Cinnamon Chip Pumpkin Cookies

Seriously unbeatable flavor! And so easy to make with no mixer and minimal cookie dough chilling.

So, who has received his/her copy of Sally’s Candy Addiction? It’s incredibly surreal that you’re holding the book in your hands this week. A feeling I can’t get over!

Besides getting all hyped up for the cookbook’s release, I’ve been getting the most out of my canned pumpkin stockpile. I made another pan of pumpkin cream cheese swirl bars for my friend to take to work last week and brought today’s cinnamon chip pumpkin cookies to another friend for dessert. That was my third batch of cinnamon chip pumpkin cookies, by the way.

Even though my house is crazy right now with boxes and boxes of cookbooks and empty suitcases ready for packing, I still find the time (and need!) to make repeat batches of pumpkin cookies. If you know anything about me by now, you know I over-obsess about pretty much everything in life. No exception here. Or here.

Hopefully you’re familiar with my non-cakey pumpkin cookie phenomenon by now. If not, let me rewind to 2013 when baking the perfect pumpkin chocolate chip cookies ruled my life. I baked about 12 batches of pumpkin cookies before finally landing on a combination of ingredients that produced a chewy, soft pumpkin cookie without a cakey texture. And do you know what that felt like to me? In my very crazy baker world? TRIUMPH! Like winning the Superbowl or lottery or whatever normal people associate with the best day ever.

Since then, my pumpkin chocolate chip cookies have taken pumpkin lovers’ worlds by storm. In fact, I even created a second version of the cookies last year known as my White Chocolate Pumpkin Snickerdoodles. And with another new Fall season comes version #3. Cinnamon chips!

Cakey Pumpkin Cookie Problem

Pumpkin is gloppy. How appetizing is that sentence. But seriously, pumpkin is approximately 90% water by mass and with this excessive moisture comes a cakey texture in pumpkin baked goods. Think about cake batter. It’s a lot more wet than cookie dough, right? That’s what you want for cake! But for cookie dough, we need something a little more firm and dry. Adding a bunch of flour won’t do the trick, so there’s a couple unique things I do when I make pumpkin cookies.

First, I took what I learned from creating my Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies: melted butter is key to creating a chewy cookie texture. So let’s melt the butter, not cream it, in this pumpkin cookie dough. Second, I began thinking about eggs. What is the purpose of eggs in a cookie recipe? A lot of things, actually: binding, tenderizing, moisture. These are all roles that pumpkin puree plays in baked goods. So, a couple years ago, I decided that pumpkin can replace the eggs in my pumpkin cookies.

And the rest is history!

For this year’s version, I replaced the chocolate chips with cinnamon chips. Are you familiar with them? I like Hershey’s brand. I can always find them at my local grocery store, but sometimes only see them on shelves during the holiday season. Look out for them– you can always find them on Amazon too.

For added flavor… and obviously for looks, too… I roll the cookie dough balls in a mix of cinnamon and sugar. Who doesn’t prefer cookies with a little sparkle? Before baking, make sure you slightly press down the cookie dough balls. This helps them begin to spread. See that photo above? Just a little flattening.

The three best parts of these pumpkin cookies?

(1) No mixer. A whisk and rubber spatula do the trick.

(2) Minimal dough chilling– only about 30 minutes.

(3) Make-ahead friendly. The pumpkin flavor in these cinnamon chip pumpkin cookies is much stronger on day two. You know how banana bread’s flavor is glorified after a day or two? Same thing here. Because of this, today’s pumpkin cookies are perfect for making 1-2 nights before you need them. Cinnamon chip pumpkin cookies for the win!

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Cinnamon Chip Pumpkin Cookies

• 
  Author: Sally


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  Prep Time: 45 minutes


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  Cook Time: 10 minutes


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  Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes


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  Yield: 18 cookies


• 
  Category: Cookies


• 
  Method: Baking


• 
  Cuisine: American

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Description

Seriously unbeatable flavor! And so easy to make with no mixer and minimal cookie dough chilling.

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Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter


• 1/4 cup (50g) packed light or dark brown sugar


• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar, divided


• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


• 6 Tablespoons (86g) pumpkin puree


• 1 and 1/2 cups (190g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)


• 1/4 teaspoon salt


• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder


• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda


• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided


• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice*


• 2/3 cup (120g) cinnamon chips*

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Instructions

1. Melt the butter in the microwave. In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar together until no brown sugar lumps remain. Whisk in the vanilla and pumpkin until smooth. Set aside.


2. In a large bowl, toss together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon or rubber spatula. The dough will be very soft. Fold in the cinnamon chips. They may not stick to the dough because of the melted butter, but do your best to have them evenly dispersed in the dough. Cover the dough and chill for 30 minutes, or up to 3 days³. Chilling is mandatory.


3. Take the dough out of the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.


4. Roll the dough into balls, about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough each. Mix together the remaining 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Roll each of the dough balls generously in the cinnamon-sugar mixture and arrange on 2 baking sheets. Slightly flatten the dough balls because the cookies will only slightly spread in the oven. The photo above shows what the cookie dough balls should look like before baking.


5. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. The cookies will look very soft and underbaked. Keeping them in the oven for longer may dry them out. Remove from the oven and press a few more cinnamon chips onto the tops, if desired. If you find that your cookies didn’t spread much at all, flatten them out when you take them out of the oven.


6. Allow the cookies to cool for at least 10 minutes on the cookie sheets before transferring to a wire rack. The longer the cookies cool, the chewier they will be. I let them sit out for at least 1 hour before enjoying. I find that their chewiness and pumpkin flavor is more prominent on day 2.

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Notes

1. Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week. You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.2 Allow to come to room temperature and continue with step 3. Baked cookies freeze well – up to three months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well – up to three months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw.


2. Pumpkin Pie Spice: Instead of pumpkin pie spice, you may use 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1/2 teaspoon allspice.


3. Cinnamon Chips: I use Hershey’s Cinnamon Chips. If you can’t find them: I always see them in the baking or seasonal aisles in Walmart and grocery stores in the fall-winter months. My grocery carries them year-round in the baking aisle. But no fret if you can’t find them– they’re sold on Amazon for relatively cheap for a pack of 6.


4. Leftover Pumpkin: Use leftover canned pumpkin in any of these recipes.


5. If you are chilling the pumpkin cookie dough for longer than 30 minutes, the cookie dough will likely have to sit on the counter at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before scooping/rolling because it will be quite cold and solid. The amount of time it needs to sit at room temperature depends on how long the dough has chilled. If I chill my cookie dough for around 24 hours, I let it sit at room temperature for about 25 minutes.


6. Special Tools: Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Libby’s Pure Pumpkin | Cinnamon Chips | Pumpkin Pie Spice | Silpat Baking Mat | Baking Sheet | Cooling Rack


7. Adapted from Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Keywords: cinnamon chip pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cookies

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