These 3-ingredient pumpkin cookies are soft, flavorful, and couldn't be easier to make! All you need is spice cake mix, canned pumpkin, and chocolate chips to make a batch of easy pumpkin cookies in minutes.
Looking for more pumpkin inspiration? I've rounded up my favorite 21 Best Pumpkin Recipes for Fall →, including pumpkin cookies, muffins, breads, pies, and more.
If you need a quick pumpkin dessert, keep this recipe in your back pocket. There's no butter, eggs, or oil to measure. Just mix the cake mix and pumpkin together, stir in chocolate chips, scoop, and bake.
The pumpkin gives these cookies a soft texture and plenty of moisture, while the spiced cake mix adds all the warm fall flavor you need.
Why You'll Love These 3-Ingredient Pumpkin Cookies
- Only 3 ingredients. All you need is spice cake mix, pumpkin puree, and chocolate chips.
- 5 minutes of prep. The cookie dough comes together incredibly quickly.
- No mixer required. You can easily mix the dough by hand.
- Soft and flavorful. Pumpkin keeps these cookies soft for days.
- No eggs or butter. The pumpkin provides the moisture and richness the dough needs.
- Easy to customize. Try different chocolate chips, nuts, or a simple cinnamon-sugar topping.
- Perfect for fall. They're great for after-school snacks, Halloween parties, bake sales, or an easy Thanksgiving dessert.
What Makes These 3-Ingredient Pumpkin Cookies So Easy?
The secret is spice cake mix.
A box of spice cake mix already contains the flour, sugar, leavening, and spices you need to make a flavorful cookie dough. Instead of adding eggs and butter like you would with a traditional cookie recipe, canned pumpkin provides the moisture needed to turn the cake mix into cookie dough.
Add chocolate chips and you have an incredibly easy pumpkin cookie with almost no measuring.
These cookies are soft rather than crisp or chewy, and they stay soft for days after baking.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love These 3-Ingredient Pumpkin Cookies
- What Makes These 3-Ingredient Pumpkin Cookies So Easy?
- Tips for the Best 3-Ingredient Pumpkin Cookies
- Ingredients
- How to Make 3-Ingredient Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Easy Variations
- Pumpkin Cookies FAQs
- More Pumpkin Recipes To Make
- 3 Ingredient Pumpkin Cookies
Tips for the Best 3-Ingredient Pumpkin Cookies
- Use spice cake mix. The spices are already included in the cake mix, so there's no need to add pumpkin pie spice.
- Use pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Make sure you use plain 100% canned pumpkin puree. Pumpkin pie filling already contains sugar and spices and will change the recipe.
- Use parchment paper or cooking spray. These cookies don't contain the same amount of butter or oil as traditional cookies, so parchment paper makes them easier to remove from the baking sheet. You can also spray the baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
- Use a 2-Tbsp. cookie scoop. This gives you evenly sized cookies that bake at the same rate.
- Don't overbake. These cookies are meant to be soft. They may look slightly underdone when you first remove them from the oven, but they'll continue to set as they cool.
- Add extra chocolate chips before baking. Press a few additional chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies before they go into the oven for a bakery-style finish.
Ingredients
- Spice cake mix: You'll need 1 (15 oz.) box of spice cake mix. You can use carrot cake or spiced cake to get the pumpkin pie spice flavors.
- Canned pumpkin: 1 (15 oz.) can of pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
- Chocolate chips: semisweet chips or chunks
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make 3-Ingredient Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Stir the cake mix and canned pumpkin together in a large bowl using a hand mixer or Danish dough whisk until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
Step 2: Scoop cookie dough using a medium cookie scoop (2 Tbsp.) onto the parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
Step 3: Bake cookies for 13 minutes.
Step 4: Allow cookies to stand on the cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring the cookies to a wire rack.
This recipe makes 28 cookies. Store cookies in an airtight container.
Easy Variations
These cookies are delicious as written, but they're also easy to customize.
- Use mini chocolate chips instead of regular chocolate chips.
- Use white chocolate chips for a sweeter pumpkin cookie.
- Use milk chocolate chips for a richer chocolate flavor.
- Add chopped pecans or walnuts for crunch.
- Skip the chocolate chips and roll the dough in cinnamon sugar before baking.
- Add a maple glaze after the cookies cool for an extra-fall-inspired treat.
Pumpkin Cookies FAQs
These easy pumpkin cookies are made with spice cake mix, canned pumpkin puree, and chocolate chips.
Use 100% canned pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling for pumpkin cookies.
You'll want a cake mix that has spices in it to complement the pumpkin flavor. I like using spiced cake mix or carrot cake mix. You could even use a chocolate cake mix and add pumpkin spice.
No. This recipe doesn't require eggs, butter, or oil. The pumpkin provides the moisture needed to turn the cake mix into cookie dough.
No. Spice cake mix already contains warm spices that pair well with pumpkin, so you don't need additional pumpkin pie spice.
These cookies are soft and tender, not chewy. Pumpkin gives them a moist, soft texture that holds up well for several days.
Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They'll stay soft for several days.
Yes! Allow the cookies to cool completely, then place them in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag. Separate layers with parchment paper if needed. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
Yes. If you leave out the chocolate chips, try rolling the dough in cinnamon sugar before baking for an easy pumpkin spice cookie.
More Pumpkin Recipes To Make
MADE THIS RECIPE AND LOVED IT? 💛 Please leave a STAR rating and COMMENT below! Post it to Facebook or Pinterest to easily share with friends!
3 Ingredient Pumpkin Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 box spice cake mix or carrot cake mix (15 oz. box)
- 1 can pumpkin 15 oz.
- 1 cup chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray (or line it with parchment paper).
- Stir cake mix and canned pumpkin together in a large mixing bowl until just mixed.
- Stir in chocolate chips (you can reserve some to add on top of the cookies before baking if you'd like).
- Scoop using a medium cookie scoop (2 Tbsp.) onto the cookie sheet.
- Bake cookies for 13 minutes. Allow them to stand on the cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring the cookies to a wire cooling rack.
Notes
Add a handful of chopped pecans or walnuts
Drizzle cookies in maple glaze
Sprinkle cookies with cinnamon and sugar before baking (omit chocolate chips)
Leave a Reply