Pumpkin butterscotch chip cookies are super soft, thick pumpkin kissed cookies with lots of pumpkin spice flavor and sweet butterscotch morsels; these may just be the ultimate fall cookie!
So #allpumpkineverything seems to officially be in full swing. I love seeing all the different pumpkin recipes all over blogs, pinterest & in coffee shops. These pumpkin butterscotch chip cookies will definitely make your pumpkin list. Super soft, melt in your mouth pumpkin flavored cookies loaded with sweet butterscotch chips. I’m just going to say it – perfect. fall. cookie.
Now there seems to be 2 types of people. There’s the type that seem to go crazy for all things pumpkin and then there seems to be the polar opposite: those who don’t care for pumpkin. I’ll admit I’m not over-the-moon-obsessed with heavily pumpkin flavored things but that doesn’t mean I don’t like pumpkin flavor at all. That’s why I think these cookies are so great, they’re right in the middle. Enough pumpkin flavor to taste like a seasonal treat but not enough to punch you in the face taste buds. The butterscotch chips keep them sweet and gives a great flavor combo. Last week I was all about marshmallow pumpkin, now it’s on to pumpkin butterscotch.
All about pumpkin butterscotch chip cookies:
These cookies are a cinch to make. Similar to my other cookie recipes, they include my light brown dark brown sugar combination, same amount of dry ingredients with the addition of cornstarch (to keep them soft & puffy) and they do require chilling time.
A couple of things that are slightly different:
• pumpkin puree & fall spices – obviously added for the flavor. Pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice & ground cinnamon will be added.
• less butter – still unsalted, still room temperature, but just less of it. Butter is a fat and moisture agent in baked goods. Between the large egg (also fat & moisture) and the pumpkin puree (complete moisture) these cookies have a few ingredients contributing to the moisture factor. Too much moisture and this will weight down the dough. Pumpkin puree has so much moisture it can cause baked goods to have a “wet” texture so you want to use it rather sparingly. I usually use ¾ cup (1.5 sticks) to a full cup (2 sticks) of butter in my cookie recipes but in this case I kept it to a ½ cup, or just 1 stick.
Another trick to keeping cookies soft is to not over bake them. These cookies only take 10 minutes to bake. When you first pull them out of the oven they’ll be super puffy and then will fall slightly. They will appear under baked and may have those “wet” spots that I mentioned earlier but if you allow them to set and cool completely, they will have a soft, tender & dry texture. These cookies stay soft for about 3 days and the flavor is even better on day 2!
A few other pumpkin recipes to check out while your on the blog:
No Bake Marshmallow Pumpkin Pie
What pumpkin recipes are you guys enjoying this fall? Share in the comments below, I love to hear what others are whipping up in their kitchen!

Pumpkin Butterscotch Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1 large Egg room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 and 1/2 cups butterscotch chips plus extra for tops of cookies
Instructions
- Combine flour, baking soda, cornstarch and salt into a bowl. Whisk/stir ingredients together for a few seconds, set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl combined butter and all 3 sugars. Using an electric handheld mixer or stand mixer on medium speed, cream together butter & sugars until combined. Add in egg and vanilla extract and mix together until the egg is completely mixed in. Add in pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice & cinnamon and continue mixing until thoroughly combined. Mixture will be dark and slightly gritty. Slowly add dry ingredients into the mixture, mixing thoroughly until adding the rest of the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly until cookie dough is thoroughly combined. Dough will be thick and sticky. Fold in butterscotch chips and mix in until thoroughly combined. Freeze dough for a minimum of 2 hours or up to over night.
- When ready to bake cookies, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove cookie dough from the freezer and let it thaw for about 10 minutes. Using a cookie dough scoop or spoon, scoop 1.5 tablespoon sized balls unto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. You may want to roll the balls of dough between your palms to achieve a smoother, more circular shape. Place cookie dough balls on baking sheet and insert a few more butterscotch chips to the tops of each ball. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove cookies from the oven and allow them to cool completely before serving, about 15-20 minutes.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container.
Notes
- *prep time indicated above includes 2 hours minimum freezing time for dough and 15 minutes to assemble the dough.
- **total time indicated above includes 2 hours for freezing, 15 minutes to assemble the dough, 10 minutes for baking and 20 minutes for cooling.
These cookies look AMAZING! I haven’t gotten around to using pumpkin yet this year, and this is the perfect recipe to use first. I can’t wait to try them with a gluten free twist! 🙂
Hi Bethany! Let me know how a gluten free version of these come out, I hope they are as successful for you as the sprinkled sugar cookies were. Happy Baking!
Posted the recipe on my blog. They were great! Thanks for sharing! 🙂 https://thebestgf.blogspot.com/2015/10/gluten-freeegg-free-pumpkin.html
These cookies are perfection! Your photos are stunning too. YUM!
Thank you so much, Jessica!
Like you I don’t go crazy over pumpkin but I do love it. These look tasty.
As guest co-host I’d like to say a big thanks for linking up to #FabulousFoodieFridays this week
I’m not a “crazy for pumpkin everything” kind of person, but these cookies look delicious. Perfect for this time of year 🙂
I’m with you Natalie, not a die hard pumpkin fan myself, but I can’t really go without this time of year either lol
Your Cookies look awesome! Hope you are having a great day and thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
Thanks Helen! I had fun participating in Full Plate Thursday, looking forward to sharing recipes each week and seeing what awesome things other bloggers come up with 🙂
Oh Yum!! These sound delicious! I would have never thought to pair butterscotch and pumpkin, but I bet it’s great.
Thank you Lindsey! I wasn’t sure about pumpkin & butterscotch at first either, but I wanted something different than pumpkin and chocolate chips, which are quite popular. Luckily enough butterscotch was a sweet pairing that worked out! Thank you for stopping by 🙂
What yummy cookies, I can’t wait to give your recipe a try – pinned & shared! Thanks for sharing with us at #TryaBiteTuesday – hope to see you back this week!
Thank you Debra! I looking forward to sharing recipes with Try a Bite Tuesday for weeks to come! I’m new to the whole link party scene but I’m loving it so much. I love seeing all the awesome recipes people come up with. Hope you have a great week!