Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Name: Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 96 min
Ingredients: 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour; 2 teaspoons cornstarch; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1/4 teaspoon baking powder; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger; 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg; 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves; 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice; 1/2 cup unsalted butter, (room temperature); 1/2 cup light brown sugar; 3/8 cup granulated sugar; 1 large egg yolk, (room temperature); 3/8 cup pumpkin purée; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 4 ounces full-fat cream cheese, (room temperature); 1/4 cup unsalted butter, (room temperature); 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 pinch salt; 1 2/3 cups confectioners' sugar; orange and green gel food coloring

These easy-to-make, spiced-to-perfection, soft pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting pumpkins are about to be your new favorite fall cookie!

Decorated pumpkin cookies on a gray surface.

These soft pumpkin cookies just shot to the top of my list of favorite fall cookies. If you live for soft cookies and you love all things pumpkin and spice, then I know you'll agree! They're seriously soft, with a similar texture to my beloved soft sugar cookies. And they have the most incredible fall flavor thanks to pumpkin purée, brown sugar, and a delicious blend of warming spices.

The cream cheese frosting is the perfect complement, and the adorable pumpkin design is surprisingly simple to make. I'll show you exactly how to do it down below.

And since these cookies couldn't be easier to make - simply whisk together the dry ingredients, blend the wet ingredients, and stir the two together - you have no excuse not to whip up a batch today. Happy baking!

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Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
Special Equipment
Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions
How to Pipe Pumpkins with Frosting
Recipe Variations
Allison's Top Tips
Recipe FAQs
Storage Instructions
More Spiced Fall Baking Recipes
Recipe
Comments

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

See recipe card at the bottom of this post for full ingredient list and measurements.

Recipe ingredients with labels on a gray surface.

Pumpkin Purée - Canned pumpkin or pumpkin purée (they're the same thing) is pumpkin flesh that has been cooked and mashed into a smooth texture, similar to a really thick applesauce. Different brands of purée (or homemade) will have different moisture content, which will impact the texture of your cookies. I created this recipe using Libby's pumpkin. If you use a different brand, note the moisture level and consider adding or removing a Tablespoon or two of flour to compensate.

Do not substitute pumpkin pie filling, which contains sweetener and spices.

Warming Spices - In true fall fashion, these cookies include a blend of warming spices. I've chosen to include cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice for a robust spice flavor, but you can adapt the spices to suit your preferences. Be sure to use fresh spices for the best flavor. You can substitute 2 ½ teaspoons of store-bought pumpkin pie spice if you prefer, though this will have a more mild, less complex spice flavor than the spices in the recipe.

Cornstarch - Cornstarch helps to create a tender and chewy texture in baked goods. I use it in my favorite recipes for chocolate chip cookies and brownies, and we'll use it here, too.

Light Brown Sugar - I love to add brown sugar to cookies, since it adds a bit of moisture and an extra dose of flavor. You can substitute dark brown sugar for an even deeper molasses flavor.

Butter - Opt for unsalted so that you can control the amount of salt in the recipe, and make sure to use room temperature butter for both the cookies and the frosting.

Cream Cheese - A must for frosting anything pumpkin! For the best taste and creamiest texture, use full-fat cream cheese that's room temperature. (Check out my tips for bringing cream cheese to room temperature quickly!)

Gel Food Coloring - If you want to decorate your cookies with frosting pumpkins like shown here, you'll need food coloring to dye your frosting orange and green. I recommend AmeriColor gel food coloring.

Special Equipment

In addition to essential baking equipment (like a whisk and spatula), I recommend some special tools for making this recipe.

A stand mixer or electric hand mixer for creaming the butter and sugar and for mixing the frosting.
Piping tips (one flat and one tiny round) and pastry bags for piping pumpkin designs on cookies.

Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Dry ingredients whisked together in a glass bowl.

Step 2: Make the cookie dough. Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices.

Creamed butter and sugars in a glass bowl.

Step 3: Cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy.

Wet ingredients mixed together in a glass bowl.

Step 4: Add egg yolk and beat until well blended. Add pumpkin and vanilla and beat until well blended.

Cookie dough in a glass bowl with a wooden spoon.

Step 5: Add the dry ingredients and stir using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula just until combined.

Cookie dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Step 6: Scoop 1 ½ Tablespoon balls of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets at least 2 inches apart.

Baked cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Step 7: Bake cookies one tray at a time for 12 minutes, or until cookies are puffed in the center with golden edges.

Blended cream cheese and butter in a glass bowl.

Step 8: Make the cream cheese frosting. Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add vanilla and salt and beat to combine.

Cream cheese frosting in a glass bowl with an electric hand mixer.

Step 9: With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add confectioners' sugar until all the sugar is added. Then beat on high speed until the mixture is well combined and creamy.

See below for step-by-step decorating instructions.

How to Pipe Pumpkins with Frosting

Orange and green frosting in glass bowls.

Step 1: Transfer ¼ cup of the frosting to another bowl, add a drop of green food coloring, and mix until the color is even. Add orange food coloring to the remaining frosting and mix until well blended.

Orange and green frosting in pastry bags with piping tips.

Step 2: Add the green frosting to a piping bag fitted with a tiny round tip, and transfer the orange frosting to a piping bag fitted with a flat tip.

Piping a pumpkin design with frosting onto a cookie.

Step 3: Pipe orange frosting in a curved vertical stripe on each of a cookie's outer edges.

Step 4: Continue to pipe, working inwards, with two more curved stripes overlapping the first and then one straight stripe in the center to create a pumpkin shape.

Step 5: Pipe green frosting in short lines at the top of the cookie to create the pumpkin's stem, continuing with a little twist down one side to create a curly offshoot with leaves.

Step 6: Repeat with the other cookies until all are decorated.

Recipe Variations

Three pumpkin cookies - one plain, one frosted, and one decorated - on a gray surface.

These cookies are absolutely delicious all on their own, so frosting them is completely optional. You could also skip the food coloring and piping tips and simply use an offset spatula to frost the cookies, if you prefer.

Also know that you can tweak the combination of warming spices to suit your preferences. If you like a more mild spice flavor, omit the cloves and allspice.

Allison's Top Tips

For the best texture, be careful not to over mix the cookie dough.

If you'll be piping the frosting, you may want to let it chill in the fridge for 30 to 60 minutes after mixing and before piping so that it will be firm enough to hold its shape when piped.

Recipe FAQs

Should pumpkin cookies be refrigerated?

If frosted with cream cheese frosting, pumpkin cookies should be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days. Unfrosted cookies do not need to be refrigerated. See complete storage information below.

What are pumpkin cookies made of?

These pumpkin cookies are made with pumpkin puree, which adds both flavor and moisture to the cookie dough, and warming spices, which give the cookies incredible fall flavor. Otherwise you'll just need basic cookie ingredients: flour, leavener, butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla.

Can you refrigerate pumpkin cookie dough?

Yes, the dough can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours before baking. Let the dough sit at room temperature for about half an hour prior to scooping and baking.

Storage Instructions

Room Temperature: Unfrosted cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Refrigerator: Once frosted, cookies should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.

Freezing: These cookies can also be frozen. It's best to freeze cookies unfrosted, though frosted cookies can also be frozen. Seal cookies in an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. If freezing frosted cookies, place them on a cookie sheet in the freezer for one hour to let the frosting freeze before stacking and sealing them in the container; otherwise the frosting will become smooshed when the cookies are stacked.

More Spiced Fall Baking Recipes

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