Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies are soft, tender, and packed with cozy pumpkin spice flavor. Milk chocolate chips add little pockets of sweetness, while a tangy cream cheese frosting with vanilla and lemon zest gives each cookie a rich, creamy finish.
Equipment
- Electric mixer
- large mixing bowls
- Baking sheets
- Cookie scoop
- Wire cooling rack
Ingredients
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Pinch of ground cloves
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 16 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1¼ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- Zest of ½ lemon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add maple syrup and eggs, one at a time.
- Then mix in the pumpkin.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves separately.
- Gradually add to the pumpkin mixture and mix until combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Scoop dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between cookies.
- Bake for 12 minutes, until the centers are set.
- Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
- For the frosting, beat cream cheese until smooth and fluffy.
- Gradually mix in powdered sugar.
- Then add milk and vanilla.
- Fold in lemon zest. If the frosting is too thin, add another ¼ cup powdered sugar
- Frost the cooled cookies before serving.
Notes
- Don't overbake: These cookies should remain soft and tender in the center.
- Cool completely: The frosting will melt or slide if spread onto warm cookies.
- Pumpkin puree: Use plain pumpkin puree rather than pumpkin pie filling.
- Chocolate: Milk chocolate gives the cookies a sweeter flavor; semisweet also works well.
- Frosting: Refrigerate the frosting for 15–20 minutes if it needs to firm up before decorating.