Pumpkin Cookies

By Samantha Seneviratne

Updated Oct. 14, 2021

Pumpkin Cookies
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
45 minutes
Rating
4(2,739)
Comments
Read comments

More like portable cakes, these spiced pumpkin cookies are delightfully tender and moist, simple, and absolutely divine with a cup of coffee. Eat them just as they are, or give them a dusting of powdered sugar or more ground cinnamon, a drizzle of a confectioners’ sugar glaze, or maybe a swipe of cream-cheese frosting. These little guys could even work as the top and bottom of the perfect pumpkin whoopie pie. Because these cookies are so moist, it’s best to store them layered between parchment or wax paper in an airtight container at room temperature. You could also freeze them and thaw before serving.

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Ingredients

Yield:2½ dozen
  • 1½cups/192 grams all-purpose flour
  • 2teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1½teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½teaspoon baking powder
  • ½teaspoon baking soda
  • ½teaspoon kosher salt
  • 8tablespoons/113 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1cup/220 grams packed light or dark brown sugar
  • 1large egg, at room temperature
  • ¾cup/167 grams pumpkin purée
  • 1teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Sanding sugar, for sprinkling (optional) 
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (30 servings)

85 calories; 3 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 60 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

  2. Step 2

    In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and kosher salt.

  3. Step 3

    In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg, the pumpkin purée and vanilla extract until blended.

  4. Step 4

    Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and beat just until combined.

  5. Step 5

    Scoop the batter into 2-tablespoon scoops, at least 1 inch apart, onto the prepared sheets. Sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake one sheet at time until the cookies are puffed, set and spring back when gently pressed in the center, about 12 minutes. Repeat with the second sheet.

  6. Step 6

    Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool completely.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
2,739 user ratings
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Comments

Abbie

After making the original quantity, we decided we should have adjusted the recipe to use a full can of pumpkin. If you want to do the same, multiply the ingredients by 2.5x! Using a large scoop, the original recipe made 22 cookies for us. P.S. make sure to fully incorporate the sugar mixture (which may be difficult to differentiate from the pumpkin color) otherwise you’ll get some patches of sugar & butter leakage.

thatsnotmyname

I used the whole cup of sugar and didn’t die.

Charlotte

These are delicious and so easy to make! They're basically like small, tender cakes. Next time, I plan to make them smaller (1 tbsp of dough) and then make mini whoopie pies with cream cheese frosting. Possibly with a hint of cardamom. YUM!

Cookie Maker

We really enjoyed these cake texture cookies, will be making them again for sure.

Annette

Used leftover canned pumpkin and my pumpkin pie spice mixture from making muffins. Added pumpkin seeds to the dough, which were a great complement to the cake-like texture of the cookies.

Letizia

This is an excellent cookie. Very tasty, light, and fluffy. The only negative is that they are not particularly attractive without the finishing sugar, or powdered sugar. As the batter does not need additional sugar, next time Im going to crust the tops with very finely chopped nuts.

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