Amish Pumpkin Cookies with Caramel frosting

I like to make these Amish Pumpkin cookies with caramel icing and a fluffy cake-like texture more than just in the fall months. The warm flavors of cinnamon, ginger and cloves pair so well with the sweet and smooth flavor of the caramel frosting. This recipe for pumpkin cookies with caramel icing was inspired by an Amish Cookbook called “The Esh Family Cookbook,” and they are the best pumpkin drop cookies I’ve ever tried at home!

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Amish Pumpkin Cookies with Caramel frosting

marilynpeight

Soft and cake-like cookies with warm spices and a smooth caramel frosting. Pairing spiced pumpkin cookies and caramel frosting is definitely a win!!

4.20 from 21 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine Amish

Servings 4 dozen

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 cup oil vegetable or canola
• 1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 large eggs beaten
• 3 cups flour all purpose
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1/2 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cloves

Caramel Frosting:

• 3/4 cup salted butter softened
• 1 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 2 dashes salt
• 2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

Instructions

 

Preheat oven to 350:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine the oil and sugar until well incorporated. Add pumpkin puree, eggs and vanilla, then whisk the wet ingredients together until smooth and lump free. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and then add them to the wet ingredients. Stir until well incorporated.
• Using a tablespoon or ice cream scoop, drop the cookie dough onto greased cookie sheets and then bake the Amish pumpkin cookies in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, until the edges have browned slightly and the centers are set. Allow to cool.
• Melt butter in a medium sized saucepan, then add brown sugar and bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Once the mixture reached a slow boil, reduce the heat to low and continue stirring for 2-3 minutes until the sugar has mostly dissolved. Add milk and salt and then continue stirring until the caramel comes to a full boil. Immediately remove from the heat and allow to cool at room temperature.
• Once the caramel has cooled to room temp, sift confectioners sugar and add 1/2 cup at a time. Mix the frosting (with a hand mixer) between each addition of confectioners sugar, until the icing has become thick enough to frost the cookies (the last 1/2 cup of confectioner's sugar may not be needed). Frost cooled cookies and sprinkle tops with cinnamon (optional). More notes and photos below.

Keyword Caramel frosting, Pumpkin, Cookies,

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Try these cookies with a cup of chai tea latte or an iced cold brew latte! Check out more of my Amish recipes through Pinterest .

Do these cookies have to be mixed by hand or can I use an electric hand/stand mixer?

Growing up Amish we didn’t use mixers too often because we didn’t have electricity. To this day, I still combine most of my ingredients by hand (Except for frostings, fillings and bread doughs). I also prefer to simply combine the wet ingredients, then add the dry ingredients into the same bowl. We had to hand wash all of our dishes, so my Mom was very strict (and for good reason) about using the minimum amount of dishes possible. All that to say, feel free to deviate from this recipe and use your electric mixers to combine the cookie dough if you prefer.

Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, combine the oil and sugar until well incorporated. Add pumpkin puree, eggs and vanilla, then whisk the wet ingredients together until smooth and lump free.

Step 1 continued: In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and then add them to the wet ingredients. Stir until well incorporated.

I was being a good girl for the internet’s sake and added the dry ingredients to a separate bowl. However, my plain tendencies took over and I simply dumped the dry ingredients into the wet ingredient (combined) bowl before combining. (The cookies tasted great, so maybe it’s an Amish secret to great cookies?)

Step 2: Drop cookies by tablespoon, or with an ice cream scoop, onto cookies sheets. To avoid them running into each other as they bake you can add 6-9 instead of 12 per baking sheet, if you prefer.

Step 2 continued: bake the Amish pumpkin cookies in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, until the edges have browned slightly and the centers are set. Allow to cool.

My cookies tend to come in all shapes. If you prefer them more evenly rounded you can use an ice cream scoop instead of a tablespoon to drop the dough onto the cookie sheets. If you have any tips/ideas for round, perfectly shaped cookies, let me know in the comments below!

Step 3-4: Melt butter in a medium sized saucepan, then add brown sugar and bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Once the mixture reached a slow boil, reduce the heat to low and continue stirring for 2-3 minutes until the sugar has mostly dissolved. Add milk and salt and then continue stirring until the caramel comes to a full boil. Immediately remove from the heat and allow to cool at room temperature. Once the caramel has cooled to room temp, sift confectioners sugar and add 1/2 cup at a time. Mix the frosting (with a hand mixer) between each addition of confectioners sugar, until the icing has become thick enough to frost the cookies. Once the caramel has cooled to room temp, sift confectioners sugar and add 1/2 cup at a time.

Frost the cooled cookies with the caramel frosting and then sprinkle a little extra cinnamon on the tops if you wish. Enjoy!!

Storage for these pumpkin cookies:

I keep my pumpkin cookies at room temperature for several days in an airtight container. If you wish to store these Amish pumpkin cookies even longer, you can freeze them in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

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