It’s officially time to start pumpkin-spicing all things! Pumpkin spice is the official fall flavor, and now that we are quickly approaching the season, you’re going to start smelling (and tasting!) much more of it.
Pumpkin is easy to grow and also offers health benefits, and about now, you should have a great deal ready to harvest in your garden or find aisles stocked with fresh and canned options. And with all that pumpkin, you can easily make pumpkin spice cookies. Not only are these little delights delicious, but they’re absolutely adorable and easily customizable.
How to Make Pumpkin Spice Cookies
If you’re searching for the perfect pumpkin spice cookie recipe, search no further! We have the perfect recipe for you to try out on your family and get everyone ready for fall. Make sure to keep this recipe handy, since these cookies are so delicious they are sure to go fast!
Time
Prep: 15-20 minutes
Cook Time: 20-22 minutes
Ready: About an hour, plus or minus 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 2-½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white sugar
- ½ cup brown or light brown sugar (depending on preference)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup pureed pumpkin or canned pumpkin (See below for homemade fresh pumpkin puree recipe)
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp milk
Supplies
- Two medium-sized bowls
- One cookie sheet for baking
- One whisk for mixing
- One wooden or plastic spoon for mixing
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Cooking spray (optional), cooking oil, or parchment paper
Pumpkin Spice Cookie Instructions
Step One: Get Ready to Make Some Cookies
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Prep a baking sheet. Either use cooking spray/oil, or lay parchment down on a sheet pan. Parchment paper is easier to use as far as clean up goes, but since these cookies are very dense because the recipe calls for pumpkin, using an oiled cookie sheet may be your best bet. The cookies themselves may stick to the parchment paper and cause some trouble getting them off the paper once cooled.
Step Two: Put the Pumpkin Spice Cookie Dough Together
Dry Mix
Combine all of the dry ingredients in one of the bowls and sift: the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, ground cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
No softer? No problem! Use a whisk to stir the dry ingredients together and incorporate all ingredients evenly. Sugar and baking powder do have the tendency to lump up, so make sure you don’t see any lumps in the mixture before baking.
Wet Mix
In another medium-sized bowl, cream all the wet ingredients and sugar together; white sugar, brown or light brown sugar, pumpkin puree, butter, egg and vanilla. Make sure to add each ingredient individually and mix well before adding the next ingredient. (If you prefer to make your own puree from fresh, here’s a great tutorial on how to make your own pumpkin puree.)
It’s better to cream the butter at room temperature. If you can, leave the butter out of the fridge for a few hours beforehand to make it easier to work with. Once the butter is soft, cream it together with the white sugar and brown sugar. After that, add the pumpkin, egg and vanilla. Make sure to incorporate this all evenly.
Everybody In
Once the wet mixture is ready, slowly start to add the sifted dry mixture, incorporating slowly and stirring well.
Make sure to add the dry mixture slowly and scrape the sides to make sure the batter will all be properly mixed. Be sure to work out any lumps, too!
Step Three: Portion Your Cookies
Once the cookie dough is ready, plop tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet or lightly oiled pan. Lay out dough at least 2 inches apart from one another to give room for expanding while cooking.
The dough may be a bit sticky to work with, so you might want to dampen your scoop or spoon with hot water after every few cookies. Using oil or spray on your spoon can also help, but this is a dense recipe with a great deal of liquid already, so be careful not to add too much.
So Many Choices
Here, you may also choose to top the cookies with a bit of granulated sugar, or to portion tablespoons directly into cinnamon sugar before placing on your baking sheet. If you prefer an iced or glazed cookie, skip these steps and refer to the glaze recipe below.
Step Four: Bake the Best Pumpkin Spice Cookies You’ll Ever Have
Bake for about 20 minutes or until the cookie are slightly browned at the bottom.
Step Five: Be Cool
Let cool for about 10 minutes before removing from hot pan to prevent sticking or breaking.
Step Six: Enjoy Every Bite
That’s it! Unless it isn’t. You can also glaze or ice these cookies, if you prefer. They taste great with the vanilla glaze below, or with your favorite cream cheese or buttercream icing recipe.
But we genuinely love these cookies as they come, or with one of the sugar-coated ideas outlined above, too! They’re versatile and delicious, easy and so, so tasty.
Optional: Cookie Frosting or Glaze
This is just an extra addition you can add to these cookies for a sweeter surprise. Since these cookies are a bit cake-like, sometimes the extra sweet glaze on top can add sweetness to the dense recipe. It’s a quick, easy way to liven up the recipe and goes perfectly with coffee!
INGREDIENTS
- One cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
Mix the sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl to create a simple sweet drizzle to top the cookies with. You may want to add more or less sugar depending on the thickness of the frosting.
And You’re All Done!
That’s it! Pretty simple, huh? Even if you choose to use canned pumpkin over pureed pumpkin, these cookies are absolutely delicious and everyone is sure to love them. If you think the cookies are a bit too spicy, you can adjust the pumpkin pie spice and nutmeg easily. Add less or more of these items to adhere to your own preference.
These cookies are dense, sweet and go well with morning coffee or an afternoon snack. These are definitely a crowd-pleaser, so you can make a whole lot ahead of time to keep on hand for company or family. These are perfect for the holidays and can be left out fine. You can refrigerate these if you prefer, but it’s really not necessary. Since the pumpkin makes these cookies dense, the odds of them drying out is not likely. Store on a counter-top or in a bread bag.
You’re sure to enjoy these cookies as they’re perfect to bring in the fall season and they’re so easy to make! Enjoy! And for even more delicious pumpkin recipes to use this Fall, check out our pumpkin cornbread recipe here.
