These spiced Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies are a must for your fall baking list! Chewy, giant bakery-style cookies that are salty-sweet, chocolate-flecked, pumpkin-spiced, portable rounds of goodness, the perfect accompaniment to your PSL.
Add the melted butter, granulated sugar, and soft brown sugar to a mixing bowl and whisk until combined. Whisk in the pumpkin puree, aquafaba, vanilla extract, and espresso powder. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, pumpkin spice mix, baking soda, and salt. Stir the dry ingredients so that they are mixed evenly.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold them together using a spatula until they are *almost* mixed leaving a few pockets of flour.
Add about ¾ of the chocolate chips and ¾ of the chopped chocolate to the bowl and fold them through the dough as evenly as possible. Cover the bowl with the cookie dough with some clingfilm or a plate and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 180°C (356°F) while the cookie dough is chilling. Line 2 large baking trays with some parchment paper.
Use a 2.4"/6cm cookie scoop or ice cream scoop to separate the dough into 8 portions. Place the cookie dough balls on the lined sheets - be careful to leave at least 2.5 inches of space between each ball of dough as they will spread whilst baking! Stud the cookies with most of the remaining chocolate chips and chocolate chunks (saving a few pieces for when they come out of the oven).
Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes. Then use a large cookie cutter or glass to carefully round off and shape the edges of the hot cookies. Let the cookies sit on the baking trays for 5 minutes to cool slightly. If you want big chocolatey pools, you can add more chocolate chunks to the tops of the cookies while they are warm. Top with some sea salt flakes while they are still warm.
Carefully slide the sheet of parchment paper with the cookies off of the tray and onto a cooling rack to cool to room temperature.
Storage: Once cool, transfer the cookies to an airtight container. They will keep well at room temp for about 5 days. If you’d like to extend their life, they freeze well for up to a month.
Notes
Aquafaba: the liquid part from tinned chickpeas.
Pumpkin spice mix (homemade): Mix together 2 tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp ground ginger, ½ tsp allspice, and ¼ tsp ground cloves.
Coconut sugar: This can be used in place of soft brown sugar. Using coconut sugar will give these pumpkin spice chocolate chip cookies a more caramelized flavor and color, and they will be slightly softer.