Mix up a batch of soft pumpkin sugar cookies from scratch, a deliciously easy recipe, perfect for a fall, Halloween, or Thanksgiving treat.
Fall is in the air, and of course, so is pumpkin spice. Along with my favorite pumpkin spice gooey butter cake, these soft pumpkin sugar cookies are a scrumptious way to welcome fall.
Last year we made all the pumpkin recipes we could make, including Instant Pot pumpkin spice cheesecake and my grandma's recipe for classic pumpkin pie. This year I'm planning to add a few more to the collection, including pumpkin muffins.
These pumpkin cookies are soft and delicious. While I made them with canned pumpkin puree, you can also make your own homemade pumpkin puree; whatever works for you.
Gather up a few ingredients, and you're all set to make pumpkin spice cookies that will fly off the cookie sheet. Below is a printable recipe for your convenience.
Ingredients for Pumpkin Sugar Cookies:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup pure cane sugar
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon homemade pumpkin pie spice
Tips for how to make these soft pumpkin cookies:
Pre-heat your oven to 375°.
Cream (mix) together the butter, pure cane sugar, and light brown sugar. Then mix both the egg and vanilla extract into the creamed mixture.
Next add in the pumpkin puree, and mix everything together well.
Sift together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.
Stir the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture, and mix really well, being sure to scrape the sides of your bowl.
Using a cookie scoop, scoop 1-inch balls of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
Press each cookie with the bottom of a glass coated in pure cane sugar.
Bake at 375° for about 12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn a nice golden brown.
Remove the baked cookies from the cookie sheet, and place them on a wire rack to cool.
It's a super simple pumpkin cookie recipe you can literally whip up in no time. My boys love these cookies, so they make a really fun after school snack.
Additional ingredients or recipe options you may want to consider:
There are a few ways you can kinda switch up this yummy recipe for pumpkin spice cookies…
- Just like with my regular sugar cookies, instead of coating the cookies in sugar, you can actually frost these cookies with an easy sugar cookie icing or a cream cheese frosting.
- If you want to make the icing even more fun and flavorful, you could add maybe 1/2 teaspoon of caramel extract or maple extract. Mmmm, can you imagine? Yum!
- Add chopped walnuts or pecans to your cookie dough before baking.
- Dust the top of your freshly baked, warm out of the oven, pumpkin sugar cookies with a light sprinkling of powdered sugar.
- Coat the cookies in a cinnamon sugar mixture, rather than just sugar.
Kitchen tools to help make this recipe for pumpkin spice cookies:
Mixer or Hand Mixer – Your mixer will be your best friend if you love to bake.
Sifter – for sifting the dry ingredients together.
Cookie Scoop – Dan actually got me using a cookie scoop after years of just using a spoon, and now I love it. It saves dough, makes a smaller cookie, and lends to a rounder cookie.
Cookie Sheet – Mine comes in handy for so many things, including baking cookies.
Cookie Spatula – for removing the hot cookies from the cookie sheet.
Wire Rack – This allows the cookies to rest and cool before you put them in the cookie jar.
Pumpkin sugar cookies are definitely a scrumptious way to welcome fall. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know how they turned out, and if you love them as much as we do.
More pumpkin recipes you may enjoy:
Deliciously Moist Pumpkin Bread Recipe
Creamy No Bake Pumpkin Dessert
Instant Pot Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake
Classic Pumpkin Pie from Scratch
You'll find even more pumpkin recipes on my list of best Thanksgiving recipes!
Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 3/4 cup cane sugar
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup pumpkin purée
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 375° F.
- Cream or mix together the butter, cane sugar, and light brown sugar.
- Then mix both the egg and vanilla extract into the creamed mixture.
- Next add in the pumpkin purée, and mix everything together well.
- Whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture, and mix really well, being sure to scrape the sides of your bowl.
- Using a cookie scoop, scoop 1-inch balls of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Press each cookie with the bottom of a glass coated in cane sugar.
- Bake at 375° F for about 12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn a nice golden brown.
- Remove the baked cookies from the cookie sheet, and place them on a wire rack to cool.
YUM!!!!! They look absolute delish. Would love to have you come share at Reader Tip Tuesday. We’re open and growing all week long: http://www.jodiefitz.com/2018/09/04/reader-tip-tuesday-weeks-craft-recipe-party-14-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2/
Hope to see you there.
Jodie, thank you so much! I will definitely come check it out.