The arrival of autumn brings many familiar things. Apple picking, leaves changing, cooler weather, and of course, pumpkin-spice everything. Whether you’re on the pumpkin spice bandwagon or vehemently opposed, you can’t deny these spiced cookies are irresistible. They’re soft, cakey, and coated in sweet spiced sugar, making them great for dessert, afternoon coffee, or gifting to friends.
Why Our Testers Loved This
LC testers adored the soft, cakey texture of these autumn-inspired cookies and loved that the not-too-sweet flavor had plenty of warm pumpkin spice. Krista D. calls them “amazingly delicious.” I couldn’t agree more.
What You’ll Need to Make This
- Unsalted butter–If you only have salted butter, reduce the salt in the cookies to 1/4 teaspoon. Start with softened butter so that your cookies are soft and puffy.
- Pumpkin puree–This keeps the cookies moist and cake-like. You want to make sure you’re using pure canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. Leftover pumpkin puree can be used to make pumpkin pie babka or pumpkin cheesecake bars.
- Pumpkin pie spice–This blend of cinnamon, allspice, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg is what gives the cookies their classic autumn (and Starbucks) flavor.
How to Make This Recipe
- Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla, and beat until combined.
- Beat in the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Cover the dough and chill for at least 1 hour.
- Whisk the granulated sugar and remaining pumpkin pie spice together in a small bowl.
- Roll the cookie dough into 1 1/2-inch balls, then roll in the spiced sugar to coat.
- Place the cookies 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until puffed and almost golden.
Common Questions
Make sure that you chill your dough for at least an hour. You can also pop your dough mounds into the freezer if you have issues with patience–just don’t let them freeze through, you want them cold, not iced. 20 minutes should be enough.
A few other tips–let your butter soften so it can be easily creamed but don’t let it get too warm. Just warm enough to combine with the sugar and flour. For those of you that like numbers, 67°F is the perfect temperature for “room temperature” butter. Finally, instead of flattening the dough mounds, leave a little peak in the middle so they retain some thickness.
The spiced pumpkin cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or the cooked, cooled cookies can be frozen for up to 4 months.
Pumpkin puree is made with only pure pumpkin that has been cooked and pureed. Pumpkin pie filling has spices and sweeteners added to the pureed pumpkin.
Helpful Tips
- An ice cream scoop makes it easy to scoop evenly-sized mounds of dough.
- To ensure your cookies aren’t too wet, pour off any extra liquid from your pumpkin puree or strain it in a fine-mesh sieve for 30 minutes before using.
More Superbly Spiced Cookie Recipes
Write a Review
If you make this recipe, or any dish on LC, consider leaving a review, a star rating, and your best photo in the comments below. I love hearing from you.–David
Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup canned pumpkin puree, (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon store-bought or homemade pumpkin pie spice, divided
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Beat the butter, brown sugar, and egg on medium-high speed in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or using a hand mixer until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then mix in the pumpkin, 1 tablespoon of the pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla, beating on medium-high speed until combined.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl again, spoon in the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt, and mix until just combined, about 1 minute.
- Cover the dough and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.
- Crank up the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment.
- Stir together the granulated sugar and the remaining 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice in a small bowl.
- Shape the cookie dough into 1 ½-inch balls, roll them in the spiced sugar, and place them on the baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Using your hand, gently flatten each ball slightly.
- Bake until the edges are set and the tops are juuuust beginning to turn golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Scooping the dough–An ice cream scoop makes it easy to scoop evenly-sized mounds of dough.
- Strain the pumpkin–To ensure your cookies aren’t too wet, pour off any extra liquid from your pumpkin puree or strain it in a fine-mesh sieve for 30 minutes before using.
- Storage–Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 4 months.
An LC Original
View More Original RecipesNutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
These cookies are sneakily addictive, especially when paired with spiced chai. I rarely make cookies, and, here I am, working on my second batch as I write. The amount of sugar/spice to roll the cookies in was just enough. The cookies tasted better the next day, and they only lasted one more day.
These pumpkin spice cookies are amazingly delicious! These cookies stayed so soft even after storing. They were scrumptious, and I felt I only needed one to be satisfied.
I’m a big believer in reducing food waste and am usually looking for ways to use extra pumpkin puree. This recipe is perfect for using up those little containers you’ve collected in the fridge. This recipe is one I’ll make again.
Hello, Autumn! I love the warmth of pumpkin pie spice, and these cookies deliver! It was simple to mix together (I didn’t even use a mixer), and I used a scoop to make the balls. The finished product was tender, light, and absolutely delicious.
They are excellent with a cup of tea or coffee as they are not too sweet. Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature, which ensures a perfect mixture.
These pumpkin spice cookies taste like pure autumn! What a delightful way to kick off the season. The crunchy exterior combines with a light, moist interior to create an excellent fall sweet. This is a treat the whole family will love. They’re light enough to have as an after-dinner dessert or an afternoon snack with coffee, tea, or milk.
“The world doesn’t revolve around chocolate.” A childhood neighborhood friend of mine used to tell me this each time I asked her how in the world she didn’t like chocolate. As I’ve gotten older, I’m finding myself agreeing with her. If I had to pick a dessert from a menu, I’d go for the fruit pie or cinnamon something or pumpkin goodie before I’d choose something chocolate. These pumpkin spice cookies would certainly fit the bill. Soft, spicy, holiday memory-invoking, these cookies are absolutely delicious! My longtime friend Jacquie would certainly approve. I used my 2-inch cookie scoop to make the cookies, placing 8 mounds of the batter on each baking sheet. The batch made 3 dozen cookies. I went ahead and placed parchment paper on each of the 3 cookie sheets I used, scooped the cookies directly on the sheet, flattened them with the palm of my hand, covered the sheet loosely with wrap, and refrigerated the whole thing for the 3 hours prior to baking. The cookies hardened just a bit after cooling completely but were still delicious. I think these cookies would make a great base for a whoopie pie. A marshmallow or cinnamon cream, sandwiched between two of these cookies, would be amazing!
Ginger, I hear you. The One LOVES chocolate. He doesn’t understand why anyone would choose anything but. These are some marvelous cookies–and not a morsel of chocolate in sight!
Four batches have consistently turned out delicious…and totally flat. I’ve tried freezing the dough instead of refrigerating, and I’ve tried turning the oven down by 20°C to compensate for the fan, but nothing can persuade them to turn out like the puffy clouds of loveliness in your photo. (Thankfully, it’s no hardship to eat the evidence and try again.)
Briony, oh no! I’m a little perplexed and a lot sorry to hear that. A few of our testers reported that their cookies fell a little flat after cooling, but most testers said their cookies remained puffy and soft. Not to blame the victim, but can we go through a short list of things that often contribute to baked goods not achieving lofty heights? The baking soda could be the culprit if it’s an old box that’s been opened a while. Also if the butter and sugar aren’t beaten sufficient long enough, there may not be enough air incorporated into the butter to help the baked goods rise. And if you’re at altitude, that will affect things, too. Mind crossing these off the list for me? In the meantime, I’m continuing to research and see what other possible culprits it could be…
I’m quite certain it’s my fault, don’t worry. I live only about 200 feet above sea level, it was a brand new box of baking powder, and my trusty mixer beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. From some research, I understand that overbeating the butter can make cookies go flat and spread as the butter starts to separate; I’m going to try beating them a little less for my next batch and see if that helps. I’ll let you know if I find the solution! My ‘testers’ keep asking when there will be more cookies, so I’m not short of reasons to try 🙂
Hah! That’s terrific to hear about your fan club, Briony. And yes, either overbeating or underbeating can cause cookies to be flat. Very complicated stuff, this whole baking thing. Will be thinking of you and yes, please let us know if you remedy the situation!
Recipe tester, Sofia Reino, knows how much I love anything having to do with pumpkin spice. She wanted me to make these cookies two different ways. One with regular all purpose flour and one with a gluten-free alternative. Even with the difference in flour, the cookies tasted very similar. The gluten-free batch had a more distinct pumpkin taste to it and melted away in my mouth. This recipe was very easy to follow and will be a recipe that I will use many more times throughout this pumpkin spice season.
Austin (and Sofia), thank you so much for doing this for our gluten-free readers. It’s greatly appreciated.
Austin, many thanks! May I inquire, which gluten-free flour blend did you use? Was it a store-bought brand or a homemade rendition, and if the latter, which recipe? Would love to share this information with our readers just because we’ve heard that different mixes can act slightly differently…again, thank you!
Hey Renee, my fast to-do mix is:
2/3 white rice flour
1/3 brown rice flour
1/3 starch (I used potato this time)
a little bit of xantham gum (usually 2 teaspoons per 2 cups of flour made)
But I also use often the Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour from LC site.
Many thanks, Sofia!