, I was pretty sad when I saw they nixed it from the shelves. I guess there’s just not enough demand for it. blah…
thank you for the comments!
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Jes said,
October 23, 2008 at 6:39 pm
I think I need a pots de creme right now. And yes, the best recipe is definitely crispy on the outside, chewy in the middle. So fallish, so tasty looking!
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Ricki said,
October 23, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Celine, you are just amazing! And I can’t imagine why you thought people wouldn’t be interested in that 2nd recipe–they sound and look fantastic to me (and the healthier, the better!!). #1, Yum; #2: YUM, #3: YUUUUUUUMMMM!
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Melisser said,
October 23, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Ooh, I need a use for the pumpkin puree I bought!
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Vijita said,
October 23, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Your baking is so so so so beautiful and enticing. I’m planning baked goods for my writer’s group and I’m perusing your recipes…Too many delicious-looking ones!
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Courtney said,
October 23, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Wow–what a post! 3 great recipes…score! You are seriously a baking goddess…
Courtney
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Lisa said,
October 23, 2008 at 10:40 pm
They both look delicious.
So, what does one do with the chocolate stuff (aside from “eat with a spoon”)? Is it a pudding (in which case “eat with a spoon” is indeed the correct answer)? Dunk said cookies into it?
… um, both?
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tofufreak said,
October 23, 2008 at 10:58 pm
PUMPKIN!!!! yay! i’ve been craving something pumpkin-chocolatey all week and now i have something to make!! hooray!!!
i am excited for the pots de creme too! :D
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River (Wing-It Vegan) said,
October 24, 2008 at 12:32 am
I am a softie for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! Celine! Celine! How does it feel to have finally come up with your dream pumpkin cookie recipe? What are you going to do now? *sticks a microphone in your face*
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The Little Mama said,
October 24, 2008 at 1:27 am
Holy hannah banana! What a lovely trio of recipes, busy lady! Thank you for the recipes and inspiration.
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Celine said,
October 24, 2008 at 3:10 am
oh! I forgot to mention that they freeze beautifully, if that’s your thing. and thanks for the love. as usual, y’all deserve cookies. I just had one, thinking of you. do you feel the love too?
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JohnP said,
October 24, 2008 at 9:45 am
Saving this recipe – it looks and sounds great!
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shellyfish said,
October 24, 2008 at 10:05 am
I think I’m going to come and faire un stage chez toi for a few weeks, you know, to learn to be as freaking amazing in the kitchen as you are!
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Celine said,
October 24, 2008 at 10:19 am
thanks John!
and Shelly, tu es déja plus que amazing, silly. mais t’es la bienvenue, et comment.
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shellyfish said,
October 24, 2008 at 10:43 am
plus qu’amazing? T’es trop gentille avec moi ma biche! Et c’est le 9, même que Simone de Beauvoir…les grandes femmes de l’époque tu sais…
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Celine said,
October 24, 2008 at 10:57 am
mon papa est du huit, youpie! c’est pas une femme, par contre. obviously.
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Heather said,
October 24, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Thank you for posting the recipe!!! I am going to make the cookies this weekend!! The perfect cookie for fall.
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Celine said,
October 24, 2008 at 4:45 pm
thank you for thanking me, Heather. I hope you’ll like.
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Joanna said,
October 24, 2008 at 5:37 pm
i love the chocolate peanut butter goodness. i’m positive i would end up eating this late at night and then finish it for breakfast in the morning… if there’s any left haha
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zestycook said,
October 24, 2008 at 7:27 pm
These cookies look amazing… great post -lovely pictures.
thanks for sharing
zesty
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Joanna said,
October 24, 2008 at 9:52 pm
thanks for your condolences, celine. that’s just life, i guess, and there’s no use feeling bad for yourself, you know?
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alaina said,
October 24, 2008 at 11:06 pm
i am so making these after my family finishes off my snickerdoodles!
i need a bigger cookie jar.
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Megan said,
October 25, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Wow. Are we both doing a pumpkin week?
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bex said,
October 26, 2008 at 1:25 am
that all looks good. I can’t wait to try these.
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Lacey said,
October 26, 2008 at 7:05 pm
do you think i can use sweet potato puree instead of pumpkin? i have excess and it seems like it should work. well. in theory. input?
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Bethany said,
October 26, 2008 at 10:14 pm
I vote crispy because I love crispy cookies. they look really great!
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Shelby said,
October 27, 2008 at 8:51 pm
I can’t wait to make these.
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Jackie said,
October 29, 2008 at 3:11 am
I bow down to the great master! I thought a crispy pumpkin cookie was impossible but I’m glad you proved me wrong.
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east.west said,
November 1, 2008 at 8:52 am
these were amazing! thank you for taking the time to comment on my little blog, too! i really have had the greatest success with everything i’ve tried from here. thank you for sharing your recipes with us all!
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misty said,
November 2, 2008 at 1:53 am
hi celine.. i’m a regular lurker of your beautiful blog but A) was lured to commenting on how amazing the 1st recipe was–my dh just went vegan (i’m lacto-ovo) and he flipped out over these when i made them this morning!! and B) i have a question about flour.. i grind my own wheat (hard gold berries i think) and i find that almost all of what i makes feels very heavy/dense. it’s fine for bread b/cs i like it toothier anyway, but do you have a suggestion for pastries that need to be lighter? thanks!
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Celine said,
November 2, 2008 at 9:41 am
whoa, I missed a crapload of comments, sorry guys. thanks for the feedback, I’m glad those of you who made them appear to have liked them a lot.
misty: are you set on grinding your own flour or not? I personally don’t grind mine, because I wouldn’t want to commit to logging the berries home on my bike, even though fresher is better, no doubt. if not, and if I were you, I’d purchase whole wheat pastry flour instead for lighter results. I posted a little ditty about this in the post, but you might have missed it.
other than that, I have no idea how to get the lighter texture that whole wheat pastry flour yield with a mill, since I don’t have one, but this is some info you should be able to find online. I’ll google it out of curiosity and will get back to you if I find something of interest.
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Celine said,
November 2, 2008 at 9:43 am
from what I see, it would depend on which sort of berry you purchase, misty, so I would guess there is a way of getting one that’s more appropriate for baked goods that aren’t yeasted bread. keep me posted?
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venus236 said,
November 4, 2008 at 6:17 pm
These look amazing! Are they cakey like pumpkin cookies usually tend to be? If not, then I’m definitely making these! I have been on the search for a noncakey pumpkin cookie foreverrr.
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Celine said,
November 4, 2008 at 9:11 pm
look at the title and description, venus. :)
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lemonpi » Bean there, done that. said,
November 5, 2008 at 2:43 am
[...] and lately I haven’t been able to take my mind off those tempting bites she offers up, like pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and black bean [...]
DD said,
November 5, 2008 at 8:41 am
You’ve convinced me to attempt these cookies. You’re really not helping my addiction :)
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Vegan/Gluten Free Pumpkin Swirl Brownies said,
November 5, 2008 at 11:32 am
[...] Punkin Sweets Around the Blogosphere: Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies with Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pots de Creme at HaveCakeWillTravel Vegan/Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie at Gluten Free Goddess Gluten Free/Sugar Free [...]
Gman said,
November 5, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Can’t wait to try out both recipes. I love all types of chocolate cookies and think pumpkin sounds like a good partnership.
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Anonymous said,
November 8, 2008 at 12:22 pm
You weren’t the first to come up with this idea. Although not a bad recipe for pumkin chocolate chip cookies my great grandma has an amazing recipe for pumkpin chocolate chip cookies that can’t be beat.
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Celine said,
November 8, 2008 at 8:11 pm
o…k, anonymous. thanks for sharing.
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Celine said,
November 8, 2008 at 8:50 pm
ps: it’s p-u-m-p-k-i-n.
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Jackie said,
November 9, 2008 at 12:07 pm
I just made crispy pumpkin cookies. Using the first recipe. They are fabulous, and so is this blog.
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specificflavourandthemobileslaughterunit said,
November 20, 2008 at 5:10 am
Anonymous; if your pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe is so good maybe you should share it, just a thought, you should try it, it’s a great feeling. Anyway Celine, THANK YOU for sharing yours!
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Lauren B. said,
December 8, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Could I use butter and an egg instead of whatever arrowroot is? Would that add too much moisture? Those first cookies look great! Gorgeous blog. :)
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Frances said,
April 9, 2009 at 6:49 pm
where are the other pumpkin cookie recipes these comments mention?
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Celine Reply:
April 9th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
it went POOF! nah, I just prefer the recipe up there, is all.
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have cake will travel Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies That Are | Cast Iron Cookware said,
May 26, 2009 at 9:38 am
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Lourdes said,
September 23, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Can I use old fashioned oats instead of ground oats? or is that the same thing?
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Celine Reply:
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:24 pm
the oats have to be ground. whichever kind of oats is fine.
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DenzelWM said,
November 2, 2009 at 3:36 am
Hello there, Happy day-after-hallowen! Today the real scares come when all you one night standers find out you just got a nasty case of herpes. :D!
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Celine Reply:
November 2nd, 2009 at 3:38 am
that’s what he said.
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Tanya said,
January 4, 2010 at 4:35 pm
Wow, that looks great (I think I’m coming’ in a bit late on this post, LOL)! I have leftover pumpkin puree from the pumpkin pancakes I made yesterday, so this is perfect :)
T.
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Tanya said,
January 7, 2010 at 7:35 pm
I just made these tonight (with some alterations of course) and they are AMAZING!!! I didn’t have plastic wrap, so I just let them sit on parchment paper in the fridge…and only for about 1 1/2 hours. I used water instead of shortening and I used only 1 cup of sugar. Although, to be honest, I could’ve used even less sugar! I’ll definitely make these again!! Thank you for this great recipe :)
T.
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