High Altitude Soft and Chewy Pumpkin Cookies

An easy, high altitude recipe for the softest pumpkin cookies that are chewy, not cakey, full of warm spices and sprinkled with sugar. These soft and chewy pumpkin cookies come together quickly, with no chill time required, and they stay soft for days after baking. Today’s post also includes a variation for soft pumpkin snickerdoodles.

You might also love these high altitude pumpkin recipes for pumpkin pecan muffins, pumpkin chocolate chip bread, and brown butter pumpkin cake.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Soft, but not Cakey. Pumpkin cookies have a reputation for being very cakey. The moisture in canned pumpkin makes wonderfully moist cakes, but doesn’t work so well for cookies, as it tends to turn cookies into pumpkin muffin tops or fluffy pumpkin pillows. Which I love, too, and grew up eating cakey pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. But if what you’re looking for is a flatter, chewier pumpkin cookie, there’s a simple step that you have to do before making the cookie dough. The canned pumpkin will need to be blotted dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture and prevent the cookies from puffing up into mini cakes. This step may seem strange, but it’s necessary for today’s recipe.

Full of Fall Spices. With allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger, these cookies taste like a brisk autumn day.

High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

• Pumpkin. You’ll need canned pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
• Butter. I use unsalted butter for all my baking, so I can control the saltiness.
• Sugar. You’ll need light or dark brown sugar for the cookie dough, as well as granulated sugar for coating the dough balls before baking.
• Egg Yolks. By using just the egg yolks, and not the whole egg, you’ll get a chewier, less cakey texture in your pumpkin cookies.
• Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
• Flour. Plain all purpose flour adds structure and strength.
• Baking Soda. Leavening agent, so the cookies spread as they bake.
• Salt. Balances the sweetness and enhances flavors.
• Spices. A blend of cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg and cloves adds warmth and coziness.

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• On a plate, blot the pumpkin dry with paper towels. You may need to change the paper towels 6-7 times to remove enough moisture from the pumpkin. When the pumpkin is dry enough, barely any moisture should transfer to the paper towels, and the pumpkin will be reduced from 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup.

• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a hand held electric mixer), beat the softened butter with the brown sugar for 2 minutes on medium speed, until fluffy.
• Add the dried pumpkin, egg yolks and vanilla, and mix on low until combined.
• In a separate bowl, combine the flour with the baking soda, salt and spices. Add the dry ingredients to the dough and mix on low just until combined. The dough will be fairly soft.

• Use a medium cookie scoop with a release lever (approximately 1 1/2 tbsp capacity) to scoop 2 dozen balls of dough. Roll the balls smooth between your hands, then coat the dough balls in the granulated sugar.

• Place the cookies 2-3 inches apart on your baking sheet (I baked 12 cookies at a time on a standard rimmed cookie sheet) and flatten the balls slightly with the palm of your hand.
• Bake for 9-10 minutes, until the cookies have spread and slightly puffed, with the edges set. Cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
• Baker’s Note: You may or may not need to flatten your cookies to encourage spreading. I recommend baking 1-2 cookies first, as a test batch, one slightly flattened and one not flattened, to determine what works best for your altitude. I found that my cookies didn’t spread quite enough unless I flattened the dough balls a little before baking.

Recipe Variations

• Pumpkin Snickerdoodles. You can easily use today’s recipe for chewy pumpkin cookies to make pumpkin snickerdoodles, with a few simple changes. To the dry ingredients, add 1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar – this adds a slight “tang” that snickerdoodles are known for. Omit the allspice, ginger and cloves. Roll the cookie dough balls in cinnamon sugar, instead of plain sugar, and sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon sugar on top of the cookies after baking.
• Ice Cream Sandwiches. Cool the cookies completely, then assemble with ice cream for the most delicious ice cream sandwiches. Vanilla, caramel or butter pecan ice cream would all be wonderful.
• Buttercream Filled Cookie Sandwiches. Sandwich the cooled cookies with vanilla buttercream or cream cheese buttercream. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container, then let warm up to room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!

Frequently Asked Questions

What brand of canned pumpkin do you use?

I’ve used Libby’s, as well as the Kroger and Target store brands, all of which work just fine.

Can I skip the step of drying the pumpkin first?

If you don’t blot your pumpkin dry first, or you don’t dry it enough, then your cookies will be puffier and cakier, like pumpkin muffin tops.

Can I add chocolate chips to the dough?

Yes, you can add chocolate chips, about 1/2 – 3/4 cup.

How should I store leftover chewy pumpkin cookies?

Let the cookies cool completely, then store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3-6 months.

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