These soft pumpkin cookies are thick and cakey with extra pumpkin spice flavor. The maple cream cheese icing is a delicious addition, but the cookies are just as wonderful plain. They’re quick, easy, and best of all—there’s no cookie dough chilling required! My advice is to blot the pumpkin puree to rid excess liquid and use a cookie scoop.
Pumpkin cookies! The two most beautiful words in the baking language. Well, besides apple pie and chocolate cake.
Diving into the fall baking season feels great and these pumpkin cookies are the best place to start. I’ve been perfecting cookie recipes for years and these, along with my pumpkin snickerdoodles, are some of my best. If you crave chocolate, my chewy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies use the same delicious cookie dough as the snickerdoodles. And if you prefer oats in your cookies, you will FLIP for my brown butter pumpkin oatmeal cookies.
Search my pumpkin recipes for more cookies because I’ve published A LOT. For even more inspiration, here are my 30+ favorite pumpkin dessert recipes.
Why You’ll Love These Pumpkin Cookies
- Texture: Unlike my pumpkin chocolate chip cookies where we play with ingredients to produce a chewy cookie, today’s cookies are soft and cakey. They aren’t dense and chewy like a traditional cookie. I wouldn’t describe them as fluffy as a cake—probably closer to a muffin. (Like little muffin top cookies.)
- Flavor: What they lack in chew/density, they make up for in flavor. By using extra cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and ground ginger, as well as using more brown sugar than regular white sugar, I guarantee these will be more flavorful than any traditional pumpkin cookie you’ve had before. We’ll also blot excess liquid out of the pumpkin so we’re left with more concentrated flavor.
- Ease: No cookie dough chilling! They’ll go from mixing bowl to oven in minutes, which is especially helpful if you’re baking with kids or if you’re as impatient as I am.
Best Pumpkin Cookie Baking Tip
Blot the pumpkin puree. I discovered this trick when I worked on my brown butter pumpkin oatmeal cookies recipe. Pumpkin is a water-heavy ingredient. Its moisture is wonderful for quick breads and cakes, but not necessarily cookies. By removing some of the moisture, you’re left with dense and flavor-packed pumpkin without all of the excess liquid. (Think about it: you don’t usually put liquid in cookie dough, right?) Using a paper towel, blot out some of the pumpkin’s moisture. No need to squeeze it completely dry.
Blotting the pumpkin is actually one of my tricks to prevent a cakey tasting cookie. (See my chewy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.) Today’s pumpkin cookies are still going to be cakey because we’re using a lot of pumpkin. Still, ridding some of its moisture will improve the flavor and texture. Does this make sense?
Overview: How to Make Soft Pumpkin Cookies
The full detailed instructions are provided below, but let me guide you through the process first. Start preheating that oven now!
- Blot the pumpkin. After ridding some moisture, you’ll have a little less than 1 and 1/2 cups of pumpkin—I usually have about 1 and 1/3 cups (315g). Using anywhere between 1.33 – 1.5 cups of pumpkin is fine.
- Get your oven preheated. Prepare your baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. I swear by these mats! You can learn more in my Top 5 Cookie Baking Success Tips video and here’s how to clean silicone baking mats.
- Whisk dry ingredients. You need flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and ground ginger. You can use homemade pumpkin pie spice here! Pumpkin pie spice contains cinnamon and ginger, but I like adding more of both and know you’ll enjoy the extra flavor too.
- Mix the wet ingredients. You need an electric mixer for this recipe. Cream the butter and sugars together, then add the egg. Next add a splash of maple syrup to help thin out the dough, a little vanilla extract, and your blotted pumpkin. Mixture will look a little curdled at this point. Don’t fret, that’s normal.
- Mix the dry and wet ingredients together. Dough is thick and sticky, so I strongly recommend using a cookie scoop. The medium size cookie scoop is perfect because each dough ball should be around 1.5 Tablespoons of dough.
- Bake until the edges appear set. And here’s my tip for cooling: the longer the cookies cool, the better their flavor. It’s nearly impossible to wait before tasting one but just know that the flavors intensify after a day.
- Prepare the icing. Icing is optional, but I definitely don’t regret adding it. See next!
Maple Cream Cheese Icing
The cookies are wonderfully flavorful on their own, but I wanted to see how they’d taste with a little accessory on top. I love pumpkin and cream cheese together (hello pumpkin cake), as well as pumpkin and maple together (hello pumpkin scones). I tested a hybrid cream cheese frosting/maple glaze topping and definitely don’t regret it! This maple cream cheese icing is phenomenal. Give the cookies a quick dip and taste for yourself.
Note: the icing doesn’t really set so if you want to stack/transport these pumpkin cookies, skip the icing. Or for a different flavor, these cookies would also be delicious with salted caramel frosting.
These are honestly the only thing I want to eat for the entire fall season.
PrintSuper Soft Pumpkin Cookies
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 32 cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These soft pumpkin cookies are thick and cakey with extra pumpkin spice flavor. The maple cream cheese icing is a delicious addition, but the cookies are just as wonderful plain. No cookie dough chilling required!
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups (340g) fresh or canned pumpkin puree
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice*
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar (I use and recommend dark)
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup, milk, or orange juice (see note)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Maple Cream Cheese Icing (Optional)
- 3 ounces (85g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (90g) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) pure maple syrup
- pinch ground cinnamon (about 1/8 teaspoon)
Instructions
- In this recipe, it’s best to use pumpkin that has had some moisture removed. Blot the pumpkin with paper towels to rid excess moisture. No need to squeeze it completely dry. I usually place it in a paper towel lined bowl and let the paper towel soak up some moisture. A clean kitchen towel works too, but the pumpkin can stain. After ridding some moisture, you’ll have a little less than 1 and 1/2 cups of pumpkin—I usually have about 1 and 1/3 cups (315g). Using anywhere between 1.33 – 1.5 cups of pumpkin is fine. Set aside until step 4. Or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day. It can be cold when you add it to the dough.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and ginger together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the softened butter and both sugars together on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and mix on high until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the maple syrup, vanilla, and blotted pumpkin and mix on high until combined. Mixture will look a little curdled—that’s ok.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, then mix on low speed until combined. Dough is thick and sticky. Scoop or roll cookie dough, around 1.5 Tablespoons of dough per cookie, and place 3 inches apart on the baking sheets.
- Bake for 14-15 minutes or until edges appear set. The centers will look soft. Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. The longer the cookies cool, the better their flavor—I like them best on day 2!
- Optional Icing: Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese in a medium bowl on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy. Beat in the butter until combined. Add the confectioners’ sugar, maple syrup, and a pinch of cinnamon (about 1/8 teaspoon), then beat on low speed until smooth and creamy. Taste. Add more cinnamon if desired. Dip the tops of the cooled cookies into icing or spread it onto each cookie with a knife.
- Cover leftover iced cookies tightly and store at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Cookies without icing can be covered tightly and stored at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: To make ahead, you can cover and chill the cookie dough for up to 48 hours. Bring to room temperature before shaping into balls and baking. You can also freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature before shaping into balls and baking. You can also freeze the cookie dough balls for up to 3 months. It’s best to thaw the dough balls and bring to room temperature before baking. Iced cookies or cookies without icing freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
- Pumpkin: Do not use pumpkin pie filling; use pure pumpkin puree. While using fresh pumpkin puree is fine, I always have better results with canned. You’ll need a little less than 1 standard 15 ounce can. No matter if you use fresh or canned, blot the pumpkin as directed in step 1.
- Spices: You can use 2 teaspoons of store-bought or homemade pumpkin pie spice in this recipe. This is in addition to the cinnamon and ginger already called for in the recipe. Instead of prepared pumpkin pie spice, you can use 1/2 teaspoon each: ground nutmeg, ground cloves, ground allspice, and ground ginger.
- Maple Syrup: The 2 teaspoons of maple syrup, milk, or orange juice are really just to help thin out the cookie dough. 2 teaspoons isn’t much, but it does help. I love using maple syrup, but milk or orange juice work too. Orange is excellent with pumpkin—see my pumpkin bread!
- Optional Add-Ins: Feel free to fold 1 and 1/2 cups of chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or dried cranberries into the dough after you mix the wet and dry ingredients together.
Delicious & Soft texture!!! Draining pumpkin was quick & easy—great suggestion…Since I had a large can of pumpkin I used the recipe amount of 1 1/2cups. I also added 12oz pkg golden raisins & 1/2 cup ground pecans. …. Highly recommend using maple syrup as stated —- who would have thought how the small amount of maple would elevate the flavor! Also I did frost the cookies however they were very good without frosting as well. This cookie is now a Fall Favorite!
Could I use this recipe and stuff with cream cheese filling as you describe in your stuffed red velvet cookies? Thanks
Hi Jeanne, we haven’t tested that method with these cookies, but it *should* work out. It may get a bit messy since this dough is quite thick and sticky. You might have luck trying it with these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies instead (leaving out the chocolate chips). Please let us know what you decide to try!
Perfect pumpkin cookie. This deserves to become an autumn tradition in our house.
I loved these cookies! I rolled them in sugar and cinnamon instead of icing them…my husband loves them too!
Very good! Not too sweet at all. Not too dry. But I prefer a good deal more spice. Next time I will add cloves and triple the spice.
Made these today with a friend for a Fall Girls’ Day treat and they were delicious! Confession: we were a little distracted watching my baby and forgot to add the confectioner’s sugar to the icing. It seemed sweet enough and a little tangy and we loved it anyway. Great recipe!
I made this recipe and it did not taste like pumpkin or cinnamon. I tried using lemon juice to bring out the flavor which helped a little bit, but overall it did not have th best flavor.
We enjoyed this recipe very much. I am dairy free, so I used plant based butter. It worked very well. The cookies are similar in texture to muffin tops. Very delicious.
I loved the recipe, but while I was mixing the batter, I realized it was taking on the quality of a cake, I put the mixture in a 12-muffin tray and sprinkled them with confectioner’s sugar and everyone loved the result! The only thing I would say, is it had a little bit too much sugar for my personal taste, otherwise the muffins turned out really great!
I found it sweet too, so the second time I made them I only used the brown sugar. (Omitted both the granulated sugar and maple syrup).
High praise from the teens and their friends….and a quickly emptied cookie tin!
This seems like a good recipe for pumpkin whoopie pies. What would you recommend for the cream filling?
Thank you!
Hi Deb, the spiced cream cheese filling from these gingerbread whoopie pies would be fantastic with these cookies!
Do you know how many cals these would be per cookie? They turned out really great. I put a little caramel sauce in the frosting. You were right when you said they taste way better the longer you wait.
I made these gluten free and they were delicious.
This recipe looks heavenly but just wondering could i substitute the maple syrup for golden syrup in the cookies or would it be too thick? x
Hi Abi! It may be too thick, but we haven’t tested it. The maple syrup/orange juice is there to help thing out the dough a bit. Let us know if you give it a try!
My husband said it was the best cookies he’s ever eaten in his life. Needless to say these have become a staple. I followed recipe exactly.
Have you tried this with gluten free flour?
This recipe was voted, after the very first debut, to be placed on the ‘traditions’ list of favorite family recipe’s. It was a set-up: Saturday afternoon on a rainy, chilly October day when we were supposed to be outside raking up horse chestnuts. Instead we (six assorted family members) ate delectable frosted soft pumpkin cookies right from the oven…one batch after another, cooling them only long enough to allow the frosting to not all drip off, cautioning the youngest members to not let them drop maple cream cheese frosting on the rugs and furniture. A total set-up. If ever an autumn cookie had the perfect moment to debut. Hot coffee for the adults and non stop cookie batches for all. The texture, the best ingredients, the company. A wonderful addition to autumn! And a repeatable ‘star’!
The cookies came out perfect!! Only change I made is not using pumpkin spice since I’m not really a fan, so mine needed a bit more cinnamon to give it that flavor boost. Now I know for next time!
Can this pumpkin cookie recipe be made into loaf bread?
Hi Diane, I don’t think this recipe would work as a loaf bread, but I can definitely recommend this recipe for pumpkin bread!
These cookies were devoured so quickly they did not make it to day 2 but I bet they would be delicious then too! Next time I will make a double batch so there’s some left for the next day!
Featured these on my Youtube channel with a link here. Best Pumpkin cookie hands down EVER!
Can you use gluten free flour in this recipe?
Hi Linda, we haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flour, so we’re unsure of the results. Let us know if you decide to try it!
I used King Arthur Flour Measure 4 Measure Gluten Free Flour and you couldn’t even tell the difference! They were a big hit!!!
Lovely recipe! Fluffy little muffin top cookies. Will be using again.
This recipe was an instant favorite in our house, and the cookies really do get better the next day! They rarely make it longer than that in our house.
what is a good gluten-free topping to use on this cookie?
Hi Jose, we haven’t tested a gluten free version of this recipe, but let us know if you give anything a try.
I love these! Just made them I used all purpose gluten free flour and turned out excellent! It’s has everything pumpkin a cookie could ever have ♡ your recipes are top notch I love using them! So thank you
it would be so helpful to have the nutrition information !?
Hi Mary! We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
I am excited to make this,but I will use gluten free flour
Hey, I’m so thrilled that I found tpu! I use ypur recipes but I make them all gluten-free with King Arthur 1 to 1, (or whatever is the best KA blend for that particular recipe). I have made a pumpkin bread for years with a maple cream cheese filling but want to take cookies to some people. I’m so doing this recipe & I’m going to try doing a deep-dish cookie-using muffin lid pan. Thank you for all of your hard work on ypur blog.
Ps I have Celiac disease so I had to relearn how to bake after the diagnosis 12 years ago it’s been a journey for sure but it’s worked out well.
Thank you. My cookies look smell and taste delicious. But most of all the way you me to ✅ off as I go. I have Alzheimer’s but this made me feel as though I could still cook even though 50 years of recipes are in my head. If that makes any sense. Thank you so much. Gail