Description
Incredibly soft and moist pumpkin sugar cookies made with real pumpkin puree and warm spices, topped with luscious cream cheese frosting. Perfect for fall baking!
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 2 ½ cups (312 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 ¼ cups (305 g) canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling!)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces (226 g) block cream cheese, softened but still cool
- ¼ cup (56 g) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups (210 g) sifted confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
Set your oven to 350°F and line those baking sheets with parchment. I learned this lesson the hard way after scraping burnt cookie bottoms off my pans for an hour.
Grab a bowl and whisk together your flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Sometimes I’m lazy and just use a fork to mix it up.
Beat that butter and sugar for a full 3 minutes – I used to rush this step and wondered why my cookies were dense. Your arm might get tired if you’re using a hand mixer, but it’s worth every second.
Dump in your pumpkin, egg, and vanilla. The mixture looks weird at this point – kind of lumpy and separated. Don’t panic, that’s exactly what mine looked like when I finally got this recipe right.
Add your flour mix to the pumpkin mixture and stir just until it comes together. Stop mixing as soon as you don’t see dry flour anymore. The dough feels sticky and wet – totally normal.
I use my medium cookie scoop for this, but a big spoon works too. Space them about 2 inches apart because they do spread a little. Bake for 13-15 minutes – I always set my timer for 13 and check them.
Let them sit on the pan for maybe 5 minutes, then move them to a cooling rack if you have one. If not, a clean countertop works. They have to be totally cool before frosting or everything melts into a mess.
Beat your cream cheese and butter until it’s smooth – maybe 30 seconds in my old mixer. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar and beat again until creamy. Don’t go crazy with the mixing once everything’s combined.
Spread frosting on each cookie with a knife or offset spatula if you’re fancy. I sprinkle a tiny bit of cinnamon on top because it looks pretty and my kids think I’m a baking genius.
Notes
- Don’t overbake these! I learned this the expensive way after turning two dozen cookies into pumpkin frisbees. The centers should look slightly underdone when you pull them out.
- Temperature matters big time: Cold butter won’t mix properly and warm butter makes everything greasy. Room temp feels slightly cool to touch but gives when you press it.
- Get a cookie scoop: I resisted buying one for years but it changed my baking game completely. All my cookies bake evenly now.
- Sticky dough fix: Chill the whole bowl for 15 minutes if your dough is too sticky to handle. I do this every time now.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American