Chocolate pumpkin spice cookies with M&Ms are great for the fall season. The cookies are soft and cakey like little spice cakes.
For my first baked pumpkin good of 2013, I wanted to make one of my favorites: soft chocolate pumpkin cookies. One thing I did a little differently this year was add the new pumpkin spice flavored M&M’s.
Pumpkin Spice M&Ms
The most sought-after candy this Fall seems to be pumpkin spice flavored M&Ms, sold exclusively at Target. As soon as I started seeing pictures pop up on Instagram, I got excited and immediately wanted to get them for my pumpkin baked goods.
These were a pain to get. We went to several Targets and they were always sold out, despite the fact that we were told they were in stock. Finally, on attempt number 4, we found a Target with a few left on the shelf, so I quickly grabbed two bags.
The M&Ms are rounder and bigger than the regular milk chocolate M&Ms, but smaller than the filled ones like peanut or peanut butter. Inside, I thought maybe I’d find a light pumpkin filling, but it’s just chocolate.
When you first bite in, all you taste is chocolate. The pumpkin spice is there, but it’s quite subtle. A little too subtle in my opinion.
Nevertheless, I decided to use them for my chocolate pumpkin cookies. I love these cookies. They bake up like little soft pumpkin spice cakes.
Chocolate M&M Cookies
- Pumpkin puree
- White sugar
- Vegetable oil
- Egg
- All-purpose flour
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Baking powder
- Ground cinnamon
- Baking soda
- Vanilla extract
- Pumpkin spice M&Ms (or regular ones)
Recipe Steps
In a large bowl, mix the pumpkin, sugar, oil, vanilla, and egg. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix to combine.
The dough will be very sticky so refrigerate it for 30 minutes so it’s easier to handle. Once it’s chilled, roll the dough into balls and place them on a baking sheet.
Place a few M&Ms on the top of each cookie and lightly press the cookie down to form a round disc. They don’t spread much while they bake.
Bake them for about 10 minutes at 350°F. When they are done, they will be dry on top and easily slide on the baking sheet. Cool them on the cookie sheet.
Texture and Cookie Flavor
The cookies are soft and a little cakey which I like. They bake up like little soft pumpkin spice cakes. You can taste the pumpkin puree and it goes really well with the chocolate.
I wasn’t too happy with how the M&Ms turned out though. I’ve baked with M&Ms before, but these melted more than usual and I really didn’t like the smeared candy coating all over my cookies.
I will definitely make these cookies again but next time I’ll stick with chocolate chips or maybe use the Fall color milk chocolate M&Ms.
More M&M Cookies
Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup pumpkin spice m&m's or chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk together pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, vanilla and egg in a large bowl . In a separate bowl, whisk together together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, and ground cinnamon. Add the flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and stir until combined. Cookie dough will be quite wet and sticky. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Roll dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter. The dough will still be sticky but should be easier to work with after being chilled. Place on cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart.
- Place a few chocolate chips/m&m's on the surface of each cookie ball and flatten ball slightly. Smooth and shape dough with hands so that it resembles a smooth, round disc (cookies won't spread that much during baking so you want it to be as close to a finished cookie look as possible). If dough is getting too sticky, wash hands first before attempting again.
- Bake for approximately 10 minutes until cookies look dry on the exterior and will slide off baking sheet easily. Let cookies finish cooling on cookie sheet.
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
i was just at Target and took a photo of the pumpkin spice and white chocolate candy corn flavors. they had a lot too. do you want more?
your cookies look so nice and colorful! very fall!
No, thanks for the offer but I got a bunch! The candy corn one is just the colors, it’s just white chocolate inside. So the pumpkin spice is the only one flavored different.
Kirbie,
Your ingredient list did not list salt but your directions included salt, possible an oversight. I presume adding 1/2 tsp. salt would be adequate.
Can’t wait to go to my local Poway Target to buy pumpkin m&m’s and bake them.
Oops! You can add the salt or not. I’ve done both and honestly I don’t notice much of a difference.
I lucked out and got a bag on the first try…they’re hiding them on the top shelf at my Target so that they’re not the first ones people grab. I haven’t tried them yet. I opened the candy corn bag first. I know I like those (and I don’t even like candy corn!
Ooh, the ones I finally got were on a high shelf too. I could barely see if any were left. I think they were more heavily stocked when they first came out but then word spread and also they were on sale last week too which probably caused all the empty shelves.
Oh! What an adventure just to get the M&M’s! I must have gotten lucky because I found that at my neighborhood Target (in Mira Mesa). I didn’t really care for the M&M’s though, I didn’t think they were very pumpkin-y and just tasted more like the plain M&M’s which I don’t like. The carrot cake ones were so much better. I’m planning on doing some pumpkin cookies soon, but probably without these M&M’s. I like how puffy your cookies look!
I think they kept stocking them, but only a limited amount, so they kept disappearing fast. I would call, they told me it was in stock, I’d go and it’d be gone. I finally found them at Mission Valley and there were only 6 bags left at the time. I’m disappointed that the flavor wasn’t more pumpkin-y. I never tried the carrot cake one. I’m excited for the birthday cake ones coming out next year.