How To Make Irresistibly Easy 3 Ingredient Pumpkin Cookies

3 Ingredient Pumpkin Cookies with Cake Mix 

We are moving into the fall season, the time of year for all things pumpkin. We know all about pumpkin spice latte and pumpkin pie, but have you ever thought about delicious pumpkin cookies as a way to change things up? We have created some super yummy 3-ingredient pumpkin cookies with simple ingredients that couldn’t be easier to make. These delicious cookies (husband and teenage sons approved!) are a real crowd pleaser that are full of the fall flavors we all love so much.

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What You Need to Make Easy Pumpkin Cookies

You will either laugh or clap your hands with joy at the ingredient list for these soft pumpkin cookies, or maybe both! It really is the easiest dessert that can be created at the last minute with just a few supplies.

What Is In 3 Ingredient Pumpkin Cookies? 

From-scratch recipes have their place, but sometimes you need something quick and easy, don’t you think?  This perfect pumpkin cookies recipe is very versatile! The ingredient list can easily be tweaked based on what you have in your pantry when you realize you need a sweet treat in a hurry.  Let’s start with how we made them this time, and then we can talk about changing them.

• 1 box of spiced cake mix (instead of traditional cookie dough)
  
• 1 can of pumpkin puree 
• 1 12 oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Walnuts (I know, I know, this is a fourth ingredient! But it is optional and I think the walnuts really did add something to my cookies, so I am mentioning it here.)

How To Make Your Cakey 3 Ingredient Pumpkin Cookies

• Mix the pumpkin purée and cake mix by hand just until completely combined.
• Then, stir in the chocolate chips.
• Spoon generous tablespoons of dough out onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. I used an ice cream scoop to portion them out, which worked well because it ensured my cookies were the same size and made them easier to handle. This dough is quite sticky, so getting it off a spoon is more difficult than using an ice cream or cookie scoop.
  
• I used the bottom of a glass sprayed with cooking spray to flatten these cookies for a classic cookie look. This worked very well because the greased glass bottom did not stick at all!  You can also press them with a fork if you want.
  
• Bake at 350 for 12-18 minutes.
• Transfer from the baking sheet to a wire rack a few minutes after they come out of the oven. 
  

That’s it! These easy pumpkin cake mix cookies are delicious served warm out of the oven or at room temperature a few hours later.

How to Change Up This Easy Pumpkin Cookie Recipe 

We love our particular version of this great recipe, but there are ways to make it work for different preferences or with what you have in your pantry when you go to make them. 

Type of Chocolate

We love white or semi-sweet chocolate chips, but any kind of chocolate would work in this recipe.  You could try: 

• Dark chocolate chips 
• Milk chocolate chips 
• Chunks of leftover holiday chocolate 
• Your favorite chocolate bar broken into pieces 

Type of Cake Mix 

If you don’t have a spiced cake mix, don’t worry.  You can substitute other kinds of cake mixes. You could use:

• Yellow cake mix 
• Gluten-free cake mix 
• White cake mix
• Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Spice Bread & Muffin Mix

If you use a different kind of cake mix, we recommend adding 2 teaspoons of pumpkin spice to ensure your cookies come out with the right flavors of fall. 

Can You Use Canned Pumpkin Pie Filling Instead of Pure Pumpkin? 

We do not recommend substituting pie filling for this recipe. Pie filling is made for just that: filling a pie. It has a different texture and flavor that will change the end result of the cookies a little too much. Stick to pumpkin puree for this one.

How Long Can You Store 3-Ingredient Pumpkin Cookies?

Now that you have made your delicious cake mix pumpkin cookies, what is the best way to keep them fresh? First of all, because they are basically little mini-cakes, they won’t keep for long on your counter. We don’t recommend keeping them at room temperature for longer than 4 days. 

If you stick them in the fridge, you might be able to make them last for a week or so! But these are best eaten fresh within a few days.  We also do not recommend storing them in an airtight container since that will change their texture. Cover them lightly and eat them quickly! 

Can You Freeze 3-Ingredient Pumpkin Cookies? 

Yes, you can make these cookies last longer by freezing them. Just make sure they are completely cooled before they go in the freezer.  They will last up to 3 months this way.  

We hope you enjoyed this recipe from @oak.hill.farms. Thank you for sharing, Carla! Who would have thought that a box of cake mix and a couple of additions could turn into something this good? Let us know what variations you like best in the comments, we would love to hear about your baking adventures.

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