Sourdough Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

There’s something about the combination of pumpkin, sourdough, and chocolate that just feels like fall wrapped up in a cookie. These sourdough pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are soft, chewy, and packed with cozy flavor. They’re the kind of cookie you want to enjoy with a cup of coffee on a crisp morning or sneak into school lunchboxes as a sweet surprise.

If you are looking for some other fall inspired sourdough cookie recipes, you might also enjoy these sourdough ginger molasses cookies, sourdough discard peanut butter cookies or these sourdough discard pumpkin spice cookies.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

Perfectly soft & chewy: The pumpkin keeps these cookies moist and tender, while the sourdough adds just the right amount of depth.

Sourdough discard friendly: Got extra starter hanging around? These cookies are a delicious way to use it up!

Cozy fall treat: Pumpkin + chocolate chips = the ultimate autumn comfort food. If you’ve been looking for a fun way to use your sourdough discard this season, this recipe is about to become your go-to.

Ingredients

• All Purpose Flour
• Baking Soda
• Salt
• Chocolate Chips - I've used semi-sweet, but you can use dark, milk, or even white chocolate if you prefer. Chocolate chunks or chopped bars can also be used for a molten style.
• Pumpkin Pie Spice - adds the warm, cozy flavor that makes these cookies taste like fall. If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, you can make your own with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.
• Sourdough Starter - You can use active sourdough starter or sourdough discard for these cookies, it doesn't make too much difference here.
• Pumpkin Puree - make sure to use 100% pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling (which already has sugar and spices).
• Salted Butter - you want the butter melted, cooled a bit, but still warm. I use salted butter in this recipe, but you can use unsalted butter if you'd like.
• Brown & Granulated Sugar - mixing brown sugar with the white sugar helps to give a soft and chewy texture. The brown sugar gives a rich, caramel flavor while the granulated sugar creates structure and gives crispy edges.
• Egg - use a large egg (about 60g) for the best results.

How to Make Sourdough Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've adapted my sourdough discard chocolate chip cookie recipe to come up with this fall version. The result is a soft, moist and perfectly chewy cookie that I think you're going to love.

Place the dry ingredients except for the sugars (flour, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips) into a large mixing bowl and combine. Set this aside.

Now in a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients and sugars - sourdough starter, pumpkin puree, melted butter, brown sugar, white sugar and egg. Stir together until they resemble runny caramel.

Now pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir to form a wet cookie dough.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place into the fridge for 12 to 24 hours.

The next day, when you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 165C (330F) and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Use a cookie scoop or large spoon to scoop out balls of dough. I have used 30g dough balls for this recipe. Place the dough balls onto the prepared baking sheets.

Place the cookies into the oven for 12 to 13 minutes at 165C (330F) or until they are golden brown on top but still molten in the centre.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tray for around 10 minutes. The cookies will continue to bake for a few minutes after they are removed from the oven and will firm up as they cool. After 10 minutes, carefully transfer to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely.

Variations

White chocolate + cranberries: Swap the chocolate chips for white chocolate chunks and dried cranberries for a festive holiday version.

Nutty crunch: Add a handful of chopped pecans or walnuts to the dough for texture and a toasty flavor.

Pumpkin spice overload: Stir a little extra pumpkin pie spice into the dough and dust the tops of the cookies with cinnamon sugar before baking.

Cookie bars: Press the dough into a 9" x 13" baking pan and bake as bars instead of scooping individual cookies—perfect for potlucks or holiday trays. You can use the instructions for these sourdough chocolate chip cookie bars for baking instructions.

Serving Suggestions

These cookies are delicious on their own, but here are a few fun ways to enjoy them:

• Pair them with a hot cup of coffee, tea, or even a pumpkin spice latte for the ultimate fall snack.
• Serve them warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a quick dessert.
• Add them to a cookie platter alongside your other favorite sourdough treats for the holidays.
• Crumble them over yogurt or oatmeal for a sweet breakfast twist.

How To Store + Freeze

Room temperature: Store your cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3–4 days. The pumpkin keeps them moist, so they stay soft longer than regular cookies.

Refrigerator: If you prefer, you can keep them in the fridge for up to a week—just let them come to room temp before serving.

Freezing baked cookies: Place cooled cookies in a freezer-safe bag or container. They’ll keep well for up to 3 months.

Freezing cookie dough: Scoop the dough into balls, freeze on a tray, and then store in a ziplock bag. Bake straight from frozen, just add 1–2 minutes to the baking time.

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