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
They are delicious. The texture is like muffin tops. They were gone in 2 days.
That’s so great!!! Your share is very awesome. I really love cooking. I hope you will share more recipe like these. Thank you for sharing.
these were great with a few adjustments! Here’s what I did: add 1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice use 1/2 a cup brown sugar and 1/2 white I used homemade pumpkin puree which was really watery so I added more flour also. they were really good!
Love, love this recipe!! My family does too! I do add mini chocolate chips! The BEST!
I made a 3x batch of these using the conversions when clicking “print recipe.”
I had to add a considerable amount of extra flour because a 3x recipe was the consistency of thick pie filling.
Once I got the dough to the correct consistency, they came out perfect using the same temp / and time for the cookies.
I made these cookies yesterday, and this recipe is a winner! I substituted pumpkin pie spice blend for the cinnamon and nutmeg. Thanks for the recipe. I will be making these again, for sure.
Hi – I was looking for a new idea for pumpkin, and found this recipe and can I just say O-M-G
They are so good.
I made them Gluten Free/Corn Free/Lactose Free and I added 1Tspn Cloves and put the batter in the fridge over night and they are amazing so light or as my husband said “like eating a cloud”
They cooked up perfectly and are deadly!
Fantastic cookies! I’m going to translate the recipe to couple of other languages and post them as “ Julie’s pumpkins cookies” with reference to your website.
Delightful, light, very tasty cookies. Baked them a little longer as I did 24 at once on two trays rotating twice. Finished with an almond glaze. (powdered sugar, milk, butter and almond extract.)
Do you think these would freeze well to be eaten later?
You can freeze them, and they taste great, but the powdered sugar sort of melts into the surface of the cookie, so they’ll look a little different. Enjoy!
Came out perfect. Not overly sweet which was surprising, but not in a bad way. I semi-jokingly told my husband these could be good breakfast cookies, haha!
Has anyone tried icing these cookies? I thought maybe trying drizzling with a glaze.
This recipe can also be found inside the label of Libby’s canned pumpkin.
I wonder if adding some unsweetened coconut would take of the need to refrigerate dough so long?
I made these cookies yesterday, and this recipe is a winner! I substituted pumpkin pie spice blend for the cinnamon and nutmeg. Thanks for the recipe. I will be making these again, for sure.
Hello,
I’m Jackson, I’m a chef who loves food, I’m always interested in new foods. Soft Pumpkin Cookies is great! I just finished them tonight, taste is great and i had a great dinner with my little family. Thanks for your sharing.
Sincerely grateful!
Thank you, so glad you enjoyed!
I am in love with these cookies! They’re not too THICK and they’re not too thin and they’re just right.
This is an amazing…and it looks soo yummy & sound so delicious…I would certainly attempt it after reading this post. …Thanks for your guide.
Love it!
I found this recipe last year and have been making them regularly since! These are a hit with family and friends during all the fall and winter holidays. We refer to them as pumpkin pillows, so soft and delicious.
Delicious cookie. I did not refrigerate and used almond extract. Well received cake like or muffin like cookie. Yummy
So I’m not a fan of pumpkin anything and yet i gave these a tried for my family . Omg!! They are super soft and delicious i love them thank u so much for ur recipe.
An absolute hit! Everyone asked me for the recipe. These are better than other pumpkin cookies I’ve tried.
I did not refrigerate, did not turn out. The next batch i made double, and refrigerated, they came out perfect .I also mixed chocolate chips in one batch grand kids,and family loved them.
I made these cookies many times with great success. I decided to try them with mashed banana. Perfect. Love love love both ways
AMAZING!! Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi, love this recipe!! How long are these cookies good for when placed in an airtight container?
Love these cookies!!! People always ask for the recipe after they try them! I made mine with fresh pumpkin puree from Porcelain Doll pumpkins I roasted and oh my goodness…they were heavenly!
Can the dough be frozen for making at a later date?
zes
Korea
her e man Korea steam in my egg factory