It’s fall, y’all, and that means it’s time for all things pumpkin! These pumpkin cookies are a an explosion of fall in every bite with pumpkin spice, a soft chewy texture, and loads of brown sugar cream cheese frosting on top. You won’t find a better fall recipe than these cookies!
Cookies are just about the best dessert or snack you can make. With so many different ingredient possibilities, there’s a cookie for every season and event. I make all kinds of cookies all year long, and these are a particular favorite when fall rolls around. They’re soft and chewy (my favorite cookie texture), and being loaded with pumpkin spice and cream cheese frosting, they deliver all the classic fall flavors everyone loves.
Why You’ll Love These Frosted Pumpkin Cookies
- Soft and Chewy: These cookies have a wonderfully soft and chewy texture.
- Simple Ingredients: Both the dough and frosting use simple baking ingredients you can find anywhere.
- Easy: All it takes to make this recipe is a little mixing, baking, and frosting.
- Classic Flavor: Pumpkin puree and spice in the cookies and the cream cheese frosting are the perfect fall flavor profile.
Ingredients
- Pumpkin Puree: Pumpkin puree adds a big burst of pumpkin flavor and moisture to the cookies.
- Pumpkin Spice: A blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice gives the cookies their classic fall flavor.
- Cream Cheese and Butter: Cream cheese and butter create the rich, creamy base for the frosting.
- Powdered Sugar: Powdered sugar adds intense sweetness and body to the frosting.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for a full list of ingredients and their exact amounts.
Flavor Variations
- Cream Cheese Frosting: Leave out the brown sugar and add a bit more powdered sugar to make regular cream cheese frosting.
- Sweet Potato Pie Cookies: Use sweet potato puree to make sweet potato pie cookies.
- Chocolate Chips: Add chocolate chips to the cookies for more classic flavor.
- Nuts: Nuts and cookies are always a great combo. Try walnuts or pecans for this recipe.
How to Make Pumpkin Cookies
1: Whisk the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Then, beat the wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
2: Combine the wet and dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.
3: Drop rounded tablespoons onto a prepared baking sheet and bake the cookies until they are just beginning to turn golden on the edges.
4: Cool the cookies for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
5: Beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Then, add the brown sugar and vanilla and beat until combined.
6: Gradually beat in the powdered sugar until you have a rich, creamy frosting.
7: Frost the fully-cooled cookies and enjoy!
Hint
Mix your wet and dry cookie dough ingredients only until just combined. This helps keep the cookies soft and chewy instead of tough.
Storage
Refrigerate these cookies for up to 4 days in an air-tight container. Unfrosted cookies can be stored for a week or more in an air-tight container at room temperature. For longer storage, wrap the chilled cookies in plastic wrap and freeze them for up to a month in an air-tight, freezer-safe container in a single layer. Defrost the cookies overnight in the refrigerator.
What to Serve with Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Frosting
These cookies make a great snack with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee. Serve them alongside other delicious, fall-themed sweets like apple pecan coffee cake, chocolate cupcakes with cranberry frosting, or gingerbread cake with cinnamon molasses frosting.
These cookies are also a wonderfully sweet finisher to a meal featuring classic fall main courses like crock pot chuck roast, homemade chili, or cowboy stew.
Tips
- Fully soften your butter and cream cheese for the easiest mixing. Cold butter and cream cheese are incredibly difficult to get nice and creamy.
- Remove the cookies as soon as you’ve baked them for the specified amount of time in the recipe. Carryover cooking time will finish baking them to perfection.
- Mix your cookie ingredients until just combined. Overmixing can make the cookies dense and tough.
- Be sure you buy pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. They’re often sold next to each other.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pumpkin puree is pure pumpkin that’s been pureed and canned. It has no added sweeteners or spices.
Beat your frosting well to incorporate air, which makes the frosting fluffier. You can also add a bit of heavy cream to help make the frosting fluffier. Don’t add too much or you’ll thin it out!
Adding more fat like oil, eggs, or butter can help make cookies softer. It’s also important to remove them from the oven a little before they’ve fully baked. Carryover cooking from the heat of the baking sheet will finish baking the cookies to soft, chewy perfection.
Yes, you can! It’s very easy to do. Choose smaller pumpkins, not the ginormous ones for carving. Cut them in half, remove the seeds and membranes, and roast them until soft. Then, cube them right in the rind, remove the cubes, and blend them in a blender until smooth.
Try These Delicious Frosted Pumpkin Cookies Today
With a soft, chewy texture, classic pumpkin spice flavor, and rich, creamy brown sugar cream cheese frosting, every bite of these pumpkin cookies explodes with fall flavor. They’re also as easy as they are delicious. You can’t beat that! Give these cookies a try, and get ready to fall in love.
More Delicious Pumpkin Recipes You’ll Enjoy
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Pumpkin Cookies
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cookies
- 2 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 large egg + 1 yolk
Brown Sugar Frosting
- 4 ounce cream cheese
- ¼ cup butter
- ⅓ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Pumpkin Cookies
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and spices together until combined.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and both sugars together until creamy.
- Add pumpkin puree, egg, and yolk. Beat until combined.
- Gradually add flour mixture into the sugar mixture and beat after each addition.
- Drop by rounded tablespoon on the prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake for 8 minutes. Let cookies sit on cookie sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Brown Sugar Frosting
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy, approximately 2-3 minutes.
- Add brown sugar and vanilla, and beat until combined.
- Gradually beat in powdered sugar until all ingredients are incorporated.
- Frost cookies once they have cooled completely.
- Sprinkle the frosting with a little cinnamon, if desired.
Notes
- Fully soften your butter and cream cheese for the easiest mixing. Cold butter and cream cheese are incredibly difficult to get nice and creamy.
- Remove the cookies as soon as you’ve baked them for the specified amount of time in the recipe. Carryover cooking time will finish baking them to perfection.
- Mix your cookie ingredients until just combined. Overmixing can make the cookies dense and tough.
- Be sure you buy pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. They’re often sold next to each other.
Nutrition
Hi Terri…would like to make these for a bake sale. Does the icing firm up enough to place several in a clear plastic bag for the sale. They look delicious!
Hi Charlene, The frosting is pretty creamy. I would have to say that I think if you stack them the frosting might stick to the other cookies. I would say to put a small piece of parchment paper between them. I hope they are a success at your bake sale. :)
Yummy good