Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
The BEST moist and chewy pumpkin chocolate chip cookie bars made with brown butter and warm spices for the ideal fall treat! No dough chilling, fairly quick to make, and perfect for serving a crowd.
Servings 24 cookie bars
Ingredients
- 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter
- 2 1/2 Cups (330g) all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp salt
- 2/3 Cup (167g) pumpkin puree
- 1 Cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 Cup (100g) packed brown sugar light or dark
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 Cups (256g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Melt or Brown the Butter: Either melt the butter and then transfer it into a large mixing bowl to cool OR brown the butter first (recommended). To brown the butter, add it into a large skillet set over medium heat and melt it, stirring occasionally. Continue cooking for 4-5 minutes while stirring constantly. The melted butter will start to foam on top, then will turn light brown in color and smell deliciously nutty. Remove it from the heat at this point and transfer it into a large mixing bowl. Allow the butter to cool for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven and prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF (163ºC) and line a 10x15 inch sheet pan or 9x13 pan with parchment paper. Be sure to leave a slight parchment paper overhang on the longer sides of the pan so you'll be able to easily lift the cookie bars out of the pan when it comes time to cut them.
- In a medium bowl, add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Whisk together and set aside.
- Blot the Pumpkin: place a few paper towels on top of a large plate, then place the pumpkin puree on top. Press additional paper towels on top of the pumpkin puree to soak up the excess moisture. Set aside.
- Once the butter has cooled slightly in the large mixing bowl, add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, blotted pumpkin, egg yolk, and vanilla. Whisk together until uniform and smooth, then fold in the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula. Reserve about 1/2 Cup of the chocolate chips, then fold the rest into the cookie dough.
- Place the dough onto the parchment lined pan and press it down with your hands until it is flat and reaches to the edges of the pan, then sprinkle on the reserved chocolate chips. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the edges are just set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. It's better to slightly underbake these cookie bars vs. overbake them – they'll continue to cool in the pan once removed from the oven.
- Cool the cookie bars for at least 30 minutes before slicing into squares. Enjoy warm or room temperature.
Notes
Make Ahead Tips: These cookie bars can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature (or wrapped with plastic wrap over the top of the sheet pan). They will remain fresh for up to three days this way. Alternatively, you can freeze the cookies for up to one month. I recommend wrapping them first in plastic wrap, then in foil.