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Soft Pumpkin Cookies

These Soft Pumpkin Cookies with a sweet sugar glaze are loaded with flavorful and nourishing canned pumpkin and an assortment of warm spices. Make a fresh batch of fall-inspired cookies in less than 30 minutes!

Soft pumpkin cookies piled on a metal cooling rack with a whole pumpkin in the background.

If you love dabbling in pumpkin recipes during Fall and in preparation for Thanksgiving, then you’ll need to try these incredibly easy and comforting soft pumpkin cookies.

The drizzle of glaze over the cooled cookies adds a touch of sweetness and looks so inviting too! Feel free to also give my Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies and my Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies a try!

๐ŸŒŸ WHY I LOVE THESE SOFT PUMPKIN COOKIES

These pumpkin cookies are super soft and go down really easily! The pillowy texture of these baked cookies makes them a comforting option.

While I love to keep these soft pumpkin cookies plain, they are easily adaptable with add-ins, such as raisins, chocolate chips, and chopped nuts.

There’s nothing complicated about this pumpkin cookie recipe. You’ll be able to make a fresh batch of baked pumpkin cookies in less than 30 minutes. They also store really well – perfect for your party and Thanksgiving preparations.

๐Ÿฝ KEY INGREDIENTS

Ingredients for soft pumpkin cookies on a marble countertop.

Pumpkin puree – The key ingredient for these pumpkin-inspired cookies. You can also use homemade mashed pumpkin.
Spices – These cookies include a mixture of ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, allspice, ground ginger, and ground cloves.
Dry ingredients – This includes flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
Melted butter – I always prefer to use unsalted butter. If you only have salted butter, omit the salt in the dry ingredients.
Sugar – Granulated sugar is best and helps make these cookies sweet and chewy. Light brown sugar can be used instead.

Swaps

Gluten-free – I mostly use all-purpose flour for my baking, but you can use gluten-free flour instead to make these cookies gluten-free.
Vegan – Use vegan butter or coconut oil instead of regular butter. Non-dairy milk, such as almond or soy, can be used in the glaze.
Pumpkin puree – This is the same as canned pumpkin, but you can easily make your own mashed pumpkin at home from roasting pumpkin and processing it in a food processor until lump-free.
Glaze – The sugar glaze adds an extra touch of sweetness to these soft pumpkin cookies, but you can leave it off if you prefer reduced sweetness.

๐Ÿฅฃ EQUIPMENT

You’ll need two mixing bowls, a parchment paper-lined baking tray, a whisk, and a spatula.

Close up of stacked soft pumpkin cookies on a metal rack, bite taken from the top cookie.

๐Ÿ”ช HOW TO MAKE

Bake these soft pumpkin cookies in less than 30 minutes! My easy-to-follow recipe steps with images will guide you every step of the way. Here’s what you need to do:

Preparations

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set it aside.

Cooking Instructions

Step 1
Combine the melted butter with sugar in a mixing bowl until smooth.

Glass mixing bowl with melted butter and granulated sugar with a small metal whisk.

Step 2
Add the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract.

Glass mixing bowl with melted butter, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and pumpkin puree with a small metal whisk.

Step 3
Mix the ingredients until you get a smooth consistency.

Whisk the spices, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a separate bowl.

Glass mixing bowl with pumpkin puree cookie mixture and a small metal whisk.

Step 4
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix with a spatula until just combined. Don’t overmix the batter.

Glass mixing bowl with pumpkin puree cookie mixture, spices, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt with a plastic spatula.

Step 5
Drop rounded tablespoons of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet, and space them out 2 inches apart.

Bake the cookies for 12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden. It’s normal for the cookies to still appear slightly soft in the center at this stage, but they will firm up as the cookies cool.

Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking tray for about 5 minutes. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Parchment paper-lined baking tray with freshly baked pumpkin cookies.

Step 6
Gradually add the milk to 1 cup of powdered sugar in a bowl and stir continuously until you achieve a smooth and pourable consistency.

Adjust the amount of milk to the mixture to make a thinner or thicker glaze, depending on your preferences.

Small mixing bowl with powdered sugar and milk and a metal whisk.

Step 7
Decorate your cooled cookies with the sugar glaze using a spoon or a piping bag.

Metal baking tray with baked pumpkin cookies, drizzled with a sugar glaze.

๐Ÿ’ญ COOKING TIPS

Feel free to change the decoration of these cookies. Instead of drizzling the sugar glaze over the cookies, consider dunking the tops of the cookies in the sugar glaze.

Easily adjust the consistency of your sugar glaze by adding more milk for a thinner glaze or using less for a thicker consistency.

Add or decrease the amount of spices to the cookie dough to suit your flavor preferences.

Allow the cookies to completely cool before decorating with the glaze or the glaze with run off the cookies.

๐Ÿฅ— WHAT TO SERVE WITH SOFT PUMPKIN COOKIES

Like any other home-baked cookie, nothing beats pairing a warm pumpkin cookie with a glass of creamy milk! That said, here are some other ways that you could serve these scrumptiously soft pumpkin cookies:

OTHER PUMPKIN-INSPIRED SWEET TREATS

Hosting a party over the holidays? Why not add a few other pumpkin-inspired sweet treats to the mix! Mini Pumpkin Bundt Cakes, Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars, Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes, and Pumpkin Tarts with Nutmeg Whipped Cream are the perfect addition to your dessert spread!

ICE CREAM

Enjoy a few of these soft pumpkin cookies with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Stacked soft pumpkin cookies with sugar glaze on a serving plate.

๐Ÿ™‹ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

CAN I USE PUMPKIN PIE FILLING?

No. Pumpkin puree is essentially mashed pumpkin without any added ingredients while pumpkin puree contains additional sugar, spices, and preservatives.

IS CANNED PUMPKIN BETTER THAN HOMEMADE PUMPKIN PUREE?

Yes! Canned pumpkin is the safest bet since homemade pumpkin puree can vary in moisture content and consistency which can have an impact on how these pumpkin cookies turn out.

ARE THESE COOKIES GLUTEN-FREE?

No. I use all-purpose flour to make these soft pumpkin cookies. You can use a gluten-free flour blend that is specific for baking. The texture and taste of the cookies may change slightly when using gluten-free flour.

๐ŸงŠ STORING AND โ™จ๏ธ REHEATING

ROOM TEMPERATURE

Once completely cool, store these pumpkin cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. If you have already added the glaze, make sure to let it harden before stacking the cookies so that they don’t stick together.

FREEZER

I recommend that you leave the glaze off the cookies if you want to freeze them. Once cooled, store the cookies in an airtight container with sheets of parchment paper between the layers. The cookies will last for 2-3 months.

Once thawed at room temperature, make a fresh batch of glaze and decorate the cookies to serve.

๐Ÿณ MORE PUMPKIN COOKIES

๐Ÿ‘ช SERVING SIZE

This recipe makes 22 cookies. Easily double the ingredients if you want to make a double batch.

Love this recipe?ย Please leave a 5-starย ๐ŸŒŸ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page.

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๐Ÿ“‹ RECIPE

Yield: 22 Cookies

Soft Pumpkin Cookies

Soft Pumpkin Cookies

Make these Soft Pumpkin Cookies with a sweet sugar glaze, canned pumpkin, and warm spices in less than 30 minutes! Perfect for Thanksgiving or sweet fall-inspired treats.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 27 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ยฝ teaspoon allspice
  • ยฝ teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

For the Glaze

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2-3 tablespoons milk (adjust for desired consistency)

Instructions

    1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
    2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the butter and granulated sugar until  well combined and smooth. Add the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract. Mix until well incorporated.
    3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and cloves.
    4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and incorporate with a spatula until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
    5. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
    6. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden. The centers may still appear slightly soft but will firm up as the cookies cool.
    7. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes. Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

    To prepare the glaze

    In a bowl with 1 cup of powdered sugar gradually add the milk to the powdered sugar, stirring continuously until you achieve a smooth and pourable consistency. Adjust the amount of milk as needed to reach your desired thickness. If you want a thicker glaze, use less milk; if you want a thinner glaze, add a little more milk.

    Once your cookies have cooled completely, you can start decorating them with the glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the cookies using a spoon or a piping bag, or dip the tops of the cookies directly into the glaze.

Notes

Make sure to use canned pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling, as the latter contains additional ingredients and spices.

Adjust the spices according to your preference. You can increase or decrease the amounts of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves to suit your taste.

Feel free to add optional mix-ins such as chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or raisins to the cookie dough for added flavor and texture.

The glaze is optional but adds a sweet finishing touch to the cookies. You can customize the glaze by adding food coloring or flavored extracts, such as vanilla or almond extract, for variation.

Nutrition Information

Yield

22

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 139Total Fat 4gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 11mgSodium 102mgCarbohydrates 24gFiber 1gSugar 14gProtein 1g

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