These soft pumpkin cookies are a spin on an Amish recipe for Pumpkin Cookies with Caramel Frosting (one I highly recommend as well). I like to use cream cheese frosting on these pumpkin cookies as a shortcut because whipping up a cream cheese frosting is easier than the cooking process the caramel frosting requires. But, both types of frosting are equally delicious in my opinion!
If you love soft cookies or Amish whoopie pies, you may enjoy my recipes for Pumpkin Whoopie Pies, Chocolate Whoopie Pies, Amish Sugar Cookie Whoopie Pies, Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies, Amish Sugar Cookies with Strawberry Frosting or Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.
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Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- Cookie sheets (linked below)
- Mixing bowls (linked below)
- Stainless steel measuring cups (linked below)
- Parchment paper (linked below)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 4 oz. cream cheese softened slightly
- 2 tablespoons butter softened
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar sifted
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350:
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium sized mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar, oil, pumpkin puree, egg and vanilla extract, then add to the dry ingredients, mixing just until combined and no streaks of flour remain.
- Using a tablespoon or ice cream scoop, drop the cookie dough onto greased or parchment lined cookie sheets (several inches apart). Bake the pumpkin cookies in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, until the bottoms have browned slightly and the centers are set. Allow to cool completely.
- Place cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract into a small-medium sized mixing bowl, then mix with a hand mixer until combined. Add sifted confectioner's sugar and mix again until the cream cheese frosting is smooth and lump free *see troubleshooting tips below.
- Using the back of a spoon or a piping bag, frost each pumpkin cookie with cream cheese frosting, then sprinkle additional cinnamon on top for garnish (optional). Enjoy! Storage notes and more below.
Notes
Equipment needed for these soft pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting:
- Cookie sheets I prefer to use my Nordic Ware baking sheets to bake these cookies on. The lighter colored baking sheets keep the cookies from browning too quickly on the bottoms.
- Mixing bowls You will need several mixing bowls for combining the pumpkin cookie dough/batter and for mixing up the cream cheese frosting.
- Measuring cups I prefer to use stainless steel measuring cups and measuring spoons for measuring out the ingredients needed to make these pumpkin cookies and cream cheese frosting.
- Parchment paper I recommend using parchment paper to bake these soft cookies. Parchment paper makes removing the baked cookies from the baking sheet so much easier.
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Ingredients needed for these pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting: flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves, brown sugar, vegetable or canola oil, pumpkin puree, egg and vanilla extract. For the cream cheese frosting: cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract and confectioner’s sugar.
Can I use a shortcut and add pumpkin pie spice?
Yes, you can. I personally haven’t tried it in these cookies, but have found similar soft pumpkin cookie recipes that use pumpkin pie spice. What makes these cookies so good is the generous amount of warm spices in the dough. I would recommend using 1 1/2-2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice if you are adding it instead of the cinnamon, ground ginger and ground cloves.
Step 1: Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium sized mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar, oil, pumpkin puree, egg and vanilla extract, then add to the dry ingredients, mixing just until combined and no streaks of flour remain. (Yes, I blooped and added brown sugar to the dry ingredients. We will blame it on pregnancy brain.)
Texture of the cookie dough/batter:
Honestly, I’m not sure if this mixture for the soft cookies is called a batter or a dough, because it is a cross between cookie dough and cake batter. The batter should be a little thicker than cake batter, but thinner than cookie dough to get these pumpkin cookies their soft cake-like texture.
Step 2: Using a tablespoon or ice cream scoop, drop the cookie dough onto greased or parchment lined cookie sheets (several inches apart).Â
Step 2 continued: Bake the pumpkin cookies in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, until the bottoms have browned slightly and the centers are set. Allow to cool completely.
Baking tips:
If baking these pumpkin sheets with two baking sheets at a time, I recommend rotating the cookie sheets in the oven half-way through the baking process for a more even bake on the cookies. Unlike chocolate chip cookies, these cookies are best if well done (but, not overbaked or they will dry out). If the cookies are underbaked, they will be gummy and doughy instead of soft and cake-like.
Step 3: Place cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract into a small-medium sized mixing bowl, then mix with a hand mixer until combined. Add sifted confectioner’s sugar and mix again until the cream cheese frosting is smooth and lump free. A splash of milk can be added to loosen the frosting up, or additional confectioner’s sugar can be added to thicken the frosting.
Step 4: Using the back of a spoon or a piping bag, frost each pumpkin cookie with cream cheese frosting, then sprinkle additional cinnamon on top for garnish (optional). Enjoy!
Storage tips for these pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting:
Because of the cream cheese frosting, I recommend keeping these cookies refrigerated. The cookies can be refrigerated for up to 5 days, or frozen in an airtight container for several months, but it is best to freeze the cookies and cream cheese frosting separately, then thaw and frost before you are ready to serve them.
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