We are in full pumpkin spice mode here at our house this week and since I was up early today I went ahead and threw together a quick batch of these classic Soft Pumpkin Cookies with cream cheese frosting. Now these cookies are more cakey than my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, but you aren’t going to mind at all. They are soft, melty, delicious morsels of heaven.
These cookies come together very quickly and the ingredient list is pretty simple – mostly just pantry staples other than the canned pumpkin. (Canned pumpkin is also a pantry staple for me, but maybe not for everyone, haha.) Speaking of canned pumpkin, make sure you are using pumpkin puree, NOT canned pumpkin pie filling. The key to these though is the delicious cream cheese frosting on the top. Don’t skip the frosting – they are part of the cookie and make them scrumptious.
A couple of tips for this recipe:
- If you don’t have pumpkin spice, don’t worry you can make your own with spices you probably already have in your cupboard. Just whisk together 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves.
- Don’t refrigerate this cookie dough – you want to scoop and cook immediately. I like to use my 2 Tbsp scoop to make these.
- You can substitute 1/2 tsp maple extract for the 1 tsp vanilla extract in the frosting to change up the flavor profile.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups AP flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1-1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1/4 cup butter softened
- 4 Oz cream cheese softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mats and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon and nutmeg.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the 1 cup of butter with the sugar for 1 minute with your mixer on high speed.
- Add in egg and vanilla and beat an additional minute.
- Beat in the pumpkin.
- Add in the dry ingredients and mix slowly on low speed until just combined.
- Use a cookie scoop to drop the cookie dough at least 2 inches apart on your prepared pan.
- Bake at 350 for 11-12 minutes or until the tops of the cookies are set.
- Remove from oven but let cookies sit on the baking pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
- For the frosting, beat together the butter and cream cheese until it’s smooth. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla then beat until nice and fluffy.
- Frost the cookies once they are completely cool.
Frosted Soft Pumpkin Cookies
Soft Pumpkin Cookies with dreamy cream cheese frosting are easy to make with simple pantry ingredients and are the perfect cookies for fall!
EQUIPMENT (Amazon Associate Links)
Ingredients
- 2 cups AP flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1-1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1/4 cup butter softened
- 4 Oz cream cheese softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mats and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon and nutmeg.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the 1 cup of butter with the sugar for 1 minute with your mixer on high speed.
- Add in egg and vanilla and beat an additional minute.
- Beat in the pumpkin.
- Add in the dry ingredients and mix slowly on low speed until just combined.
- Use a cookie scoop to drop the cookie dough at least 2 inches apart on your prepared pan.
- Bake at 350 for 11-12 minutes or until the tops of the cookies are set.
- Remove from oven but let cookies sit on the baking pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
For the Frosting:
- Beat together the butter and cream cheese until it's smooth. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla then beat until nice and fluffy.
- Frost the cookies once they are completely cool.
Notes
A couple of tips for this recipe:
- If you don't have pumpkin spice, don't worry you can make your own with spices you probably already have in your cupboard. Just whisk together 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves.
- Don't refrigerate this cookie dough - you want to scoop and cook immediately. I like to use my 2 Tbsp scoop to make these.
- You can substitute 1/2 tsp maple extract for the 1 tsp vanilla extract in the frosting to change up the flavor profile.
Can you double the double the cream cheese frosting
You sure can! Put as much frosting as you like on them!