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.
PrintSoft Pumpkin Cookies
These Soft Pumpkin Cookies are the softest, fluffiest, most tender pumpkin cookies I have ever tasted! They will absolutely melt in your mouth!
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 12 mins
- Total Time: 32 mins
- Yield: 3 dozen 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup pure pumpkin
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with non-stick baking spray.
- Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Beat granulated sugar and butter with mixer on medium high speed, then blend in pumpkin, egg, and vanilla until incorporated.
- Gradually mix in flour and dry ingredients. Refrigerate dough for 3-4 hours.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Scoop dough into one inch balls. Roll in powder sugar, place dough balls on baking sheet (12 per sheet) and bake for 11-13 minutes.
- Remove from baking sheet to a cooling rack. When completely cool, store cookies in an airtight container.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cookie
- Calories: 103
- Sugar: 12g
- Sodium: 101mg
- Fat: 2.8g
- Saturated Fat: 1.7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0.9g
- Trans Fat: 0.1g
- Carbohydrates: 19g
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Protein: 1.2g
- Cholesterol: 12mg
Hi, have you ever tried using just granulated sugar (no powdered) and did it turn out okay? My friend and I suddenly decided to make some cookies and we wanted to know how to adjust the measurements if we only use granulated.
Absolutely tasty cookies.My children asked me to make more the next day 😊
made these yesterday and added choc chips to half the recipe they were instant gone lol they are super good with or without choc chips. Excellent recipe and making another batch tonight.
Could I use almond flour as a gf substitute??
the most wonderfully delicious melt in your mouth cookie recipe. my family and my friends could not get enough.
Do you use pumpkin that you scoop out of an actual pumpkin or from a can?
I use canned pumpkin purée
For future reference- You can make your own pumpkin puree. Just cut a small pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds. Place in a glass pan face down with a little bit of water. Then put in the microwave for 12 minutes. Scoop out and blend! Better than a can every time
Can you freeze the cookies?
You can, but as they thaw the powdered sugar coating will be absorbed into the cookie.
I read through the comments but didn’t see anyone ask about using real pumpkin. I’ve never baked pie or muffins or anything with canned pumpkin. I want to make cookies for a church event. What do you think? Have you tried using cooked real pumpkin?
I tried it with real pumpkin and the cookies are awesome!!
Wonderful, thank you!
HI ! I was wondering can I use coconut flour instead ?
I haven’t tried it before do not sure. Let me know how it goes.
Soft Pumpkin Cookie recipe – does this recipe work using gluten free flour mix.
Also instead of greased parchment would the cookies peel cooled from a silpat.
Thanks
I haven’t tried a gluten free mix, but it should be fine on Silpat. Hope you enjoy!
Can you omit the cinnamon? I have someone who is allergic to cinnamon.
Amazing cookies. I’m pretty particular in my cookies and these pads the test! Thanks for sharing.
It’s amazing! I made these cookies and put some cream cheese frosting in them and they tasted really good.
Does the dough need to be refrigerated?
Yes, the dough should be chilled for 3-4 hours or it may be too sticky to shape into dough balls.
The best pumpkin cookie we have ever made! Hands down the best. Thank you!
You are so welcome! Glad you loved them too.
I made this for my Chinese students for Halloween and they loved them (and Chinese people are hard to please with desserts since they don’t typically like sweet things). I made them a bit spicier, adding half a teaspoon of ginger and a quarter teaspoon of cloves so they would have that pumpkin pie taste. I also used caster sugar for rolling instead of powdered sugar, since powdered is hard to find in China, and I sprinkled some cinnamon in with it. They turned out delicious! I do think you get a slightly bigger batch if you make your pumpkin puree from scratch, but I wouldn’t say that was a problem. 😁
So interesting! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave me a note.
I just made these last night an accidentally used gluten-free flour. They turned out fantastic! Super moist and flavorful! Thanks for the recipe!
That’s great! Thanks!
I just made these last night and they are pretty yummy. The dough was pretty sticky and hard to work with, so my cookies are lopsided and not quite all the same size. Also, the powdered sugar didn’t quite keep on some of them, looks it melted in on others. They are a tad sweet for me, but everyone at works loves them! The pain in the buttedness of the dough is the only reason I may hesitate before making them again.
So I just made these today, and they are yummyyyyy! I didn’t have parchment so scraping them off the cookie sheet was a little tricky, but not really a big deal. I love the combo of a little crunch and the softness of the cookie! I did add a little pumpkin spice to the batter because we just love that flavor. I scooped the dough in my little dough scooper like in the video ,and dropped the dough right into the powdered sugar and once it got a little covered, just rolled them in that a bit and took them out and put them right on the cookie sheet. Not so messy that way. I will make these again for all the kids coming in for TG!! Yum!
Did you use salted or unsalted butter?
I usually bake with salted butter just because I always have it on hand. Someday I might be a real baker and stock up on unsalted. 🙂
Thanks for replying so quickly! Can’t wait to see how these turn out!
Great recipe, tastes great, but I think you should include the refrigerating time in the prep time, because it was a little misleading. Thanks!