These Pumpkin Spice Cookies are a love letter to fall, with cozy pumpkin spices, real pumpkin puree, and brown butter for a fantastic nutty flavor. And unlike other pumpkin cookies, these are chewy, not cake-y!
A pumpkin spice cookie that lives up to its name!
Because for real, how often do pumpkin cookies end up with the light, fluffy crumb of a Pumpkin Muffin?! They’re good, but when you want a cookie, you want a cookie.
Well, I’m happy to report that these pumpkin spice cookies deliver, with soft, chewy centers and crisp edges. It took a lot of trial and error to get to that point, but I am absolutely delighted with the results and I think you will be too.
Along with my Healthy Pumpkin Cookies and Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies, this recipe has earned a spot in my permanent fall rotation!
Ingredients and Substitutions
You’ll find the full list of ingredients in the recipe card below, but here are some notes to keep in mind.
- Spiced Sugar. You’ll roll the dough in a mixture of granulated sugar, ground cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.
- Unsalted Butter. I’ve found that higher quality butters brown better than cheaper ones, which seem to produce a lot more foam. (All butter will foam, but some are foamier than others and this makes it hard to know exactly when it’s starting to brown.)
- Sugar. A combination of granulated sugar and light brown sugar for the perfect texture and caramelization.
- Cozy Spices. I tinkered with the spices and found that a combination ground cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice yielded perfect results, rather than going all in on pumpkin spice.
- Kosher Salt. For balancing the sweetness.
- Pumpkin Puree. Make sure you’re using 100% canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling.
- Egg Yolk. Using the yolk instead of the whole egg helps limit the rise, yielding a chewier cookie.
- Vanilla Extract. Use pure vanilla extract, not imitation, for the best flavor.
- All-Purpose Flour. For the most consistent results, weigh your flour if possible.
- Baking Soda. Provides just enough lift without making the cookies puffy like a cake or muffin.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Brown the Butter (photo 1). Melt the butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. It will foam and then begin to crackle and sputter. When the sputtering starts to slow, watch closely as golden specks will begin collecting on the bottom of the pan. Whisk constantly until the specks turn amber and the butter smells nutty and toasted.
Add the Sugar and Spices (photo 2). Immediately stir the granulated sugar, brown sugar, spices, and salt into the hot brown butter. Let the mixture cool for 10 minutes. (You don’t want it piping hot when the egg yolk goes in or you’ll have scrambled eggs!)
Blot the Pumpkin (photo 3). While the butter cools, place the pumpkin puree on a plate. Press with a double layer of paper towels, lift it away, gather the pumpkin together again, and repeat until the pumpkin has the consistency of frosting. Measure 1/3 cup of this. (You can stir the rest into oatmeal or blend it into smoothies.)
Finish the Wet Ingredients (photo 4). Whisk the egg yolk and vanilla into the cooled butter mixture. Add the blotted pumpkin and whisk thoroughly.
Make the Dough (photo 5). In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda. Fold the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture just until the flour disappears.
Chill (photo 6). Press plastic wrap directly against the surface of the dough and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
Roll (photo 7). Combine the rolling sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice in a shallow bowl. Scoop the chilled dough, roll them into balls, then coat each generously in the spiced sugar.
Bake (photo 8). Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 9 to 10 minutes at 350 degrees F.
Cool (photo 9). Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. ENJOY!
Erin’s Testing Notes
This recipe took a lot of trial and error because I was determined to end up with a pumpkin spice cookie that was chewy, not cakey, and that packed in A LOT of pumpkin flavor. The keys:
- Melt the butter vs. creaming it so you aren’t whipping air into it. And since it needed to be melted, why not go all the way and brown it?
- Egg yolk is key for tenderness. We don’t want the white because that leads to too much rise, which makes cookies cakey.
- Blot the extra water out of the pumpkin—this was the final trick that did the job!
Pumpkin Spice Cookies
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Ingredients
For Rolling
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
For the Cookies
- ¾ cup unsalted butter cut into several pieces (12 tablespoons or 1 ½ sticks)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup canned pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling
- 1 large egg yolk at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour 205 grams
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Brown the butter: In a light-colored medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, swirling the pan periodically. It will foam, then crackle and sputter (this is the water cooking off). When the sputtering slows, watch closely and swirl the pan often. As soon as golden flecks start to gather at the bottom, whisk the butter constantly. Continue cooking and stirring until the flecks turn amber colored and the butter smells deliciously nutty. Remove from the heat.
- Immediately stir the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt into the hot butter. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
- While the mixture cools, blot the water out of the pumpkin. Scoop the puree onto a plate and press with a double layer of paper towel. Lift the towel away, scoop the pumpkin back into a pile, then repeat 2 to 3 more times, until most of the water has been removed and the pumpkin has a consistency like thick frosting. Measure out 1/3 cup of the blotted pumpkin. (This step concentrates the pumpkin's flavor and will keep your cookies from being cakey.)
- Whisk the egg yolk and vanilla into the cooled butter mixture until smooth.
- Whisk in the pumpkin, stirring until the mixture is completely smooth and has no small lumps. It will have the consistency of caramel.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda. Add to the wet ingredients and fold gently just until no white bits of flour remain. The dough will be soft.
- Scoop the dough into a bowl, cover with a sheet of plastic, pressing the plastic against the top, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
- When you are ready to bake, place the oven rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 350°F. In a shallow bowl, stir together the rolling ingredients: sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- With a cookie scoop or spoon, portion the dough by 1 1/2-tablespoonfuls and roll into balls. Roll each ball in the sugar mixture, then place on the prepared baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between each. Return any unscooped dough to the refrigerator between batches.
- Bake the cookies until they are puffed and the edges look dry and are barely turning just the tiniest bit more golden, 9 to 10 minutes. They will look underdone and will continue to set on the baking sheet.
- Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 10 minutes (they'll sink and wrinkle), then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough, allowing the baking sheet to cool completely between batches, or the cookies will spread.
Notes
- TO MAKE AHEAD: Refrigerate the cookie dough for up to 2 days. Scoop and roll just before baking.
- TO STORE: Keep baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- TO FREEZE: Portion the dough into balls and freeze until firm, then transfer to an airtight freezer container. Roll in the spiced sugar before baking.
Everything I want in a cookie. Soft in the middle, rolled in sugar for perfect outside texture, sweet and spiced with depth of flavor from the browned butter….my only regret is that they disappear remarkably fast. They might seem fussier than other cookie recipes but if you have the time it is worth the effort. Thanks, Erin – a keeper! You must have done a lot of testing to get it all just right. My kids said, “write this one down!”
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So glad you enjoyed them, Emiley! They look fantastic!
Made these for our annual Labor Day family get together, Enjoyed by all! Loved the sweet smell of pumpkin spice while baking and even more the taste after baking. Reminded me of Fall at my parents’ house growing up!!
So glad to hear, Carolyn! Thank you!
Perfect for book club! I always like to bring a sweet treat and I love the brown butter flavor with the pumpkin.
Yay! Love that, Melody! Thank you!
Easy once I read the instructions and followed pictures. Great taste. The recipe made 26 cookies for me. Family is racing across town to taste the first batch after sending a picture.
Yay! Love to hear, Martha! Thank you!
Delicious! We’re always looking for festive fall recipes that aren’t the typical pumpkin cookie. These really did the trick. We even liked the dough so much that we decided to make a second batch while the first was chilling. Thanks for all your effort to serve us an excellent recipe.
These look great, Debbie! Thank you for sharing!
Yummy cookie with some pretty intense “fall” flavors. For some reason, my cookies didn’t really sink to a flat cookie. I even gave it an extra minute hoping they would help. I did refrigerate the dough about 2 hours prior to baking. The cookies were very tasty.
Glad you enjoyed them, Kathy! They look great!
I’ve never made cookies in a pan before! The browned butter and pumpkin made a very flavorful cookie. They never flattened out, but were delicious nonetheless!
Glad you enjoyed them, Rosemary! Thank you!
I’ve never made cookie batter in a pan before! The browned butter and pumpkin made them very flavorful. They came out nice and soft and cakey. Never flattened out, but were delicious nonetheless.
So glad to hear, Rosemary! Thank you!
I’d rather not spend money on “pumpkin pie spice” – can you tell me what and in what proportions I would need in lieu of that? TIA!
Hi Lisa, I did a rough estimate based off the amounts I used in my pumpkin sheet cake (I gave both the amount of pumpkin pie spice and the breakdown of individual spices). I’d try 1 tsp cinnamon + ½ tsp ginger + ⅛ tsp nutmeg + ⅛ tsp cloves, mix it all together first, then only use a total of 1 1/2 teaspoon in the cookies and save the last 1/4 teaspoon for when you roll the cookies in them. Let us know how it goes!
Dang these cookies were SO GOOD. The perfect pumpkin cookie!
Thank you Jessica!
Delicious, chewy fall-flavored cookies! The smell of the warm browned butter mixing with the sugars and spices is heavenly. Soaking up some of the pumpkin moisture with paper towel was not as annoying as I feared it would be, and the resulting cookies are definitely chewy rather than cakey, as promised! My parents and partner loved them. The recipe is clear and easy to follow, and thanks for adding weights for things like flour!
So glad to hear, Melanie! Thank you!
Both of my kids were itching to start eating them as soon as they got out of the oven! They are delicious! Great texture, flavor and chew. Will definitely be making them again! Next time I’ll see how they turn out with sourdough discard 🙂
Thank you Monika! Ohh, I’d love to know how it goes!
I was TRYING to find my previous comment because you were kind enough to respond to it, Erin, but for some reason, the page won’t show me anything but the “Most Helpful” comments, so I’ll just post this… thank you for the amounts of cinnamon etc to make my own pumpkin spice! I am planning on making these soon, because they sound delicious!
Hi! You can find it by selecting the all comments next to the most helpful comments! Hope it turns out well!
great cookies! they were super popular. even better, i was able to successfully make this recipe with vegan butter and gluten-free flour (i used country crock and king arthur brands), substituting an additional 1 tbsp melted butter for the egg yolk to make them allergen free. they were just as tasty!
So glad it worked well, Jodi! Thank you!
This was a yummy fall cookie!! I thought of it as a “pumpkin” snickerdoodle.
They look great, Darlene! Thanks for sharing!
These are delicious pumpkin cookies! They are nice and chewy and get a little crisp bite from the sugar on the outside. They are so good in flavor and texture and perfect for pumpkin season!
So glad you enjoyed them, Adrienne! Thank you!
This is THE perfect pumpkin cookie and comes out exactly as described. What a texture!
They look great, Will! Thank you for sharing!
I tried this recipe out for the monthly cooking challenge (I’m a little late posting). They were a huge hit! Not cakey. Very soft and chewy while holding their structure well. This is getting added to my holiday baking for sure!
They look fabulous, Elyanna! Thank you for sharing!