Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Date Cookies
Who else craves that perfect blend of cozy fall spices and melty chocolate the moment autumn rolls around? These healthy pumpkin chocolate chip date cookies hit the spot!
They’re made with pumpkin puree, wholesome whole wheat flour, naturally sweetened with dates, and infused with the perfect blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
If you’re looking for a healthy dessert, this healthy pumpkin cookie recipe is what you’ve been looking for. They’re soft, chewy, and bursting with pumpkin goodness.
Let’s dive into how to make this irresistible fall favorite!
What you’ll love about these pumpkin chocolate chip date cookies
If you’re looking for a healthy, family-friendly treat, this pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe ticks all of the boxes:
Naturally sweetened: These cookies are sweetened with nutrient packed medjool dates and a little bit of molasses. Together these ingredients give these cookies both sweetness and a great chewy texture.
Whole wheat: There’s no refined white flour in these, just whole wheat.
So full of flavor: Dates, spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves, and some molasses work together to make these cookies full of rich, warm flavor.
Freezer-friendly: Make the dough ahead and freeze. Your future self with thank you.
Pumpkin date cookie ingredients
The list below tells you what you’ll need for these date cookies (hint: you’re gonna need a good amount of dates):
- Pumpkin purée – Provides moisture, natural sweetness, and that signature pumpkin flavor. Make sure you use *pure* pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
- Whole wheat flour – A great source of fiber and other nutrients. You can also try white whole wheat flour for a lighter crumb.
- Dates – Using dates to sweeten cookies adds natural sweetness, fiber, and nutrients. They also create a rich, caramel-like flavor and make it so you don’t need refined sugar in the recipe.
- Molasses – Molasses adds moisture, rich flavor, and chewiness to the cookies. It also goes perfectly with the pumpkin pie spices.
- Spices – This recipe is filled with a warm blend of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Here’s a recipe for the best pumpkin pie spice mix.
- Butter – Butter makes cookies taste so good. And since I have no patience to soften butter or the forethought to take it out of the fridge early, this recipe has you melt the butter. You can even brown the butter for even more flavor.
- Vanilla – Brings warmth, sweetness, and a tiny hint of floral flavor.
- Baking soda – Baking soda helps cookies spread and rise during baking.
- Salt – Salt enhances the flavors and helps to balance out the sweetness.
- Chocolate chips – Semisweet or dark chocolate chips are really good in these (imho).
How to make pumpkin chocolate chip date cookies
The process of making these cookies may be different than what you are used to when making cookies. Since these pumpkin cookies are sweetened with dates, you will start by using a food processor to incorporate the dates into the flour. Other than that, the rest of the steps are very straightforward.
- Preheat the oven. Start by preheating your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a cookie or baking tray with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a food processor, process the whole wheat flour and dates together until the dates are mostly incorporated into the flour, but don’t process so much that the flour and dates become a dough. Next, pulse in the salt, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, melted butter,molasses, and vanilla.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Add the flour and dates mixture to the wet ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to mix together. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Form dough discs. Using about 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookies, form the cookie dough into a dozen squat discs that are each about 2” wide. Place on a cookie sheet and give about an inch of space between each cookie.
- Bake, cool, and enjoy. Bake in the heated oven for 12 – 15 minutes. Once just set in the center, remove from he oven and allow to cool for first 10 minutes on the baking tray and then let them finish cooling on a wire rack.
- Eat them up! Take a bite of one of these pumpkin cookies and fall in love with their chewy, gooey texture and perfectly spiced flavor.
Baking tips
Not only will these baking tips help you bake the best pumpkin chocolate chip date cookies, but most of the tips can be applied to all baking, helping you become a better baker.
- Use room temperature ingredients. This is important, especially when you’re using butter in a recipe. Butter is solid at around 65° F, so if you melt it for the recipe then it comes in contact with some pumpkin puree you make have just gotten out of the fridge, that melted butter will solidify and become chunky. This makes it so it doesn’t evenly distribute throughout the cookie dough.
- Measure your flour correctly. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and then level the flour with the back of a butter knife. This method (called spoon and level) helps you avoid putting too much flour in your cookies. Adding too much flour can make the cookies dry, dense, and crumbly.
- Weigh the ingredients. The most accurate way to bake is by weighing your ingredients on a kitchen scale instead of using measuring cups. I include the weight for the flour and other key ingredients in all my recipes.
- Make it your own: Add chopped walnuts or some dried cranberries for extra texture and flavor! Don’t add more than a cups worth of mix-ins in total to ensure they don’t overwhelm the cookie dough. Too many mix-ins and not enough dough can make the cookies fall apart easily.
- Make sure the oven is fully heated before baking. Baking cookies in a fully preheated oven helps the cookies bake evenly for perfect, delicious results.
- Bake on the center rack. Baking cookies on the center rack ensures even heat distribution, preventing burnt bottoms or undercooked tops. It creates perfectly golden, evenly baked cookies every time.
Storing and freezing
Storing: Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, keep them in the fridge for up to a week.
Freezing baked cookies: Wrap each baked cookie individually in plastic wrap, then place them in a freezer bag. This makes it easy to grab a cookies whenever you want! Just thaw it at room temperature or warm it up in the toaster oven.
Freezing cookie dough: You can also freeze the cookie dough. Scoop about two tablespoons of the cookie dough and form into a squat disc. Place on a lined cookie sheet. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer and freeze for about 2 hours or until frozen solid. Then put the frozen cookie dough into a labeled freezer bag. The dough can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Date Cookies
October 19, 2024Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour (120 g)
- 10 pitted medjool dates (95 g)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ginger
- ⅛ tsp cloves
- ⅛ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 stick butter, melted (113 g)
- ½ cup pumpkin puree (130 g)
- 2 TBS molasses (50 g)
- 2 tsp vanilla
- ¾ cup chocolate chips (145 g)
Instructions
- Heat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a cookie or baking tray with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- In a food processor, process the whole wheat flour and dates together until the dates are mostly incorporated into the flour, but don’t process so much that the flour and dates become clumpy. The texture should look like damp sand. Next, pulse in the baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt.1 cup whole wheat flour, 10 pitted medjool dates, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp ginger, ⅛ tsp cloves, ⅛ tsp nutmeg, ½ tsp kosher salt
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, melted butter, molasses, and vanilla.1 stick butter, melted, ½ cup pumpkin puree, 2 TBS molasses, 2 tsp vanilla
- Add the flour and dates mixture to the wet ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to mix together. Fold in the chocolate chips.¾ cup chocolate chips
- Using about 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie, form the cookie dough into a dozen squat discs that are each about 2” wide. Place discs about an inch apart on a cookie sheet.
- Bake for 12 – 15 minutes. Once just set in the center, remove from the oven and allow to cool for first 10 minutes on the baking tray and then let them finish cooling on a wire rack.
