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 and pumpkin crumb cake cookies, 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 and pumpkin oatmeal cream pies.
Search my pumpkin recipes for more cookies because I’ve published A LOT. For even more inspiration, here are my 30+ best pumpkin dessert recipes.
One reader, Trixie, commented: “This was my first time attempting a cookie of this texture and they were AMAZING. Made the recipe as written and the icing as well—11/10. They were a hit at our Thanksgiving get-together. The cookies truly are better on the second day. Can’t wait to make these again—thank you for sharing this recipe with the world! ★★★★★”
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. This recipe joins 30+ others in my collection of Quick Dessert Recipes—ready in 1 hour or less!
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.
More Pumpkin Favorites
Super 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.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I made these cookies and they didn’t last long. They are moist with the amount of spices. I am making them again for Halloween.
OMG THESE ARE AMAZING!! So easy to make also!! I was a little Leary on the icing being to sweet but it ISNT!! It is now added to the roster for fall goodies!
Planning on making a batch and throwing them in the freezer! Just to confirm, you can freeze them iced? Will this affect the icing at all? Thanks!
Hi Kate, 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.
Yum! I mean YUM! It reminds me of pumpkin roll which is one of my favorite fall treats. Thanks Sally you rock!!!
Sally, any time I look up a new recipe, I look for you! I know that whatever you put out is amazing and these pumpkin cookies are no exception! My kids helped. We made half with mini chocolate chips. No need for frosting. They are amazing, thank you!!
Made these cookies today. I followed the instructions and made no changes to the ingredients list. I used my own pumpkin and since it contains more moisture, I used a cheese cloth to drain off the excess liquid. Small scoop worked just fine to form cookies and I didn’t bother to form balls. 15 minute bake. Best pumpkin cookies ever!
I made this recipe, but my dough came out super sticky and I couldn’t roll into balls. Should I have added more flour or put them in the fridge to cool?
Hi Marie! This is a very stick and thick cookie dough – did your dough look like the tutorial above?
Hello, will just egg work as an egg substitute?
Hi Manamrit, We have not tested this recipe with any egg substitutes but let us know if you try it.
I do a lot of modifying recipes to make them vegan. The best, most consistent egg substitute I’ve found is cornstarch egg: 1 heaping tablespoon mixed with 3 tablespoons water. It seems like that would be too much liquid for an egg substitute, but it works.
I made these for my family and they ate them all before the night was through! I made s imple icing with powdered sugar, vanilla and a little milk instead of the maple because I have a picky husband but im trying the maple today!
Due to supplies and space I couldn’t follow this recipe 100%, but enough or good cookies! I had to cut everything to 1/3. I didn’t blot the pumpkin. Had to mix my own pumpkin pie spice, used nutmeg, ground cloves, and allspice. Hah, I forgot about black pepper. I forgot to soften the unsalted butter.
I used Ottavio Garlic Flavored High Oleic Sunflower Oil With Herbs, water, and baking soda to replace the egg (the oil was on sale and it’s been good!). Honey as no maple syrup or orange juice.
My dough was not thick, but the result is delicious and I’ve had plain, and added chocolate chips to some and raisins to others!
These cookies are definitely one of my favourites. They are so tasty, not too sweet, my family is always asking me to bake them. They are pretty simple to make as well. I add cream cheese chips and walnuts and they are fantastic!
Thanks for yet another wonderful recipe Sally!
In culinary school we were warned about internet recipes, but this one is reliable. I added a generous cup of miniature chocolate chips, a little cardamom, a little cloves. Ingredients as otherwise listed. I hesitated about the frosting (complicates storage), but it was a delicious touch. I’d make these again.
Do you recommend doing a double batch
Hi Izabella! You could, but for the best results, and to avoid over or under mixing, make two separate batches.
I just made these cookies today, they are the best ever! Shared with my neighbors too, they love them!
Just made these cookies with my youngest granddaughter & she was so happy they came out perfect! This will be my go to pumpkin cookie recipe. Excellent, tasty, a winner with my family.
Its so good, I love it, I made it with my grandma who had surgery and we both love them so much.
Tastes like a literally pumpkin cookie cake, the recipe is really easy to follow
I seriously don’t think I will ever make pumpkin pie again! These cookies are SO DELICIOUS!!!!!
I followed the recipe. Thank you so much!! I am passing your recipe on to my friends!
does the pumpkin puree have to be cool/cold or can it be warm if fresh?
Hi Eve, we’d recommend bringing the pumpkin puree to room temperature so that it can more evenly incorporate with the other ingredients.
Made these per the recipe. Loved them. I struggled when it came time to pack them up to bring to a friend’s house. Frosting never set. I tried parchment paper, waxed paper, etc. even tried refrigerating and freezing … no luck the frosting never set. In the end, I had to make another batch without the frosting.
Anyone have any tips for either transporting these cookies or a frosting that would set?
Just moved to 4300 ft elevation. How do I adjust recipe so my cookies don’t come out flattened?
Hi Patricia, We wish we could help, but we have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
Easy to follow recipe, Super soft cookies, I did not use the icing sugar and found that the cookies lack flavour. Added brown sugar cinnamon topping but the cookies are still very bland. Will try playing around with the recipe and see what can be done for some more flavour.
Very good. Not what I was expecting but they are exactly as Sally describes them…muffin tops. Cakey but melt-in-your-mouth light. I made the cookies exactly as written. I chose not to frost them. I did, however, roll the dough balls in sugar before baking. They gave it a nice slight crunch on the outside and they were pilliw-y soft inside. Right amount of spice and flavor. I got 48 cookies. I could have made them smaller…but why? . I was told by everyone that tried them “that’s a keeper!”.
I LOVE THESE COOKIES. I don’t even like pumpkin. But I crave these. The maple icing makes them FABULOUS. I make them with King Arthur gluten-free flour, and they are still amazing!
Hi, is there anything special we need to do when replacing with gf flour?
I made these cookies and I love the recipe. I think I may use it again too! Thank you (:
I did not like this recipe. I followed the recipe exactly and these cookies even after cooking them 5-10 minutes more than the recipe calls for are very soft. I get it…they’re supposed to be soft but these almost have a ‘its not cooked enough’ softness to them that my brain tells me something isn’t right. My cookies look almost similar to the ones in the photos on this website but man I just wonder how much better these would be if they weren’t so soft. And this comes from someone who loves soft cookies. The soft batch cookies in the stores are one of my favorite quick snack treats. These though in my opinion need to be modified so that they aren’t so soft and maybe have the smallest bit of brownness/crunch or something along those lines.
Where is the oven preheat temp?
Hi Nate, in step 2. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
Ngl it works great gluten free
These are definitely not my favorite. The cream cheese glaze is very good, the cookie is bland tasting. Not what I expected. I might have removed too much water from my canned pumpkin.
These came out so perfectly! The directions are so helpful and accurate. Can’t wait to serve at my daughter’s baby shower. Freezing them for now! I couldn’t help but try a few and the texture and flavor are perfect. Not too strong, just right.
These cookies are delicious and super soft. Even after sitting out a few days. Yum! I will make these again for sure! I didn’t have unsalted butter or pure maple syrup so I used salted butter, reduced the salt to 1/2 tsp., and used pancake syrup. So delicious!