Pumpkin Harvest Cookies

These pumpkin cookies lean into autumn hard. Brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and a full cup of pumpkin puree make a soft, cakey dough studded with chopped white chocolate and pecans.

The white chocolate is doing something specific here. It’s sweeter and creamier than dark or semisweet, and it plays off the earthy pumpkin and warm spice in a way that regular chocolate chips don’t. Chopping it from a bar rather than using chips gives you uneven melty pockets instead of uniform dots.

Baking at 300°F (150°C) is low compared to most cookie recipes, but that’s the point. The low temperature dries the cookies gently without crisping the edges, so they stay pillowy and soft all the way through. Don’t expect crispy edges on these.

Kitchen Tips

• Use canned pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. Pie filling has added sugar and spices that throw off the balance.
• These spread very little. Space them about an inch apart rather than the usual two inches.
• Let them cool completely on the baking sheet. They’re fragile when warm and firm up as they cool.
• Store in an airtight container with a sheet of parchment between layers. The soft texture means they stick together easily.

Variations

• Swap the white chocolate for butterscotch chips for a deeper, more caramel-like sweetness.
• Use walnuts instead of pecans for a slightly more bitter, earthier nut flavor.
• Drizzle cooled cookies with a simple maple glaze (powdered sugar and maple syrup) for extra fall flavor.