Soft Pumpkin Cookies

November 17, 2016

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These Soft Pumpkin Cookies are a fall favorite around here. I think these pumpkin cookies are the perfect way to celebrate the fall season! We just recently realized we’d never shared them with you all on Lovely Little Kitchen. Time to change that, friends!

We both thought for sure they were on here somewhere… If I remember correctly, these Soft Pumpkin Cookies even won first place in a cookie baking contest at church years ago! They are loved by many, for sure.

These are probably the softest, fluffiest pumpkin cookies I’ve ever tasted. They are like little pumpkin-y pillows that melt in your mouth.

I think they probably do fall into the category of a more “cake-like” cookie, which I think some baker’s try to avoid, but to me they are so tender and light, the texture is just perfect. They are a cross between a cookie and the top half of a muffin.

I love how rolling the dough in powdered sugar gives them that crinkle cookie look, and their resemblance to a snow-covered mountain peak makes them decidedly wintery and cozy.

Sometimes the powdered sugar melts into the dough before you bake it, and won’t be as visible when they come out of the oven. You can roll them in powdered sugar twice if you’d really like to see that powdery crackle.

Does Soft Pumpkin Cookie dough need to be chilled?

The dough for Soft Pumpkin Cookies will be pretty sticky. If you have a cookie dough scoop, you may be able to unload the dough straight from the scoop into the powdered sugar so you don’t have to roll them in your hands. Chilling the dough will help, but they are a little messy, as are most good things!

Can I use fresh pumpkin rather than canned?

Some of us love the convenience of keeping a can of pumpkin puree in the pantry and pulling it out to make Soft Pumpkin Cookies, or the Best Ever Pumpkin Muffins when the craving strikes. But it you have fresh pumpkins available to roast and use in your baking, this is a great recipe to try. This is the easiest way to roast a pumpkin. Sometimes a freshly roasted pumpkin will have more liquid than a can, so make sure you strain out as much of the liquid as possible. You can set the pumpkin puree in a fine mesh stainer over a bowl for a few hours to catch the drips.

What is the difference between pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie filling?

A can of pumpkin puree will only list pumpkin for the ingredients. Look for 100% pure pumpkin puree on the front of the label. Pumpkin pie filling is often right next to the pumpkin puree on the grocery store shelf and looks similar but is a very different ingredient. It is already spiced and much sweeter. Because of this they are not interchangeable in recipes.

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #lovelylittlekitchen

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