Sweet potato chocolate chip cookies are soft and gooey and bursting with fall flavors. Made with sweet potato puree, autumn spices, and lots of chocolate, the cookies taste delicious and will have your reach for more than one! The perfect alternative to pumpkin cookies!
Easy sweet potato cookies with chocolate chips
I feel sweet potato cookies are like pumpkin cookies’ underappreciated cousin. Pumpkin everything gets the main spotlight in fall.
But if you want to try something new, these sweet potato chocolate chip cookies are worth sampling.
They are full of aroma from brown sugar, cozy spices, chocolate, and my favorite part – orange zest!
Sweet potatoes, chocolate, and orange zest match incredibly well.
The bottom line is that sweet potato cookies are delicious and could become a new autumn favorite!
If you want to get baking this fall season, my yam cookies are perfect along with sweet potato banana bread and sweet potato pie bars.
Ingredients
The ingredients are quite simple. When you taste how good these sweet potato chocolate chip cookies are, you’ll want to make them all the time. Refer to the recipe card at the end of the page for specific measurements.
- Sweet potato puree: You’ll need mashed sweet potatoes for this recipe. Canned yams will not work here. I’ve included instructions to make homemade mashed sweet potatoes in the instructions further down.
- Spices + orange zest: A mix of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and orange zest infuses every bite with delicious fall aroma. The spices add warmth and depth of flavor and the orange zest introduces a bright, lively note.
- Vanilla extract is a must for all chocolate chip cookie recipes.
- Granulated sugar gives the cookies slightly crispy edges.
- Brown sugar adds amazing flavor + consistency and a slightly caramelized aroma. While you can use light brown sugar, I find that dark brown sugar gives the cookies a stronger caramel flavor and makes them even softer.
- All-purpose flour: Good old all-purpose flour works best for these sweet potato cookies. To get the best results, measure your flour with kitchen scales or use the spoon-and-level technique.
- Baking soda is the leavening agent for the recipe and creates soft cookies when baked.
- Salted butter adds flavor + moisture and makes the cookies tender. I love salted butter because the salt enhances the other flavors and balances the sweetness. You can also use unsalted butter and add some salt.
- Egg yolk: An egg yolk holds the dough together and makes the cookies slightly chewy.
- Chocolate: I chopped up a semi-sweet chocolate bar because it compliments the sweet potato flavor. Of course, you can also use your favorite chocolate chips.
How to make sweet potato chocolate chip cookies
Time to bake sweet potato cookies! It’s easy! Here’s the recipe step-by-step:
#1: Cream liquid ingredients
Place the softened, cubed butter, white sugar, brown sugar, sweet potato puree, egg yolk, and vanilla extract into a large mixing bowl. Beat with a stand mixer or handheld electric mixer until creamed together.
#2: Combine dry ingredients
In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and spices until they are mixed evenly.
#3: Make dough
Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Using a spatula, fold them together until they form a dough consistency.
#4: Fold in chocolate
Fold the chocolate chunks evenly throughout the dough.
#5: Chill dough
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (cling film) and chill in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes.
#6: Prepare for baking
Preheat your oven to 350°F / 180°C / gas mark 4. Line to baking sheets (trays) with parchment (baking) paper.
#7: Form cookies
Roll the dough into 1.5 in / 4 cm balls. Place on the cookie sheets (trays), leaving 2.5 in / 5 cm around each dough ball (they will spread while baking).
#8: Bake
Bake the cookies for 5 minutes. Then take the cookie sheet out of the oven and tap it against your countertop to help the cookies spread and crinkle. Return the cookies to the oven and continue baking for another 7 to 8 minutes (the total baking time is 11 to 12 minutes).
#9: Cool cookies
Remove the cookies from the oven and bang the tray on the countertop again. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them onto a cooling rack and let them fully cool.
Tips for the best sweet potato cookies
Follow these baking tips to make your sweet potato chocolate chip cookies turn out perfect!
- Chill the dough: These cookies turn out best when you chill the dough for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Pan-banging cookies: Tapping the baking pan against the counter helps to create the texture of these cookies. They are soft and gooey in the center but have crispy outer edges. I like to place a folded kitchen towel on my work surface, so I don’t hit the counter with a hot baking sheet. Sarah from The Vanilla Bean Blog explains the concept of pan-banging cookies in greater detail.
- Add extra chocolate: For those dreamy pools of melted chocolate, gently press a few extra chocolate chunks into your cookies 5 minutes into baking.
Variations
While perfectly delicious as is, you can customize your sweet potato chocolate chip cookies with different mix-ins. Feel free to mix and match to your liking!
- Change the chocolate: Swap semi-sweet chocolate for milk or white chocolate, or try butterscotch or peanut butter chips.
- Nuts: Adding 1/2 cup chopped pecans, walnuts, peanuts, or almonds adds great taste and texture.
- Dried fruit: Dried cranberries or raisins are great additions to make your sweet potato cookies different every time.
- Pumpkin pie spice: Instead of individual spices, season the cookies with pumpkin pie spice mix.
- Pumpkin: If you’d rather have pumpkin cookies after all, substitute the sweet potatoes for the same amount of canned pumpkin puree.
Storage instructions
These sweet potato chocolate chip cookies store well and taste scrumptious even a few days later. You can double the batch and freeze some dough to make baking quick + easy the next time.
Store sweet potato chocolate chip cookies
- Store cookie dough: Cover the bowl tightly with plastic or foil and store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Store baked cookies: Keep baked sweet potato cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They will be good for 5 to 7 days. Adding a slice of bread can help to keep the cookies soft and moist.
Freeze sweet potato chocolate chip cookies
- Freeze the dough: Roll the unbaked dough into balls, place it on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, and freeze. Once the dough balls are frozen solid, transfer them into a freezer-friendly container or freezer bag. Keep for up to 3 months.
- Freeze baked cookies: Place the cookies into a freezer-safe container or bag. Add pieces of parchment (baking) paper between layers to prevent the cookies from sticking. Freeze for up to 3 months. Let defrost at room temperature.
Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Sweet potato chocolate chip cookies are soft and gooey and bursting with fall flavors. Made with sweet potato puree, autumn spices, and lots of chocolate, the cookies taste delicious and will have your reach for more than one! The perfect alternative to pumpkin cookies!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup / 170 g / 6 oz salted butter, cut into cubes and at room temperature (or unsalted butter + 1/4 tsp salt)
- 1/2 cup / 100 g / 3.5 oz white granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup / 100 g / 3.5 oz brown sugar
- 1/4 cup / 40 g / 1.4 oz canned sweet potato puree (see Note below)
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 2 cups / 240 g / 8.5 oz all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 6 oz / 170 g semi-sweet chocolate, cut into small chunks (or chocolate chips)
Instructions
- Cream liquid ingredients. Place the softened, cubed butter, white sugar, brown sugar, sweet potato puree, egg yolk, and vanilla extract into a large mixing bowl. Beat with a stand mixer or handheld electric mixer until creamed together.
- Combine dry ingredients. In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and spices until they are mixed evenly.
- Make dough. Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Using a spatula, fold them together until they form a dough consistency.
- Fold in chocolate. Fold the chocolate chunks evenly throughout the dough.
- Chill dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (cling film) and chill in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Prepare for baking. Preheat your oven to 350°F / 180°C / gas mark 4. Line to baking sheets (trays) with parchment (baking) paper.
- Form cookies. Roll the dough into 1.5 in / 4 cm balls. Place on the cookie sheets (trays), leaving 2.5 in / 5 cm around each dough ball (they will spread while baking).
- Bake. Bake the cookies for 5 minutes. Then take the cookie sheet out of the oven and tap it against your countertop to help the cookies spread and crinkle. Return the cookies to the oven and continue baking for another 7 to 8 minutes (the total baking time is 11 to 12 minutes).
- Cool cookies. Remove the cookies from the oven and bang the tray on the countertop again. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them onto a cooling rack and let them fully cool.
- Serve. If desired, sprinkle the cookies with sea salt flakes for serving.
Store. Store your sweet potato chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoy them within a week.
Notes
Sweet Potato Puree
If you can't find canned sweet potato puree, you can easily make your own from fresh sweet potatoes. You need 1 sweet potato for this recipe. Here's how to prepare sweet potatoes for cookies:
- Prep. Peel the sweet potato and cut it into 1 in / 2.5 cm chunks.
- Cook. Add the potato chunks to a medium pot and cover with water. Cover the pot with a lid and bring to a boil. Cook until fork tender, about 15 to 18 minutes.
- Drain + cool. Drain the sweet potato pieces and set aside to cool.
- Mash. Add the cooled sweet potato chunks to a food processor or high-speed blender and blitz until smooth.
The recipe calls for 1/4 cup sweet potato puree. You can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. I like to stir it into soups and stews.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 189Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 121mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 1gSugar: 15gProtein: 2g
Reasons to love sweet potato cookies
- Soft + flavorsome: Being well spiced and so chocolate forward, these will always taste amazing. The sweet potatoes and orange zest impart incredible flavor that is more delicate than pumpkin but just as good. You’re gonna love these sweet potato chocolate chip cookies!
- Easy to make: The cookies come together in only a few easy steps and use basic ingredients. You need sweet potatoes, but aside from that, the other items are simple.
- Great for fall occasions: The cookies are perfect for all fall occasions like Halloween and Thanksgiving, fall coffee dates, or brunch with your family and friends.
More fall baking ideas
If you’re looking for more ideas to add to your fall baking repertoire, here are some of our other favorite autumn recipes. They are super easy to make, and your family will love them!
