Occasionally, that link between a food and its rightful season seems so strong that it feels like one couldn’t exist without the other! For instance, my mom’s potato salad practically begs to be eaten off a paper plate outdoors on a hot summer day. That potato salad contains the spirit of summer, and likewise, a summer without potato salad is practically unthinkable! A similar principle of seasonality applies to the very fall-centric recipe I’ll be sharing with you today!
More Ideas You'll Love
Every year, when autumn arrives and the leaves start changing color, my thoughts become occupied by one particular recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. I first encountered this recipe back when I was producing a morning talk show in Salt Lake City called “Good Things Utah.” One autumn day, our cooking segment featured a guest chef who made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies using only three ingredients. Those cookies quickly became something of an obsession for the whole “Good Things Utah” crew! Our Executive Producer George liked them so much that he would bring batches of them to our remote shows to share with our viewers. (Ahh, good times! Miss you George!)
Because these cookies are such a seasonal favorite of mine, I thought I would share them with you today! They’re soft, moist, and full of spiced pumpkin flavor. And of course, it doesn’t hurt that you only need three ingredients to make them! So if you happen to have these ingredients on hand (which I always do, because you never know when a cookie emergency could strike!) you could have a batch of these cookies cooling on your countertop in under 20 minutes. Give these absurdly easy pumpkin cookies a try, and you’ll understand why the fall season would be incomplete without them!
3-Ingredient Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
1 box Spice Cake mix
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin*
1 cup chocolate chips
*According to several OGT readers, it can be hard to find canned pumpkin outside the U.S. But that’s okay, because you can easily make your own pumpkin puree at home! Read my post at the link below to learn how it’s done!
Related: How To Make Your Own Pumpkin Puree
Directions:
Add the cake mix, pumpkin, and chocolate chips to a mixing bowl, and stir until everything is incorporated.
Next, line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat. Scoop up heaping tablespoons of the dough/batter mixture, and place them onto your baking sheet.
Bake the cookies at 350°F for 10-12 minutes until just firm.
What are your favorite things to make or eat during the fall season?
3-Ingredient Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
These cookies are soft, moist, and full of spiced pumpkin flavor. And best of all, you only need three simple ingredients to make them!
Ingredients:
- 1 box Spice Cake mix
- 1 15-ounce can pumpkin*
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions:
- Add the cake mix, pumpkin, and chocolate chips to a mixing bowl, and stir until everything is incorporated.
- Next, line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat. Scoop up heaping tablespoons of the dough/batter mixture, and place them onto your baking sheet.
- Bake the cookies at 350°F for 10-12 minutes until just firm.
Recipe Notes:
*According to several OGT readers, it can be hard to find canned pumpkin outside the U.S. But that's okay, because you can easily make your own pumpkin puree at home!
I made this recipe earlier this month & next time I will use raisins. They do take longer to bake. They were good for my vegetarian/vegan son & his family. PETA has always recommended Duncan Hines cake mix & a canned soda as an EZ recipe for cake & cupcakes.
I agree raisins would be better. Also it’s missing something, maybe salt or vanilla. It seems flat then a whamo of chocolate.
These cookies were delicious, but they took quite a while to bake and the end texture was still more cake-like than cookie. Is there something I can do to fix them next time, it will they always be soft?
I accidentally grabbed a pumpkin pie filling can at the store. Still turned out delicious!
I don’t use mixes, and of course it ruins the “3 ingredients” title, but I wish there were a way to know just how much flour, salt, baking powder and spice that means. Or, maybe I should just go and look for a pumpkin cookie recipe!
Here’s a recipe for cake mix, Sharon :-)
1 1/4 c all purpose flour
1 c brown sugar
2 tbsp. corn starch
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. pumpkin spice*
*If you do not have pumpkin spice you can use: 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp all spice and 1/4 tsp ground cloves.
Wasted a cake mix and pumpkin as the cookies were never done after 25-30 minutes, still WET inside and a mess. Did not use more than 1T per cookie and even slightly flattened the second sheet. Very disappointed.
I live in BC Canada and have never had a problem buying pumpkin pie filling
I was very excited to make these cookies but after 12 minutes in the oven they weren’t close to being firm. I had to add increments of two minutes testing after the timer went off so I ended up baking them a total of 22 minutes! I checked my oven and the 350 was correct. They still tasted delicious but I’m wondering why it took so much longer. Also is it ok to freeze them?
It is absolutely okay to freeze them! I would suggest freezing them individually on a cookie sheet, then placing them in a bag for storage. That way, they won’t stick together :-)
I’m not sure why it would take so long – I wonder if you made your cookies a bit larger? How many did you end up with?
I use Hodgson Mill gluten free yellow cake mix with a tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice to make this. It comes out perfect every time! No tweaking required! I just make sure to stir everything really well, as it’s a thick, dense mixture. Hodgson Mill has the best gluten free cake mixes in my opinion. They actually taste like homemade, and aren’t overly sweet! I order mine from Amazon because Wal-Mart doesn’t carry them anymore.
Thanks for the GF suggestion Jennifer!
in the nutrition facts it doesnt say serving size, is this PER cookie? i saw other sites that had the same recipe with calories listed as 72 so im assuming this is multiile cookies per serving?
2-3 cookies per serving :-)
Hi Jillee I walked out of my kitchen just now with a heavy heart, I am gluten free & read in one of the comments how to make this recipe with gluten free cake mix. I had to add 1 oz apple cider to the mix because it was just a crumble mess (no problem to do it) it helped hold it together I baked them & was so disappointed because they looked so dry & I knew I would use a lot of cake mixes trying to get it right. Then I grabbed one to see how bad it… Read more »