These pumpkin cookies are beautifully soft, packed with fall flavors and topped with a delicious cream cheese frosting. The perfect fall dessert!
We’re getting into some serious fall baking right now and loving every minute of it! And of course fall baking is all about the pumpkin. Check out our pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cake and pumpkin cupcakes.
These pumpkin cookies are just a delight. They’re so easy to make and taste like heaven. The cream cheese topping is just the perfect complement in flavor and texture. A little sprinkle of cinnamon tops them off to perfection.
If you love cookies, then you’ve come to the right place, check out our pumpkin spice oatmeal cookies, peanut butter cookies, shortbread cookies and lemon cookies.
How To Make Pumpkin Cookies
Full instructions and measurements can always be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Add butter and white and brown sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer and cream them together.
- Add vanilla extract and pumpkin purée and mix in.
- Add flour to a mixing bowl along with baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix together.
- Then add all the dry ingredients in with the wet and mix in by hand (don’t use the electric mixer for this part) into a thick cookie dough.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop even amounts of cookie dough onto a parchment lined baking tray. Aim for 20 cookies.
- Flatten them with a fork.
- Bake at 350°F for 12 minutes. If they’re still a bit puffy when they come out of the oven then use a fork to gently flatten them a little more as soon as they come out of the oven.
- Leave them on the tray to cool completely.
The Frosting
- When the cookies are completely cool, they’re ready to frost.
- Add butter and cream cheese to the bowl of your stand mixer and beat them together until very creamy and smooth (about 3 minutes).
- Then add in powdered sugar and vanilla extract and beat in until smooth and fluffy (about 2 minutes).
- Spread the frosting onto the cookies and top with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Recipe and Ingredient Tips
Butter: Softened butter is easiest, but if you’re like me and always forget to take your butter out to soften in time, then just cut it into small cubes and beat it for a longer time with the sugar so that it has time to soften.
Pumpkin Purée: You can use either canned pumpkin purée or fresh homemade pumpkin purée. This recipe only uses ⅓ cup (75g) of pumpkin purée so if you do open a full 15-ounce can of pumpkin purée then that leaves the perfect amount of pumpkin for a loaf of pumpkin bread. Hmmm, what a good idea! If you do use homemade pumpkin purée then it’s a good idea to let it stand in a sieve over a bowl so that any excess water can drain off before you use it.
Cream Cheese Frosting: This is entirely optional of course, but it’s so delicious. This recipe is a quarter portion of our cream cheese frosting recipe. This amount of frosting is the perfect amount to frost 20 cookies. Softened butter and cream cheese is also useful for this, but if you forget, then just cut it into small pieces (as pictured above) and go for it!
Storing and Freezing
Store your cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. They’re best stored in the fridge because of the cream cheese frosting. Let them come to room temperature before enjoying.
You can freeze them as well if you like for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge and then let them come to room temperature before serving.
More Cookie Recipes
- Chocolate Cookies
- Almond Butter Cookies
- Oatmeal Cookies
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Pumpkin Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- ½ cup Butter Softened
- ½ cup White Granulated Sugar
- ¼ cup Light Brown Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- ⅓ cup Pumpkin Purée Canned or Fresh
- 1 and ½ cups All Purpose Flour Measured Correctly*
- ½ tsp Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Nutmeg
- ¼ tsp Salt
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 2 ounces Cream Cheese Full Fat, Brick Style, Softened*
- 2 Tbsp Butter Softened
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar
- ⅛ tsp Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the butter and white and brown sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer and cream them together.
- Add the vanilla extract and pumpkin purée and mix in.
- Add the flour to a mixing bowl along with the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and mix together.
- Then add all the dry ingredients in with the wet and mix in by hand (don't use the electric mixer for this part) into a thick cookie dough.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop even amounts of the cookie dough onto the parchment lined tray. Aim for 20 cookies.
- Flatten them with a fork.
- Place them into the oven and bake for 12 minutes. If they're still a bit puffy when they come out of the oven then use a fork to gently flatten them a little more as soon as they come out of the oven.
- Leave them on the tray to cool completely. When the cookies are completely cool, they're ready to frost.
- Add the butter and cream cheese to the bowl of your stand mixer and beat them together until very creamy and smooth (about 3 minutes).
- Then add in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and beat in until smooth and fluffy (about 2 minutes).
- Spread the frosting on the cookies and top with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Video
Notes
- Softened butter is easiest, but if you forget to take it out in time, then just cut it into small cubes and beat it for a longer time with the sugar.
- You can use either canned pumpkin purée or fresh homemade pumpkin purée. If you use homemade pumpkin purée then it’s a good idea to let it stand in a sieve over a bowl so that any excess water can drain off before you use it.
- Measure your flour correctly using the spoon and level method: spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup. Alternatively weigh it on a food scale. Click ‘metric’ below the list of ingredients to get the ingredient weights in grams.
- The cream cheese frosting is entirely optional. Softened butter and cream cheese is also useful for this, but if you forget, then just cut the cream cheese and butter into small pieces before beating it together in the stand mixer.
- Store your cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. They’re best stored in the fridge because of the cream cheese frosting.
These are so delicious and so easy! The frosting is just the perfect flavor mix too.
Thanks Marissa!