If you’re looking for easy pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting, you have just found them! These soft, thick pumpkin cookies don’t require any chilling and are great for Halloween or any other Fall occasion!
There is this amazing cookie store in Salt Lake City, Utah called RubySnap. Every cookie I’ve ever had from there is simply divine! I have made several copycats here on my site, such as Mexican Chocolate Cookies, Lemon Blueberry Chia Cookies, and Mango Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies.
I wanted to make these Soft Pumpkin Cookies so they would turn out big and soft like RubySnap cookies. So I made some adjustments to a standard recipe for Pumpkin Cookies, and they turned out perfectly!
Here’s what I did differently:
- I used my own pumpkin puree rather than pumpkin from a can. (You can still use pumpkin from a can, and this will make your cookies look more orange as well).
- I added sour cream to the dough. (This is the secret ingredient that makes cookies SO soft!)
- I added more flour to the dough. (This helps them be nice and puffy and not need to be chilled).
- I baked them at 375 degrees F. instead of 350 degrees F. (This makes it so that they quickly puff up in the oven rather than spreading out).
To get the RubySnap look, I put a to-die-for cream cheese frosting in a plastic bag, cut a large hole in the corner, and piped out swirls on top of each cookie. Then I added a clove, just for decoration. (Don’t eat the cloves! They won’t be good!)
Note: The dough is sticky and not something you can roll. But it should be pretty thick. I used a large cookie scoop and placed the cookies on silicone mat-lined baking sheets. I would suggest using a silicone mat or parchment paper when baking these cookies.
I also used a stand mixer. If you use a hand mixer, I would stir in the last cup of flour by hand. Otherwise, the dough may be too thick for your hand mixer to handle.
Now, let’s make some cookies!
Soft Pumpkin Cookies
If you're looking for easy pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting, you have just found them! These soft, thick pumpkin cookies don't require any chilling and are great for Halloween or any other Fall occasion!
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- 6 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
For the Pumpkin Cookies
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large bowl or stand mixer, add the white sugar, brown sugar, butter and sour cream. Mix on medium speed until smooth and creamy.
Add the pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla. Mix until well-blended.
Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Blend on low speed just until everything is mixed and you can't see the flour any more. Do not overmix.
Line large cookie sheets with parchment or silicone liners.
Use a large cookie scoop to scoop the dough onto the cookie sheets, leaving plenty of room between each cookie.
Bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for five minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Frost when completely cool.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
In a large bowl or your stand mixer, add the cream cheese and butter. Use a hand mixer or your beater attachment to beat the cream cheese and butter together.
Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Blend on low speed until powdered sugar is incorporated. Then blend on medium or high speed until frosting is nice and fluffy.
Transfer to a plastic bag or piping bag. Cut the tip or corner and pipe onto the top of cooled cookies.
Notes
You can use canned pumpkin if you like. If you do, reduce the flour to 3 cups, as canned pumpkin is not as wet as homemade pureed pumpkin.
When measuring the flour, make sure to measure correctly (by spooning flour into the measuring cup) so that you don't over-fill. You may also wish to add all the dry ingredients to a separate bowl to mix before adding to the wet mixture. (I admit that I never do this, but if you want to be super fancy and make sure everything is perfectly distributed, I would suggest it).
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Rosemary Srebalus says
Can you give the size of the cookie scoop you used for these cookies? How many T? They look awesome and and I’ve got to make them!
Melissa Howell says
Hi Rosemary! Thanks for your question! I used a large cookie scoop which was about two tablespoons. Good luck!