Skip to Content

Pumpkin Cookies With Cream Cheese Icing

Now that it is officially Autumn, it is time to pull out my recipe for Pumpkin Cookies With Cream Cheese Icing.

Every year I get asked by several family members to make these cookies. However, I refuse to make them before the first day of Fall.

pumpkin cookies with cream cheese icing
Homemade pumpkin cookies with cream cheese icing.

Although the coffee shops start selling their Spiced Pumpkin Latte in August and the home decor stores begin to put out Halloween decorations even before the kids head back to school, I have personally decided not to make any pumpkin recipe until after September 21st.

That way I can hold on to Summer as long as I can. Plus, it gives me more than an entire month to make Pumpkin Puree, Pumpkin Rolls, Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars, Pumpkin Butter and Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls.

And of course there is plenty of time to make these Pumpkin Cookies with cream cheese icing. In fact, I will spend an entire day baking batches and batches of these old-fashioned cookies.

Once the cookies are baked we eat them fresh, give them to our extended family and friends, and freeze a few dozen as well.

freezing cookies
Once the cookies have been iced, I place them in the freezer while still on the cookie sheet. Then, once frozen, I transfer them to a freezer safe dish.

The intent is to keep them in the freezer until it is time to build our Christmas Cookie Trays. However, they seem to slowly disappear from the freezer during the months of October and November.

I have to admit, they do make a great morning snack with a cup of coffee on a crisp Autumn morning.

And that gives me an excuse to use this recipe more than once a year!

Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
Icing Ingredients
  • 3 ounces softened cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups powder sugar (confectioners sugar)
dry ingredients
The addition of cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice gives these cookies great flavor.

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375°F

1. In a medium bowl combine the dry ingredients for your cookies by combining flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Whisk together and set aside.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, cream butter with white and brown sugar. Add in vanilla extract and egg and beat until smooth.

pumpkin cookies batter
Mix all of the ingredients until incorporated. The batter will be moist.

3. Add pumpkin puree to butter and sugar mixture – mix until incorporated.

4. Then slowly add dry ingredients, mixing well.  Mixture will be moist.

5. Drop by the teaspoon full onto lightly greased baking sheet or a baking lined with parchment paper.

baked pumpkin cookies
Allow the pumpkin cookies to sit on the baking tray for a few minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

6. Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly golden brown.

7. Let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Then remove to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

8. To make the icing: mix the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract until smooth. Slowly add powder sugar and mix well.

cream cheese icing
Be sure that the cream cheese is at room temperature so that your icing turns out nice and smooth.

9. When cookies are completely cool, top with icing.

Enjoy!

Mary and Jim

Jim and Mary Competti have been writing gardening, DIY and recipe articles and books for over 15 years from their 46 acre Ohio farm. The two are frequent speakers on all things gardening and love to travel in their spare time.

As always, feel free to email us at thefarm@owgarden.com with comments, questions, or to simply say hello! You can sign up for our free email list in the subscribe now box in the middle of this article. Follow us on Facebook here : OWG Facebook. This article may contain affiliate links.

Pumpkin Cookies With Cream Cheese Icing

  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 cup butter (softened)
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree

Icing Ingredients

  • 3 ounces softened cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups confectioners sugar

  1. preheat oven to 375° F.

  2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Whisk together and set aside.

  3. In a medium mixing bowl, cream butter with white and brown sugar. Add in vanilla extract and egg and beat until smooth.
  4. Add pumpkin puree to butter and sugar mixture – mix until incorporated.
  5. Slowly add dry ingredients, mixing well. Mixture will be moist.
  6. Drop by the teaspoon full onto lightly greased cookie sheet or baking stone.
  7. Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly golden brown.
  8. Let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Then remove to wax paper to cool completely.
  9. When make the icing: mix the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract until smooth. Slowly add powder sugar and mix well.
  10. When cookies are completely cool, top with icing.

Recipe courtesy of Old World Garden Farms