Healthy Pumpkin Cookies Recipe

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4 from 1 vote
Published: September 2, 2018Updated: September 12, 2020Author: Lauren
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Healthy Homemade Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies made without butter or oil and have reduced sugar. These pumpkin cookies are light, fluffy and so delicious that no one will know they are lower in calories!
Healthy Pumpkin Cookies Recipe

How to make healthy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies:

As soon as my kids go back to school, I go into complete fall baking mode.  The first thing I bake every fall is pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

My husband and I have been trying to eat healthier this year, so I thought I would try a healthier version of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies that had no butter or oil and less sugar than typical cookies.

These Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies are so easy to make and no one knew I had substituted healthier ingredients!  I always stock up on 100% pure pumpkin at the beginning of the season because we had a pumpkin shortage in Utah a few years ago and that really put a damper on my fall baking haha!

I started by mixing together pumpkin, applesauce, sugar and vanilla until it was well combined.  This recipe only calls for 1 cup of sugar, while most cookie recipes have 2 cups of sugar.

Next, I added baking soda, baking powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice and whole wheat flour and mix until just combined.

I know you are thinking, “chocolate chips aren’t healthy….” BUT I feel so good about these Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Morsels! Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Morsels are dairy and gluten-free (plus so many more allergens).  They are also 69% cacao so they have so much less sugar in them than traditional chocolate chips.

I folded in 1 cup of these dark chocolate morsels to my pumpkin cookie dough and it was just the right amount of chocolate!

I used this cookie scoop to drop the cookie dough onto a lined baking sheet, then I baked the cookies at 350 degrees F. for 12-15 minutes.

Items needed for this recipe:
Glass mixing bowl: I use this bowl for everything!  I love that these Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Cookies can be made in a mixing bowl with a wooden spoon rather than a stand mixer.
Silicone baking mat: Turn any pan into a nonstick pan with this Silpat Baking Mat.  Because these pumpkin cookies don’t have a lot of added fat from butter or oil, you’ll want to bake them on a nonstick surface.
Baking sheet: These half sheet pans are made with aluminum so they will never rust, and the rimmed edge is perfect for brownies or bars.

The best pumpkin cookie recipes:

We love fall baking, especially for all the delicious pumpkin cookie variations.  Try some of these cookies the next time you are craving a fall treat!

Serves: 24

Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

4 from 1 vote
These pumpkin cookies are light, fluffy and so delicious that no one will know they are lower in calories!
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Total Time 25 mins
Print Pin

Ingredients

  • 15 ounces canned pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • In a large mixing bowl, mix pumpkin, apple sauce, sugar and vanilla until well combined.
  • Add baking soda, baking powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice and flour. Stir until well combined
  • Fold in dark chocolate chips.
  • Drop by large, rounded tablespoons onto a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray or covered in parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
  • Bake for 12-15 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to brown around the edges.
  • Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for two minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.

Nutrition

Calories: 116 kcal · Carbohydrates: 22 g · Protein: 2 g · Fat: 3 g · Saturated Fat: 2 g · Cholesterol: 1 mg · Sodium: 97 mg · Potassium: 124 mg · Fiber: 2 g · Sugar: 12 g · Vitamin A: 2758 IU · Vitamin C: 1 mg · Calcium: 42 mg · Iron: 1 mg

Recipe Details

Course: Dessert
Author: Lauren

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  1. Keri says:
    October 8, 2018
    I made these tonight and they were delicious! I only used 1/2 c. chocolate chips to cut back even a little more on the calories. Mine we're perfectly done at 12 minutes. Thank you see much for this wonderful recipe!
  2. Karen says:
    October 11, 2018
    Do you think it would be a big deal to use all purpose flour? I know it makes a little less healthy, but I’m trying to take some steps to eat healthier too and love the idea of cutting out the butter here!
  3. Cyd says:
    October 12, 2018
    Substituting white flour for wheat flour can often get a little tricky. Each recipe will vary depending on the other ingredients. Here are a few sites that might help you on the ratio of how much white flour to use in place of wheat flour. http://www.atcoblueflamekitchen.com/How-To/Cooking-101/How-do-I-substitute-all-purpose-flour-with-whole-wheat-flour https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/tools-and-techniques/baking-flour-facts.htm
  4. Karen says:
    February 26, 2019
    Have you substituted honey or maple syrup for the sugar?
  5. Cyd says:
    February 26, 2019
    We have only made these cookies according to the recipe.
  6. abby says:
    September 18, 2019
    can i use stevia in place of the sugar?
  7. Jill says:
    October 13, 2019
    Is the nutritional information available somewhere? Thank you!
  8. Cyd says:
    October 14, 2019
    We don't have the nutritional info on these cookies, but you could easily add it into MyFitnessPal.
  9. Cyd says:
    October 14, 2019
    We have not tried Stevia in these cookies. If you use it often as a sugar substitute, you might be familiar with and adaptations you need to make.
  10. Aryn says:
    November 25, 2019
    Can I substitute white whole wheat flour for regular whole wheat flour?
  11. Susan says:
    November 25, 2019
    I followed the recipe as written and my boys (twins that are 20, one that is 18 and my husband) loved them. We are all eating healthier and this is a great treat. They got better the day after. All said they were a good substitute for traditional chocolate chip cookies.
  12. Cyd says:
    December 5, 2019
    Sure, it should work too.
  13. Jim says:
    May 15, 2020
    I made these cookies they came out soft an gooie what did I do wrong
  14. Cyd says:
    May 22, 2020
    You could always add a little more flour if they were too gooey.
  15. Dave B says:
    December 12, 2020
    The recipe worked quite well. I had added dried cherries to recipe and halved the amount of chocolate, so the bake time went a little longer than I predicted. Appearance of my cookie came out looking more like a drop biscuit, which is fine with me. Cookies are not my specialty and fussing over a cookie presentation is not something I am usually willing to do.

    4 stars

  16. Karen says:
    December 20, 2020
    Do you know if I can switch the flour to almond flour evenly? Trying to stay away from gluten. They sound really good btw!
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