Soft Pumpkin Cookies Recipe

Prepare to meet your new autumn craving: Soft Pumpkin Cookies. If you’ve been hunting for a treat that’s melt-in-your-mouth tender, brimming with cozy spices, and topped with a drizzle of cinnamon icing, this recipe is destined to become a staple in your kitchen. Every bite is fluffy, cake-like, and packed with pumpkin flavor, making these cookies the ultimate bite-sized celebration of fall. Whether you want to perk up a lazy weekend or wow your friends at your next gathering, there’s something impossibly delightful about baking a batch of these irresistible Soft Pumpkin Cookies.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Soft Pumpkin Cookies come together with a handful of familiar pantry ingredients and a medley of warming spices. Each one plays a starring role—giving these cookies their unbeatable soft texture, rich color, and spiced aroma. Here’s why you’ll want to gather them all:

• Granulated sugar: Brings sweetness and helps with that tender, cake-like crumb.
• Light brown sugar: Adds a warm, molasses-y depth that pairs beautifully with pumpkin.
• Butter, softened: Provides richness and is key for the classic cookie softness.
• Large eggs: Bind everything together and create structure while keeping cookies fluffy.
• Vanilla extract: Enhances all the warm and sweet flavors within the dough.
• Pumpkin purée: The main event for flavor, color, and that ultra-soft, moist texture.
• All-purpose flour, unbleached: Gives body to the cookies without weighing them down.
• Baking soda: Ensures a gentle rise and airy crumb.
• Ground cinnamon: Delivers warmth, spice, and that classic autumn aroma.
• Ground ginger: Lends a little zippy heat to balance the sweet.
• Allspice: Contributes notes of clove and nutmeg for pretty incredible depth.
• Ground nutmeg: Rounds out the spice blend with its fragrant sweetness.
• Salt: Just a touch to make all the other flavors shine brighter.
• Baking powder: Gives the cookies a little extra lift to keep things light.
• Confectioners’ sugar: Makes a silky icing to crown each cookie.
• Ground cinnamon (for icing): Infuses the topping with irresistible spice.
• Milk: Loosens the icing to just the right drizzling consistency.

How to Make Soft Pumpkin Cookies

Step 1: Prep Your Oven and Baking Sheet

Start by heating your oven to 350 degrees F—the ideal temperature for cookies that are simultaneously fluffy and tender throughout. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper: this keeps cookies from sticking and guarantees golden bottoms every time.

Step 2: Cream the Butter and Sugars

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and softened butter for about 3 minutes. You’re looking for the mixture to become pale and fluffy, which creates that famous Soft Pumpkin Cookies texture. Don’t rush this step—thorough creaming sets the foundation for cookie cloud nine.

Step 3: Add the Wet Ingredients

Beat in your eggs, one at a time, making sure each is fully incorporated. Next, add in the vanilla extract for a sweet aroma, followed by the pumpkin purée. Once everything’s combined, you’ll notice your batter is already silky and richly orange—signs of delicious things to come!

Step 4: Mix the Dry Ingredients

In a separate large bowl, whisk together your flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, salt, and baking powder. Mixing your dry ingredients separately keeps everything light and evenly distributed so each bite of your Soft Pumpkin Cookies is perfectly spiced.

Step 5: Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients

With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture in two or three batches. Stir just until everything is blended—overmixing can toughen the cookies, so gentle is the way to go. The dough will be thicker and slightly sticky.

Step 6: Scoop and Bake

Using a 1½ tablespoon cookie scoop, drop mounds of dough onto your prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake for 18 minutes until they spring back when gently pressed and have a subtle golden hue. Move the cookies to a cooling rack and let them cool completely before icing.

Step 7: Make the Cinnamon Icing

While the cookies cool, whisk together confectioners’ sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl. Stir in the milk to create a thick, glossy icing that drapes beautifully across each cookie. If the icing is too thick, add just a drop more milk; too thin, and sift in a bit more sugar.

Step 8: Ice and Set

Spoon the icing generously over each cooled cookie, letting it drip and swirl naturally. Place cookies on a wire rack and allow the icing to set for about an hour. This finish turns your Soft Pumpkin Cookies from good to jaw-droppingly beautiful.

How to Serve Soft Pumpkin Cookies

Garnishes

To give your Soft Pumpkin Cookies a pretty finishing touch, try a sprinkle of extra cinnamon, a few toasted pepitas, or even a dusting of powdered sugar. These garnishes not only add eye appeal but can underscore the toasty, fall-inspired flavors.

Side Dishes

Pair your cookies with a steaming mug of chai or hot apple cider—the spice notes are a perfect match. For a full dessert spread, serve alongside vanilla ice cream or a caramel sauce for dunking. The cookies’ soft interior soaks up every bit of flavor.

Creative Ways to Present

Stack your Soft Pumpkin Cookies in a rustic basket lined with a linen napkin for a cozy, autumnal vibe at gatherings. Tie a few cookies in cellophane with a ribbon for sweet edible gifts, or assemble an elegant cookie platter with contrasting chocolate treats and dried fruit for variety.

Make Ahead and Storage

Storing Leftovers

Soft Pumpkin Cookies stay wonderfully fluffy for up to three days when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Place a piece of parchment between layers to protect the icing and prevent sticking.

Freezing

For longer storage, freeze the cookies (iced or un-iced) in a single layer on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag. They’ll keep well for up to two months. Thaw at room temperature—if iced, expect the glaze to look a little more matte after freezing, but still taste delicious.

Reheating

While Soft Pumpkin Cookies are lovely at room temperature, you can mimic that “just-baked” magic by microwaving one or two cookies for 10-15 seconds. The warmth revives their tenderness and brings out the aroma of pumpkin and spice.

FAQs

Can I use homemade pumpkin purée instead of canned?

Absolutely! Just be sure your homemade purée is well-drained and about the same consistency as canned. Extra moisture can lead to cookies that are too cakey or soft, so blotting with paper towels can help.

Can I make Soft Pumpkin Cookies gluten-free?

Yes, substitute a cup-for-cup gluten-free flour blend in place of regular all-purpose flour. Check that your blend contains xanthan gum or add a half teaspoon per batch to help the cookies hold together.

Do I have to ice these cookies?

They’re delicious either way! The cinnamon icing adds sweetness and a hint of crunch, but Soft Pumpkin Cookies are still sensational plain or with a light dusting of powdered sugar.

Why are my cookies coming out flat?

This can happen if your butter was too warm, the flour was under-measured, or if you over-mixed the dough. Make sure to follow the steps closely, and your Soft Pumpkin Cookies should be beautifully puffy.

Can I add mix-ins like chocolate chips or nuts?

Go for it! About 1 cup of chocolate chips, chopped pecans, or walnuts can be folded in with the dry ingredients for extra flavor and texture. Just avoid overloading, or the cookies may not hold their shape as well.

Final Thoughts

If you love soft, spiced cookies that taste just like fall, you owe it to yourself to make a batch (or two) of Soft Pumpkin Cookies. They’re easy, warming, and so utterly comforting that you won’t be able to have just one. Grab your apron and cozy up to this bake—you’re about to discover your new seasonal favorite!

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