These chocolate pumpkin sugar cookies are the best of three worlds–combining chocolate, pumpkin spice, & classic sugar all into one perfect-for-fall cookie! Let the addiction begin, friends.
This is my adaptation of Constellation Inspiration’s amazingly delicious “Matcha Neapolitan Sugar Cookies” recipe–which you can check out here! Definitely be sure to follow Amy over on her instagram too. Her bakes are gorgeous and you’ll be hooked immediately, I promise!
Why Choose Just One Flavor?
The best part about these chocolate pumpkin sugar cookies is that you get three flavors in one cookie. Gone are the days of choosing which flavor to make–just make three at once! It’s basically the “choose your own adventure” of cookies and what’s not to love about that idea?
I decided to go with chocolate and pumpkin spice because well…Fall, duh! It’s fun to take a bite and get half chocolate, half pumpkin or half pumpkin, half classic–every bite is an adventure, my friends.
Adaptation Tips
I love Amy’s recipe because you can easily adapt it for whichever flavors you’d like! You could even just pick two, going half and half with chocolate and pumpkin. You options are endless, which means endless cookies, which means endless happiness (still following?). Onward…
If you do plan to adapt this recipe with flavors of your own–stick to dry spices or powders! If you add a wet ingredient to one of your dough mixtures and not the others, it’ll change the consistency of the entire cookie. This may result in it not baking evenly or spreading at different rates–no thanks! So stick to those dry ingredient adaptations and you’ll be golden.
Best Practices for Adapting a Recipe
A good rule of thumb when adapting someone else’s recipe is to reach out to the original creator of that recipe. It’s always best to check in, make sure it’s okay to be re-posting/adapting their recipe, and to link back to their original post! You have to give credit where credit is due.
Even if you think your recipe might be different enough, it’s always best to be safe (and courteous) to mention where you got your initial inspiration from. This helps keep things honest and at the end of the day–we’re all here to help each other grow! Spread. that. love. people.
Materials You’ll Need:
- Various sized mixing bowls
- Standing Mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or hand mixer)
- Large baking sheet + parchment paper
- Cooling rack
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Cookie Scoop
Be Careful Not to Overbake These!
The key to the perfect texture of these chocolate pumpkin sugar cookies is to not overbake them. Bake them in that 10-13 minute range and not a moment longer!
They’ll seem loose and want to fall apart at first, but as you let them cool on the cookie sheet and then cool completely on the rack, they’ll begin to hold their shape. By baking them less rather than more, you’re left with a super soft center and slightly crisp edge–it’s texture perfection!
These are big boys (or ladies) too! Depending on how accurate you are with your tablespoons, you’ll be getting around 12-14 generously-sized cookies. I’m not saying size matters (move along now), but when talking cookies–IT CAN’T HURT.
If you’re looking for a tastebud-satisfying cookie that’s perfect for fall, then these chocolate pumpkin sugar cookies are for you. So, so easy to make and not to mention–fun! Tag me over on Instagram (@joshisbaking) if you make them, friends!
Be sure to check out more of Amy’s recipes over on her site–Constellation Inspiration!
Happy baking!
Print
Chocolate Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
- Prep Time: 20 min.
- Cook Time: 10-13 min.
- Total Time: ~30-40 min.
- Yield: 12–14 Cookies 1x
Description
Three flavors in one cookie! Chocolate, pumpkin spice, and classic sugar come together to make the perfect fall treat! This is an adaptation of Constellation Inspiration’s “Matcha Neapolitan Sugar Cookie” recipe. See “notes” below for a link to the original recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups (250 g) granulated sugar (and more for rolling)
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 tsp. (10 ml) vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups (270 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set the baking sheet aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter and 11⁄4 cups (250 g) of the sugar on medium speed until they are smooth, about 30 seconds. Add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until just combined and no more streaks of the flour mixture remain, about 45 seconds.
- Divide the dough into three equal portions. Add your cocoa powder to one bowl, the pumpkin pie spice/cinnamon to the next, while leaving one portion of dough plain.
- Take a tablespoon of each dough and combine the dough by rolling between the palms of your hands.
- Toss the dough balls in a bowl of sugar until dough ball is coated.
- Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between each ball. Bake the cookies for 10 to 13 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are light golden brown. Do not over-bake the cookies. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Don’t overbake these! The key to the perfect texture is to bake them in that 10-13 minute range and not a moment longer.
- Be sure to check out Amy’s original recipe (which these are adapted from) here: http://www.constellationinspiration.com/2020/06/matcha-neapolitan-sugar-cookies.html
More Cookie Recipes!
Looking for more delicious cookies to make? Here’s a couple of my other easy-to-whip-up recipes:
Make these cookies!!!! Absolutely incredible- easy to follow, easy to make! I passed these out to my neighbors and they’re obsessed! Josh nailed it- these cookies are legit!!! You will not regret making these!
Thank you so much Hilary!! Love hearing that and they looked amazing!
The perfect Fall cookie didn’t exist until this one came along! I love a recipe where I basically have everything I need in my pantry already. The only thing I had to get was the cocoa powder. They are so incredibly easy to make but everyone who tries one will assume they weren’t! They taste amazing and look beautiful. I feel like it would be a great recipe to involve your kids in too! Mixing the three doughs together to form the ball would be so fun for them. I can’t wait to make and eat them again!
Love this so much Sarah!! Yes–so so fun for kiddos for sure! Thanks again for making them and all the lovely words!
Very good job writing them in this blog article
King regards,
Demir Schneider
Thank you so much Demir!
Ok so I just made these with a one year old at my feet and with the ‘help’ of my four year old…so literally anyone can make these! My oldest had fun rolling the dough in the sugar and the taste of these reminds me of a fancier snickerdoodle, which are (were) my favorite. Whenever we love a recipe in our house we print it and put it in THE binder, so my husband said immediately after eating it…’Did you print this one??’ We loved it!!
Ahh so honored to make into “THE” binder–love that! Thank you so much Jess!
These are easy and EXCELLENT!
And they satisfy all the sweet cravings at once!
I am an “okay” baker, but making these have given me a confidence boost. I was convinced they were too big when I put them in the oven, and that they were undercooked, but I trusted Josh’s advice and they came out perfectly.
Already making plans to make more and send them to friends & family for the holiday because they are pretty too!
Thank you SO so much Kelly!! Love that there are already plans to make more & that confidence = boosted!