Pumpkin Cookies Recipe – A Classic Fall Cookie Recipe

Pumpkin cookies are a classic Fall dessert that everyone loves. Soft, tender, and filled with cinnamon and warm spices, these cookies come together with basic ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen.

This recipe starts with butter, flour, sugar, and an egg. Add pumpkin puree and a few baking staples, and you have a batch of cookies ready for the oven without any complicated steps. You don’t even need to chill the dough before baking.

I like to leave these cookies plain so the pumpkin and spice flavors come through in every bite. However, you can easily add chocolate chips, chopped nuts, if you want to change things up. And you can never go wrong with adding a simple vanilla glaze or cream cheese frosting on top.

They are a great treat to make on a cool fall afternoon, take to a gathering, or freeze for later. And because the recipe uses just one cup of pumpkin, it is also a good way to use some of the puree you have on hand after making another pumpkin recipe.

What To Expect From Pumpkin Cookies

These cookies have a soft, slightly cake-like texture with tender centers and lightly golden bottoms. The pumpkin adds moisture, so they won’t bake up crisp like a traditional sugar cookie.

The dough is also softer than chocolate chip cookie dough. Once they bake, the cookies hold their shape but remain soft inside. Let them rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. This gives them time to firm up enough that you can lift them without breaking them.

Although they taste good slightly warm, the texture settles as they cool. If you plan to add a glaze or frosting, wait until the cookies cool completely so the topping stays on the surface.

Choosing The Right Pumpkin When Making Pumpkin Cookies

Use plain pumpkin puree for this recipe. Check the label carefully, because pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie filling often sit next to each other at the grocery store.

Pumpkin pie filling already contains sugar and spices. Using it here would change both the sweetness and the flavor of the cookies.

Plain canned pumpkin provides a consistent texture and makes preparation easy. However, homemade puree works too, especially when you have pie pumpkins from the garden or a local farm.

If you want to prepare your own, follow our Homemade Pumpkin Puree recipe, which includes four cooking methods.

Using Homemade Puree

The most important thing to watch with homemade puree is excess moisture. It should be thick and spoonable, similar to canned pumpkin.

If liquid collects around the puree, drain it in a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth or a coffee filter. Measure your one cup after draining.

You don’t need to squeeze every bit of moisture out of the pumpkin. Simply remove the watery liquid that would make the cookie dough too thin.

Also, allow freshly cooked puree to cool before adding it to the mixing bowl. Warm pumpkin can soften the butter too much and affect how the cookies bake.

Ingredients For Pumpkin Cookies

All-purpose flour: Gives the cookies their structure. Spoon it into your measuring cup and level the top rather than packing it down.

Baking powder and baking soda: Help the cookies rise and create their soft texture. Make sure both are fresh for the best results.

Salt: Balances the sweetness and brings out the pumpkin and spice flavors.

Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves: Give the cookies their familiar fall flavor. The small amount of cloves adds depth without taking over.

Unsalted butter: Use softened butter that holds its shape but gives slightly when you press it.

Granulated sugar and brown sugar: A combination of the two sweetens the dough, while the brown sugar adds a little molasses flavor.

Pumpkin puree: Adds pumpkin flavor, moisture, and color.

Egg: Helps hold the dough together.

Vanilla extract: Rounds out the flavor of the cookies.

If you only have salted butter, you can use it and reduce the added salt to ¼ teaspoon. You can also replace the four individual spices with 2½ teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice.

How To Make Pumpkin Cookies

Start by preheating your oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Mixing these ingredients separately helps distribute the leavening and seasonings throughout the dough.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar for about two minutes. The mixture should look lighter and slightly fluffy.

Add the pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla extract. Beat until combined, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.

The mixture may look a little curdled after you add the pumpkin. That is normal. Once you mix in the dry ingredients, the dough will come together.

Mix And Scoop The Dough

Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and mix on low speed just until you no longer see dry flour. You can also finish this step by hand with a sturdy spatula.

Avoid beating the dough longer than necessary. Too much mixing after adding flour can make the cookies tougher.

Use a cookie scoop or two spoons to portion the dough into rounded 1½ tablespoon mounds. Place them about two inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.

Gently flatten the tops with the back of a slightly damp spoon. You only need to press them into thick rounds, not thin disks. This helps them bake evenly because the dough doesn’t spread a great deal on its own.

Bake Until The Centers Set

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, preferably one baking sheet at a time on the center oven rack.

The tops should look set rather than wet, and the bottoms should be lightly golden. If you gently touch the center of a cookie, it should spring back slightly.

Don’t wait for the entire cookie to turn brown. That can leave you with dry edges and a less tender center.

Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for five minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack. Repeat with the remaining dough, allowing a hot baking sheet to cool before adding another batch.

Easy Ways To Change The Flavor

The plain cookies have plenty of pumpkin flavor, but this dough also works well with a few simple additions.

For chocolate chip cookies, fold in ¾ cup of semisweet chocolate chips after mixing the dough. Mini chocolate chips work especially well because they distribute throughout the smaller cookies.

If you like a little crunch, add ½ cup of chopped pecans or walnuts. Keep the pieces small so you can scoop the dough easily.

A vanilla glaze is another easy option. Stir together one cup of powdered sugar, one tablespoon of milk, and ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract. Add more milk, a little at a time, until the glaze is thin enough to drizzle.

Spoon or drizzle it over completely cooled cookies, then allow the glaze to set before storing. The glaze adds sweetness, so a light drizzle is usually plenty.

Storing And Freezing

Once the cookies cool completely, place them in an airtight container. Store the plain cookies at room temperature for up to three days or in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Separate stacked layers with parchment paper to keep the soft tops from sticking together. Always let them cool before closing the container so you don’t trap steam inside.

For longer storage, freeze the baked cookies in a freezer container or bag for up to three months. You can freeze them in a single layer first, then stack them with parchment between the layers.

Thaw a few on the counter whenever you want a small treat. If you plan to glaze them, freezing them plain and adding the glaze after thawing gives you a neater finish.

There is no need to reheat these cookies, but you can warm an unglazed cookie in the microwave for about five to eight seconds. It is a simple way to enjoy that just-baked taste with your afternoon coffee or tea.

Enjoy!

Jim and Mary Competti have been writing gardening, DIY and recipe articles and books for over 16 years from their 46 acre Ohio farm. The two are frequent speakers on all things gardening and love to travel in their spare time.

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