The Easiest Pumpkin Cookies You Will Ever Make

Somewhere over Labor Day weekend, I swear someone flipped a switch.

One minute we were soaking up the last bits of summer, and next it was 60 degrees and raining. I was suddenly craving cozy sweaters, candles that smell like cinnamon, football on the TV, and basically anything that involves pumpkin. The calendar may still technically say summer, but my heart has moved on.

And when that switch gets flipped in our house, there is one recipe I immediately want to make: our all-time favorite pumpkin cookies.

These might be the easiest pumpkin cookies you will ever make. And I don’t say that lightly.

There are three ingredients. That’s it.

No butter to soften. No mixer. No complicated list of spices. No carefully measuring out flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and seventeen other things hiding in the back of your spice cabinet.

Just a box of spice cake mix, a can of pumpkin, and chocolate chips.

In fact, my daughter Penny can now make these all by herself, which is one of my favorite things about this recipe. They’re the kind of cookies that are actually fun to make with kids because there isn’t much that can go wrong. Dump, mix, scoop, bake. Done.

And honestly, those are my favorite kinds of recipes.

The ones where you don’t have to spend the afternoon measuring ingredients while simultaneously answering questions, wiping up spills, and reminding someone for the fourth time not to eat the chocolate chips.

The 3-Ingredient Pumpkin Cookies

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Ingredients

1 box spice cake mix
1 15-ounce can pumpkin purée
1 cup chocolate chips of your choice

And here’s an important note: Do not make the cake mix! Just use the dry cake mix straight from the box.

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375°F.
Mix the dry spice cake mix, pumpkin purée, and chocolate chips together until well blended.
Use a cookie scoop to place approximately 2-tablespoon scoops onto a greased cookie sheet.
Bake for 12 minutes.
Let them cool and enjoy!

That’s literally it.

And because the recipe is so simple, it’s also incredibly easy to make your own.

Our favorite is usually chocolate chips, but you can switch them up depending on what you have in the pantry—or what sounds good that particular day.

Try milk chocolate chips for something extra sweet, dark chocolate chips for a richer flavor, or white chocolate chips for a fun twist. Butterscotch chips are also really good and give these cookies an especially cozy, fall flavor.

You can even add chopped nuts if that’s your thing. Walnuts or pecans would be delicious.

And if you happen to have a bag of chocolate chips that’s been sitting in your pantry for months because you bought them for a recipe you never made, this is your sign to use them.

One Little Tip

There is one thing I’ve learned after making these cookies: they can get a little mushy if you immediately put them into a container while they’re still soft.

So I like to let the cookies sit out overnight before putting them into a Tupperware or glass container. You can also store them in the refrigerator, which helps keep them from getting too soft.

They’re not a crisp cookie. They’re soft and cakey and wonderfully pumpkin-y—which is part of what makes them so good. But giving them a little time to dry out makes all the difference.

I love recipes like this for so many reasons, but mostly because they remind me that making something special doesn’t have to be complicated.

You don’t need an entire afternoon. You don’t need a Pinterest-perfect kitchen. You don’t even need to be a particularly good baker.

You just need a box of cake mix, a can of pumpkin, some chocolate chips, and maybe a little helper standing on a chair beside you.

For us, that little helper is Penny, and I love that she can make these cookies herself. There is something so sweet about watching your kids gain that little bit of independence in the kitchen—especially when the end result is a warm cookie you get to eat together.

So if the fall switch has been flipped at your house too, pull out the pumpkin.

Put on the cozy music.

Let the kids help.

And make the easiest pumpkin cookies you will ever make.

Because sometimes the best fall traditions aren’t complicated at all. Sometimes they’re just three ingredients, a messy kitchen, and a plate of cookies disappearing a little too quickly.