These Salted Honey Chewy Pumpkin Cookies are sweet, buttery, and perfectly pumpkin spiced. A crispy edge and a chewy center set these pumpkin cookies apart!
Love the idea if Salted Honey? Try My Salted Honey Pistachio Cookies too!
Salted Honey Chewy Pumpkin Cookies Are Easily My New Favorite Fall Cookie Recipe!
Today you’re in for a treat. Literally. These Chewy Pumpkin Cookies are not only easy, but a total fall mood. You don’t need to use your stand or hand mixer, just a bowl or even the saucepan you brown the butter in! They are different from a typical pumpkin cookie because they are a truly CHEWY cookie. A lot like a molasses cookie, you will be eating these all through fall into the holidays. Perfect with a cup of coffee or tea, or on your holiday platter. Just be prepared to give the recipe to all your friends. Everyone loves these!
What To Expect With This Recipe:
- An easy cookie recipe that requires no mixer!
- A cookie with crispy Edges and perfectly soft, chewy centers.
- The perfect amount of pumpkin flavor.
- No chill time needed, so a truly QUICK and easy cookie recipe.
- A cookie recipe that you will make again and again that people will rave about!
- A salty bite from the addition of salted honey and flaked sea salt.
I’ve Cracked the Code On TRULY Chewy Pumpkin Cookies!
I’ve made so many cookies over the years using pumpkin. My Soft Pumpkin Cookie recipe is a HUGE favorite or friends and family. And while I LOVE that cookie recipe, this is a totally different kind of pumpkin cookie. This cookie, as you can see from the pictures is not cakey in any way. I have a few tricks up my sleeve with this recipe that I can’t wait to share with you.
First, What Is Salted Honey?
Before I get into the details of the cookie making process, let me start with the Salted Honey! The addition of honey adds a subtle sweetness that pairs with the brown sugar beautifully. What I like to do is dissolve some salt into the honey before adding it into the cookie dough because the flavors melds together creating liquid gold! The salty/sweet combination works beautifully in the flavor, while the honey adds to the chewy texture!
How Do You Actually Make Pumpkin Cookies Chewy And Not Cakey?
Let me break this down for you because it’s easier than you think! Pumpkin in cookies, or any baking is a great ingredient because while it adds flavor, fiber, and texture, it can also be a perfect egg substitution. But it does make your baked good cakey. Which is great if you’re baking cakes, muffins, or quick breads. And while some cakey-style cookies are great, not all pumpkin cookies should have to be cakey! So here are a few of the tips that I discovered while testing this recipe!
- Use a small amount of pumpkin. You want the flavor, but not the texture!
- When baking cookies with pumpkin omit a lot of the egg you would otherwise use. I use only an egg yolk in this recipe and let the pumpkin do the rest of the work.
- Adding honey to this recipe adds to the chewiness while keeping the dough a little softer than a traditional cookie dough.
- Melted butter helps the cookies spread a bit, which give you those crispy, buttery edges.
- BANG THE COOKIE SHEET! This is a great tip when you want chewy, flat cookies with crinkly tops.
What Ingredients Do You Need to Make Chewy Pumpkin Cookies?
- Salted butter. You will be browning the butter and using it in the cookie dough after it has cooled, but has not become solid again. The melted butter aids in spreading the cookies a bit more which gives you those buttery, crisp edges! You can use unsalted butter if that’s what you have on hand. I wouldn’t adjust the salt in the honey, but you could just add more flaked sea salt on top if you want to add more saltiness to taste.
- Honey + Kosher Salt. This is the salted honey!
- Dark brown sugar. Using dark brown sugar adds more molasses flavor, while aiding in the chewy texture.
- Egg yolk. Just using a yolk in this recipe adds fat and protein, while not adding too much moisture into the cookie. You are using pumpkin, so you don’t need the extra moisture from the egg white, but the yolk binds and stabilizes the dough.
- Vanilla extract
- Pumpkin puree. Make sure you’re using 100% pure pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling!
- Baking soda
- Pumpkin pie spice. You can also substitute cinnamon in this cookie if you don’t have pumpkin spice. Or make homemade pumpkin pie spice (1 tablespoon ground cinnamon + 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger + 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg + 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves)
- All purpose flour
- Granulated sugar + Cinnamon. This is the cinnamon sugar mixture you will roll your cookie dough in before baking.
- Flaked sea salt to sprinkle on top for garnish. This is optional, of course, but that flaky salt on top really adds something special. You don’t need a lot!
Easy Instructions/Yield: 20 Cookies
- Brown the butter: I like to use a larger saucepan for this step because this allows me the space to mix the dough all in the same pan after the butter cools and I don’t have to dirty up another bowl!
- Make your Salted Honey: While the butter is cooling, stir together the honey and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Make the Cookie Dough: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add in the brown sugar and honey into the cooled butter. Using a rubber spatula mix together, scraping up all the brown bits of the butter. Add in the egg yolk, vanilla, pumpkin, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice and mix until smooth. Stir in the flour until combined. Set aside.
- Roll the Cookie Dough Balls in Cinnamon Sugar: In a small bowl mix together the granulated sugar and cinnamon. Use a medium (3- tablespoon) cookie scoop to portion out the dough. Roll the dough into a ball and drop it into the cinnamon sugar mixture and coat.
- Bake the Cookies: Place the dough onto the prepared baking sheet 3- inches apart. The dough will be soft but not sticky. Bake for 9 -11 minutes until the edges are golden.
- Bang the Cookie Sheet: As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, drop (or bang) the pan down onto the stove top 5 times. This gives the cookies a crackly top, and reduces any airiness, making them even chewier.
- Cool the cookies: Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes if desired.
How to Brown Butter
This recipe calls for browned butter, which is an easy and amazing way to really intensify flavor. Browning the butter adds a nutty depth of flavor that is perfect in cookies. In this recipe I recommend using a larger saucepan to brown the butter. That way you can mix the dough right into the saucepan and not have to dirty up another bowl. It’s truly a one-bowl cookie recipe! Here’s how you do it:
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat.
- Once the butter is melted, continue cooking the butter. It will start boiling and bubbling, and then foaming up.
- Stir constantly during the browning process, to prevent the milk fats from burning.
- Once the butter has foamed up continue stirring while watching the color of the butter turn to a golden amber.
- Once the butter has become a deep amber color remove it from the heat immediately.
How To Tell When These Cookies Are Done Baking:
One of the tricks to the chewy texture of these cookies is baking them long enough! If you under-bake them a little bit they will taste great, but they will be soft and you won’t get that crispy edge and chewy center. All ovens bake differently, so I say between 9 – 11 minutes. The cookies will be lightly golden at the edge and puffed and cracked on the top. You want them to be set on top and not wet.
Don’t Forget: Bang the Cookie Sheet!
I hit on this above, but an important part of this recipe to achieve the thin and chewy cookie you see pictured is to bang the cookie sheet! This method works great for this recipe. Here’s how:
- As soon as the cookies are done baking, remove the cookie sheet from the oven.
- Immediately and evenly drop it from above 6 inches above down onto a flat surface. I use my stove top.
- Using oven mitts, pick the tray up again and drop it again. Repeat this 6 times.
- Dropping the cookie sheet compresses the cookies by deflating any air bubbles that formed while baking.
- This gives the cookies a more crackly top and also gives them a chewier texture.
How to Store These Cookies
These cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days for best freshness. A lot of people will eat cookies for longer than 3 days, which is fine, I just recommend 3 days for best flavor.
Can Pumpkin Cookies Be Frozen?
Absolutely! This is a great cookie recipe to freeze. Just allow them to cool completely, then package them airtight and freeze for up to 30 days. Again, I recommend 30 days for best taste, but I know folks freeze cookies for up to 3 months.
Here Are Some Other Pumpkin Cookies You Will Love:
Salted Honey Chewy Pumpkin Cookies
Description:
These Salted Honey Chewy Pumpkin Cookies are sweet, buttery, and perfectly pumpkin spiced. A crispy edge and a chewy center set these pumpkin cookies apart!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup salted butter
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup pure pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Optional – flaked sea salt to garnish
Instructions
- In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Stirring constantly continue cooking the butter until it reaches a deep amber color and remove from the heat. This will take about 5 minutes. Allow the butter to cool for 30 minutes.
- While the butter is cooling, stir together the honey and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add in the brown sugar and honey into the cooled butter. Using a rubber spatula mix together, scraping up all the brown bits of the butter. Add in the egg yolk, vanilla, pumpkin, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice and mix until smooth.
- Stir in the flour until combined. Set aside.
- In a small bowl mix together the granulated sugar and cinnamon. Use a medium (3- tablespoon) cookie scoop to portion out the dough. Roll the dough into a ball and drop it into the cinnamon sugar mixture and coat. Place the dough onto the prepared baking sheet 3- inches apart. The dough will be soft but not sticky. Bake for 9 -11 minutes until the edges are golden. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, drop (or bang) the pan down onto the stove top 5 times. This gives the cookies a crackly top, and reduces any airiness, making them even chewier.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes if desired.
Notes:
Store airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Freeze airtight for up to 30 days
Keywords:: cookies and cups, cookie recipe, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin recipe, fall baking, chewy cookies
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