Pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting are a sweet Halloween or autumn treat!
Lightly spiced, these super soft pumpkin sugar cookies have a sweet cream cheese frosting dotted with the perfect amount of colorful sprinkles.
Pumpkin Cookies (with Cream Cheese Frosting!)
- Usher in the fall season with these easy pumpkin cookies that just melt in your mouth!
- These soft cookies remind me of Lofthouse cookies in texture but have a delicious homemade flavor.
- They use ingredients I always have on hand.
- Prep a few or a big batch, pumpkin cookies can be made ahead and frozen until ready to frost.
- Soft and cake-like, pumpkin cookies are a perfect for a cozy cookie-decorating party! Set out bowls of colored frosting and an assortment of sprinkles and everyone can create their own masterpieces!
Ingredients for Pumpkin Cookies
Dough – Use the best ingredients for the best flavor. Real butter, white and brown sugar, fresh eggs, and fresh baking powder will give pumpkin cookies the richest, sweetest flavor. This DIY pumpkin pie spice is the perfect blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cloves and brings all the ingredients together to create the perfect pumpkin cookie. Whole wheat flour can be used in place of half the white flour and even a gluten-free blend can be used, simply refer to the package directions.
Sugar –This recipe uses both white and brown sugar, but alternative sugar-free sweeteners can be used (same great taste, fewer calories!), refer to the package for quantity adjustments.
Pumpkin – This recipe only uses a little bit of pumpkin, so use what’s left to make easy pumpkin butter, a fluffy pumpkin dip, or pumpkin pie parfaits.
Cream Cheese Frosting – This cream cheese frosting is so easy to make, you’ll want to keep the recipe on hand for everything from cookies to cupcakes to quick bread! Brown sugar adds more depth to the flavor, so it matches the mildly spicy cookie profile. Tint the frosting with food coloring, if desired.
Toppings – Colorful holiday sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, toffee bits, candied pecans, toasted coconut, caramel chips, crushed cookies, and chopped dried cranberries are perfect for a cookie decorating get-together!
How to Make Pumpkin Cookies
- Blend the butter, sugar, and pumpkin puree until well combined. Continue blending and add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together per recipe below. Gradually blend the dry ingredients into the wet until well combined.
- Chill the dough for 30-45 minutes.
- Roll the dough into balls and press the tops down with the bottom of a clean glass. Bake and cool as directed.
Pro Tips
- Ensure all ingredients are at room temperature.
- Be sure to chill the dough or the batter will be too sticky.
- If your kitchen is warm and the dough becomes sticky while preparing, put it back into the fridge.
- Let the cream cheese come to room temperature while you’re making the cookie dough.
- Brown sugar dissolves quickly when microwaved for about 30 seconds before adding it to the mixing bowl.
Storing Solutions
Keep leftover frosted pumpkin cookies in an air-tight container in a single layer for up to 4 days. Store the cookies with a slice of bread to absorb any moisture that might be caused by temperature changes. Unfrosted, cooled cookies can be frozen in a zippered bag for up to 8 weeks.
More Pumpkin Desserts
Frosted Pumpkin Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar tightly packed
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon salt
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 6 ounces cream cheese
- 6 tablespoons butter softened
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- Sprinkles for decorating
Instructions
- Cream butter, sugars, and pumpkin puree on medium-high speed in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, until well-combined
- Add egg and egg yolk, beating until combined. Stir in vanilla extract.
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, pumpkin spice, and salt.
- Gradually (with mixer on medium-low speed) stir the dry mixture into the wet ingredients, pausing occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure that all ingredients are well-combined.
- Transfer dough to refrigerator and chill 30-45 minutes.
- Shortly before the dough has finished chilling, preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare cookie sheets by lining them with parchment paper.
- Remove dough from refrigerator and roll into heaping 1 ½ tablespoon-sized balls.
- Use the (clean) bottom of a glass or measuring cup to press down until cookies are about ½" thick.
- Place on a cookie sheet at least 2" apart and bake at 350°F for 12-13 minutes.
- Allow cookies to cool completely on a cookie sheet before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using an electric mixer and a large bowl), beat together cream cheese, butter, and brown sugar until well-combined.
- Stir in vanilla extract and salt, and then scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat briefly once more to ensure all ingredients are well-combined.
- Gradually, with mixer on low-speed, stir powdered sugar into frosting until completely combined (pausing occasionally to scrape down sides and bottom of bowl).
- Once cookies have cooled completely, spread icing over the tops of cookies and immediately decorate with sprinkles.
Notes
- Ensure all ingredients are at room temperature.
- Be sure to chill the dough or the batter will be too sticky.
- If your kitchen is warm and the dough becomes sticky while preparing, put it back into the fridge.
- Let the cream cheese come to room temperature while you’re making the cookie dough.
- Brown sugar dissolves fast when microwaved for about 30 seconds before adding it to the mixing bowl.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dessert
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I’m going to make these this weekend and I wanted to double check something. In the frosting ingredients it says 6 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter. I want to make sure it is 6 tablespoons and not 4 since a 1/2 stick of butter is only 4 tablespoons. It may not make a huge difference but I just wanted to be sure. Thank you for the yummy looking recipe, I can’t wait to try it!
Hi Rebecka! It is 6 Tablespoons butter. Sorry about the error, it has been corrected in the recipe now! I hope you love the cookies! :)
Would these cookies hold their shape if you used cookie cutters?
Unfortunately this dough will not hold its shape well if you use cookie cutters.
Yay I’m so excited that autumn is finally here. Perfect way to celebrate!
Can almost taste them now! The kids are going to love these, too! Great project for the first weekend of Fall. Thanks.
Ooh these are pretty and look so tasty!
These cookies are so cute! I think I’ll make them for my baby boy’s upcoming birthday. Thanks for the idea!
Mmm, these look so lovely soft and decadent! There’s definitely a chill in the air, even if fall is just beginning, so I say it’s time to start baking. These look perfect!
These look perfect! I’d love one…or like 12