Pumpkin Spice Cookies
These pumpkin spice cookies are soft and chewy with a delicious pumpkin spice flavor and cinnamon sugar coating. They're like a fall snickerdoodle! Be sure to allot enough time to chill the dough for best results.
Servings: 30 cookies
Equipment
- Cookie Sheets
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cookie Dough
- ½ cup pumpkin puree (120 ml) I use canned, not pumpkin pie filling
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour (312 grams) spooned and leveled
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¾ teaspoons baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoons ground cloves
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (168 grams) softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar (158 grams)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (150 grams) use ½ cup for a less sweet cookie
- 1 large egg yolk just the yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
- Blot the pumpkin with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. Set aside.
- Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, nutmeg & ground cloves. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl beat together the butter and ¾ cup brown sugar and ¾ cup granulated sugar until fluffy.
- Beat the pumpkin, egg yolk and vanilla extract into the butter mixture until combined.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. The dough will be thick.
- Cover the bowl with clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃) and line cookie trays with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Whisk together the ¼ cup granulated sugar and 1½ teaspoons cinnamon and pour onto a small plate or shallow bowl. Scoop out the cookie dough and roll into balls with about 1-1½ tablespoons of dough each. Roll each dough ball in cinnamon sugar and place about 2 inches (5 cm) apart on the lined cookie sheets.
- Bake 1 sheet at a time in the middle of the preheated oven for about 9-12 minutes, or until the tops look set. Remove from the oven and cool on the cookie sheet for at least 10 minutes.
Notes
- Pumpkin: You can make your own pumpkin puree by boiling pumpkin chunks, then cooling fully and pureeing. I always used canned pumpkin. Be sure not to use canned pumpkin pie filling. The can should say 100% pure pumpkin.
- Spices: You can substitute the cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves with 2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice.
- Cream of Tartar: This ingredient is optional, but will help to give your cookies a better texture.
- Egg: I originally published this recipe using a whole egg, but have since updated it to use just the egg yolk to make cookies that are less cakey in texture. If you prefer the original version, feel free to use the full egg.
- Freezing: Cookie dough balls (rolled in sugar) can be placed in a freezer bag and frozen for up to 2 months. Bake from frozen as directed - they will likely need 1-2 extra minutes. Do not thaw before baking.
- Storage: Store baked and cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. I recommend placing a piece of parchment paper or wax paper in between cookie layers to avoid them sticking together.
- Nutrition: Details are an estimate only and based on 1 cookie, assuming the recipe yields 30 uniform cookies.
Nutrition
Calories: 131kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 52mg | Potassium: 41mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 787IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 1mg