Vegan Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies! If you love cookies that feel wholesome but still taste seriously indulgent, these vegan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies hit the sweet spot every time (and yes, they’re basically impossible to resist).
These Vegan Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies are the kind of treat you’ll keep coming back to: crispy, golden edges paired with a delightfully chewy center. Infused with real pumpkin and cozy fall spices, each bite tastes like autumn baked into a cookie, while melty chocolate chips bring that irresistible sweet finish.
Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients.
Hi there, Ameera here!
Oh yes, I absolutely love, love, love these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, they’re the perfect cozy bake for snack time, movie nights, or any day you want your kitchen to smell amazing. But hey, that’s just me!
Trust me, you gotta give this one a try if you’re craving a vegan cookie that’s both comforting and satisfying, with a hint of that classic pumpkin-spice vibe and chocolate chips in every bite.
Tips for Success:
- Flavor Profile: These Vegan Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies are delicious with crispy edges and chewy centers. Pumpkin, spices, and chocolate chips make for a fantastic cookie combo that is hard to resist.
- Batter Discussion and Consistency: At first you might think the batter is not coming together (too dry); however, keep stirring, it will eventually become a sticky thick batter. We used a medium-sized cookie scoop (slightly less than 2 Tablespoons) to scoop up the batter. Cookie scoops work really well, but are not required. Scoop up the batter in the cookie scoop, then flatten it against the side of the bowl to remove any excess batter to get consistently sized cookies. Place the batter from the cookie scoop into your slightly dampened hands, then roll them into round dough balls. Then very slightly flatten into a very thick disk and place onto the baking sheet. If the batter seems too wet to work with, then simply put the bowl of cookie dough into the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes (or freezer for 10 minutes) to firm up. Using damp hands will create a shiny smooth texture for the cookie ball and makes for a prettier cookie.
- Coconut Sugar (or other dry sugar): We used coconut sugar, but maple sugar or date sugar or other dry sugars work equally well. You cannot substitute the dry coconut sugar for a liquid maple syrup. This recipe uses both coconut sugar and maple syrup. Additionally, we have not tested using chopped dates; however, our opinion would be that the batter may be too gooey.
- Measuring Flour: Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level off. Do not pack it in and do not scoop it in. If you have a food scale, use it as that works best for consistency. If you don’t have one, that is not an issue.
- All-Purpose Unbleached White Flour: We adhere to a whole food plant-based diet. Dr. Campbell from the Center for Nutrition Studies permits the use of unbleached all-purpose white flour.
- Thin Edged Spatula: It is important to use a thin-edged spatula to avoid tearing up the cookie bottoms. When removing a cookie from the cookie sheet, look at the spatula (top and bottom) and remove any remnants (cookie pieces) that stuck to the top or bottom of the spatula. This allows the spatula edge to remain clean to avoid a drag effect which ruins the bottoms of the cookies. It takes a few extra minutes to constantly keep the edge clean, but it is totally worth the tiny bit of extra effort.
- Creamy Almond Butter [roasted] Substitutions: You can also substitute with other nut or seed butters with the understanding that the flavors will fluctuate accordingly. We have not tested any substitutions. Be sure to use an almond butter that is dripping and runny. Avoid overly thick almond butter that will not evenly distribute through out the cookie dough.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: Not all pumpkin pie spices are the same. Some brands accent different spices. Find one that you love. We enjoy blends that are lighter on the cloves. Feel free to use your favorite pumpkin pie spice in this recipe.
- Cinnamon: Not all cinnamon is created equal. Some brands of cinnamon are light and passively flavored while others are strong, sharp, and astringent. Use judgement and start on the low end. You can use your favorite cinnamon in this recipe; however, we suggest starting on the low end until you have a strong understanding of how the cinnamon that you are using in this recipe impacts the flavor.
- Gluten Free Version: Try our gluten free Healthy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies if you are looking for a gluten free version if you are looking for chocolate chip cookies. Although note that the chocolate chip cookie version that is Gluten Free does not have pumpkin in it.
- Table Salt: If using table salt, you should use less table salt than the amount listed in the ingredients as sea salt crystals are larger than table salt crystals. Since table salt crystals are very fine, less table salt is required to season a dish. We would suggest starting with about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of sea salt listed. You can always add more salt but cannot take it away. We recommend using sea salt as it is less refined than table salt.
Leftovers and Freezing:
Cookies last generally 3 to 4 days. Store in a covered air-tight container.
These cookies freeze well.
Pantry Products:
- Unbleached White All-Purpose Flour: We used Bob’s Red Mill Unbleached White All-Purpose Organic Flour. We have also used King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Organic Flour.
- Molasses: We used Grandma’s Unsulfured Original Molasses. Feel free to use your favorite molasses. We do not recommend black strap molasses as it can sometimes be bitter. You can leave the molasses out of the dish if you wish. The molasses adds excellent depth of flavor and is reminiscent of brown sugar.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Kitchen Equipment:
- Large (14 x 20) baking sheet
- Medium cookie scoop (optional)
- Silicone baking sheets or parchment paper
- Thin-edged spatula
If you try these delicious cookies, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
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Healthy Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Cook Time: 13-14 Minutes
- Total Time: 29 Minutes
- Yield: 22 Cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These Vegan Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies are the kind of treat you’ll keep coming back to: crispy, golden edges paired with a delightfully chewy center.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups + 1 Tablespoon (7.3 oz.) all purpose, white unbleached flour *
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch (or arrowroot powder)
- 1 cup coconut sugar (or other dry sugar) *
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice *
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
Wet Ingredients
- 1/3 cup pumpkin puree [canned]
- 1/3 cup creamy almond butter, roasted (runny/drippy) *
- 1 teaspoon molasses *
- 3 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Other Ingredients
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, middle rack.
- Line a large baking sheet with a silicone pad or parchment paper, set aside.
- Place the all the Dry Ingredients into a large mixing bowl, whisk to combine.
- Add all the Wet Ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly by hand with a stiff wooden spoon to incorporate all the ingredients. At first it will seem like the batter is too dry and won’t come together, keep mashing the almond butter (and other wet ingredients) into the flour (dry ingredients), scrape down the spoon and the sides of the bowl, stir and mix intently. The batter will eventually come together and will appear thick and sticky.
- Stir in the chocolate chips. Stir to fully incorporate the chocolate chips.
- Using a medium-sized cookie scoop (slightly less than 2 Tablespoons), scoop out the batter into rounded lumps (dome shape), then roll into a smooth ball with damp hands, very slightly flatten in a very thick disk, then place onto the large baking sheet, approximately 3 to 4 inches apart as the batter does spread (or use 2 baking sheets). If using two baking sheets, switch top to bottom and bottom to top about halfway through the baking.
- Place in a 350 F preheated oven for 13 to 14 minutes (largely dependent upon the size of the cookies) or until set.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 9 minutes, then move them to a cooling rack using a thin-edged spatula. Allow to cool for 15 minutes, then enjoy!
Notes
Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.
Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Servings: Makes 22 cookies
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