These chewy, soft pumpkin cookies are a new take on the classic chocolate chip cookie! With a tender interior and slightly crispy edge, full of pumpkin, cinnamon, and all the other spices you love for fall, they are the perfect addiction for the season!

It’s time for fall cookies! The first thing that usually comes to mind when you’re thinking of baking cookies in the fall is soft pumpkin cookies. You know, those pumpkin spice cookies with cream cheese frosting. They’re kind of like mini pumpkin spice cupcakes!

Or maybe you’d think of pumpkin spice sugar cookies. The kind that actually look like pumpkins and are adorable! (Click the link for my recipe and a demo for how to frost them).

I wanted to break out and try some pumpkin spice chocolate chip cookies, but with a slight change. Instead of chocolate chips, I used butterscotch chips! Because butterscotch is a “fall” flavor, right?

These Chewy Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Butterscotch Chips have the consistency and look of a chocolate chip cookie. So if you’re not a huge fan of “cakey” cookies, then this is the pumpkin cookie for you!

When I make these cookies, I like to employ the “tower” method of dough-stacking. (Yes, it’s a thing). It’s where you take two cookie balls and stack one on top of the other, squishing them together so you get a “cookie dough column.” (Also a thing).

The reasoning behind this architectural cookie dough sculpting is that the bottom will spread out and bake first (giving you a slightly crispy edge) while the center takes longer to cook and stays nice and soft.

And then you get this:

Pure golden deliciousness with all the flavors of fall you love.

Tips for making Chewy Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Butterscotch Chips

1. You must refrigerate the dough! Not joking here. Do not skip this step, or your cookies will spread like a snowman on a hot summer’s day. The dough needs to be chilled for at least an hour. However, if you are in a hurry and have room in your freezer, you can smoosh the cookie dough against the sides of your mixing bowl (so the dough is stuck to the sides instead of in a big clump in the middle). Then put this in your freezer for about 30 minutes. By spreading the dough out, you’re making it easier for the cold to penetrate.

2. You can use either canned pumpkin puree or you can use your own homemade pumpkin puree. Homemade puree tends to have more liquid than the canned variety. If this is the case for you, add another two tablespoons of flour to the dough.

3. Keep cookie dough cold. If I have my stacks of cookie dough on my baking sheets waiting to go into the oven, I will keep them in the refrigerator (or freezer) so they stay cold before baking.

4. Bake some “test” cookies. If you remove your cookies from the oven and after a few minutes, they look wrinkly, kind of wet, and flat, you didn’t bake them for long enough. I suggest baking two “test” cookies on a small baking sheet to make sure you get the right baking time for your oven. The cookies should puff up in the oven and start to crack.

That’s it! Happy baking! (By the way, your kitchen will smell AMAZING while you are baking these cookies!)

Chewy Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Butterscotch Chips

Yield: 24 cookies

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Additional Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 27 minutes

Soft, chewy cookies with real pumpkin and all the spices you love for fall! Butterscotch chips take this new twist on the chocolate chip cookie over the top!

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Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup canned pumpkin or homemade pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2/3 cup butterscotch chips

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in the microwave, covered, for 45 seconds. Alternately, you can melt it in a small pan on the stove over medium-low heat.
2. Pour the butter into a large mixing bowl or stand mixer and add the white and brown sugar. Mix until completely combined.
3. Add the egg yolk and mix well.
4. Add the vanilla and pumpkin puree. Mix well.
5. Add 1/2 cup of the flour along with the salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, and baking soda. Mix well.
6. Add the remaining cup of flour and blend just until the flour disappears. The mixture should be pulling away from the sides of the bowl. If it is not, add a little more flour. Start with 2 tablespoons.
7. Stir in the butterscotch chips.
8. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.
9. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
10. Cover baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
11. Using a small cookie scoop, make two balls of dough and stack one on top of the other. Press the sides together so you get a tall column of dough.
12. Place only two cookies in a row, as they spread while baking. Immediately after placing 6-8 cookies on a baking sheet, bake them for 9-12 minutes. Any cookies not being immediately baked should be put in the refrigerator and kept cold.
13. Bake the cookies until the edges just begin to brown and the tops crack. Remove from the oven and let rest on the baking sheets for two minutes (or longer) before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. May press more butterscotch chips on top for looks if desired.

Notes

Be sure to measure your flour properly, by spooning it into your measuring cup. If you add too much flour, your cookies will be cakey. Be sure to scroll up in the post for other essential tips.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1 cookie
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 120

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