Now that we are in the middle of fall, there is really no reason to not add pumpkin to just about everything! These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars add the perfect touch of fall to your dessert this time of year. The pumpkin is strong, but not overwhelming, and the cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice finish off the flavor of the cookie nicely!
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For other fall-related recipes, you can look at Pumpkin Cut-Out Cookies,j these Toffee Snickerdoodle Cookies, or these fun Ghost and Pumpkin Meringue Cookies. Looking for other cookie bars? Check out these S'mores Cookie Bars or these super quick and easy Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars!
Why You'll Love These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars:
- They are quick to make: Making cookie bars saves so much time over making individual cookies.
- A great addition to your fall recipes: These cookie bars have pumpkin puree, cinnamon, and pumpkin spice, giving them wonderful warm fall flavors.
- Thick and moist: This pumpkin bar recipe makes a moist, melt-in-your-mouth cookie bar that is nice and soft.
Ingredients You Will Need for Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars:
- Unsalted Butter - Melted and slightly cooled
- Granulated Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Pumpkin Puree- You will need to remove some of the moisture using the blotting method (explained further below!)
- Vanilla Extract
- All Purpose Flour
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Cinnamon
- Pumpkin Pie Spice - You can substitute this for cinnamon
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
How to Make these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
To begin, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9×13 jelly-roll or brownie pan with cooking spray. For easy removal of cookie bars, add a layer of parchment paper to the base of the baking dish.
Mix the Dry Ingredients
In a medium bowl whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Combine well and set aside.
Preparing Pumpkin
Next, measure ⅔ cup of the can of pumpkin into a small bowl. Using a paper towel, ‘blot’ the pumpkin repeatedly to remove the moisture. Canned pumpkin is made up of a significant amount of water and if there is too much liquid in this dough, it will have more of a batter consistency and once baked, will have a more ‘cakey’ texture.
Continue to blot the pumpkin until the pumpkin has more of a matted texture. I went through about 5 select-a-size paper towels. There will still be moisture, but you should be able to see a slight difference in texture.
Combine Wet Ingredients
Melt the butter and allow it to slightly cool.
In a large mixing bowl, add the melted butter, packed brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Stir by hand until well combined, about 30-60 seconds. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to incorporate all of the sugar. Now add in the pumpkin and vanilla and mix in thoroughly. At this point, the dough will still be thin and grainy.
Adding the Dry Ingredients and Chocolate Chips
Now you can add about half of your flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir by hand until almost combined. Then add the remainder of your flour mixture and keep stirring! This will definitely take some arm strength, but keep going, I promise it will combine.
Related: How to Fix Dry Cookie Dough
Once you have a consistent dough, you can add the chocolate chips and stir until evenly dispersed.
Pro Tip: Save a few chocolate chips and set them aside. After you spread the cookie dough in the baking pan, add the remaining chocolate chips to the top of the bars.
Baking the Pumpkin Cookies
Grab the prepared pan, and using a spatula, spread the dough out on your greased 9×13 pan. My trick for this step is to use an ice cream scoop and plop down the dough around the pan – this makes it much easier to get an even layer.
Pro Tip: If the cookie dough is sticking to the rubber spatula, spray a bit of cooking spray on it for a smoother and easier spread.
Once you get the dough spread out to a nice even layer, add the pan into your preheated oven and bake for 17-20 minutes. Remove from the oven when the cookie bar is slightly brown. If you tend to like more doughy cookies, bake these on the lower end of time.
Once removed from the oven, let cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes - then cut and enjoy!
Storing Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Store cookie bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
If you enjoyed this recipe, here are a few more recipes you may want to check out:
- Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough Truffles
- Pumpkin Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
- Crisco Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
I really hope you enjoy these delicious and easy pumpkin chocolate chip cookie bars! Please share your creations with me on social!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- ¾ Cup Butter Melted and Cooled
- ½ Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
- ⅔ Cup Pumpkin
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla
- 2½ Cup Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon
- ¼ Tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 1½ Cups Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Preheat Oven to 375°. Grease 9x13 brownie or jelly roll pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
- Prep the pumpkin by removing some of the water using the blotting method. See specific instructions in the summary above.
- In a large bowl, add the melted (and cooled) butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Mix by hand for 30-60 seconds until well combined. Make sure to scrape down the side of the bowl to incorporate all of the sugar.
- Add the pumpkin and vanilla and stir until combined.
- Next, add about half of the flour mixture and hand mix until almost combined before adding the second half. Once the dough is a consistent texture, you can add the chocolate chips and stir in until evenly dispersed.
- Bake in preheated oven for 17-20 minutes until slightly brown. Let cool almost completely and cut into 24 squares. Serve and enjoy!
