Most pumpkin cookies come out soft and cake-like, and honestly, that’s what a lot of us want: pillowy little spice cakes with a sweet icing on top. This pumpkin cookies recipe gives you exactly that, finished with a brown butter maple icing. Below it you’ll also find two easy spin-offs from the same method, chewy pumpkin snickerdoodles and pumpkin oatmeal cookies.
Fall cookie season is well under way. Pinterest searches for “pumpkin cookies recipe” jumped about 300% in the US over the last three months, and they’re double last year’s level.
RECIPE
Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Maple Icing
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 280 g
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 113 g, softened
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar 200 g
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup pumpkin puree 225 g
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 to 3 tbsp milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Method
- Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice together.
- Beat the butter and brown sugar until light, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg, pumpkin and vanilla. The mixture may look curdled; that is fine.
- Mix in the dry ingredients on low just until combined.
- Scoop 1 1/2-tablespoon mounds 2 inches apart. Flatten the tops slightly with damp fingers.
- Bake 11 to 13 minutes, until the tops spring back. Cool 5 minutes on the sheet, then move to a rack.
- For the icing, melt the butter in a small pan and cook, swirling, until it smells nutty and has brown flecks, 4 to 5 minutes. Pour into a bowl.
- Whisk in the powdered sugar, maple syrup, vanilla and enough milk to make a thick but spreadable icing. Spread over the cooled cookies and let set 15 minutes.
Notes
Private Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Cakey or Chewy? It’s All About the Water
Pumpkin puree is mostly water, and water plus flour makes steam, which puffs cookies into cake. That’s why classic pumpkin cookies are soft and domed. If you want chewy cookies instead, remove some of that water:
- Blot the pumpkin. Spread it on paper towels, press, and wait 5 minutes. You can remove a quarter of its weight this way.
- Chill the dough for 30 minutes so the cookies spread less.
- Use a little less pumpkin, about 1/2 cup, and add an extra egg yolk for richness.
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Use the same dough with three changes: blot the pumpkin and use only 1/2 cup, add 1/2 tsp cream of tartar to the dry ingredients, and chill the dough 30 minutes. Roll each ball in a mix of 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tbsp cinnamon, then bake 10 to 11 minutes. The cream of tartar gives snickerdoodles their slight tang and crackly top. Skip the icing.
Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
Replace 1 cup of the flour with 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats and fold in 3/4 cup chocolate chips, raisins or chopped pecans. Bake 12 to 14 minutes. They’re heartier, less sweet, and perfect for lunch boxes.
Brown Butter Makes the Icing
Browning butter takes 5 minutes and turns plain icing into something that tastes like toffee. Use a light-colored pan so you can see the milk solids turn golden brown, and pour it out of the hot pan as soon as it smells nutty, since it goes from brown to burnt quickly. If you’re short on time, a simple glaze of powdered sugar, milk and cinnamon works fine.
Storing and Freezing
Because they’re so moist, pumpkin cookies can get sticky if stacked while warm. Let the icing set fully, then store them in a single layer. Freeze un-iced cookies up to 3 months and ice them after thawing.
Keep the pumpkin baking going with our streusel pumpkin muffins, the pumpkin cheesecake, or a cozy cup of coffee with homemade pumpkin spice syrup. Remember not to snack on raw cookie dough; the FDA explains why raw flour isn’t safe.
FAQ
Why are my pumpkin cookies so cakey?
Pumpkin’s high water content. Blot the puree and chill the dough for a chewier texture.
Can I use pumpkin pie filling?
No. It already contains sugar and spices, so the cookies will be overly sweet and spread.
Can I make them without eggs?
Yes. The pumpkin already binds the dough well; just leave the egg out and add 1 tbsp more pumpkin.
How long do pumpkin cookies last?
About 3 days at room temperature or 5 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
Last tip: scoop all the dough, freeze the balls on a tray, then bag them. Bake straight from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes, whenever you want warm cookies.
