The classic sugar cookie is reinvented with a twist: pumpkin! Soft and packed with flavor, these pumpkin sugar cookies are topped with a cream cheese frosting and a sprinkling of spiced sugar.
Pumpkin season is in full effect. If you’ve been absolutely anywhere lately, you see pumpkin spice everything all over. Now I do like pumpkin, but if given the choice between a pumpkin dessert and a sugar cookie, the latter would almost always win out. I realized that we need to marry the two, and these pumpkin sugar cookies were born. Frosted with a sweet cream cheese buttercream and topped with a sprinkling of spiced coarse sugar, they are sure to wow any pumpkin and / or cookie lover in your life.
What you’ll need to make these pumpkin sugar cookies:
Salted butter
Granulated sugar
Dark brown sugar (light or golden would work too!)
A large egg
Pure pumpkin purée
Pure vanilla extract
Baking soda
Salt
Ground cinnamon
Ground nutmeg
All purpose flour
Cream cheese
Powdered sugar
Coarse sugar
Finely chopped walnuts, optional
The Pumpkin Cookies
These pumpkin sugar cookies are a very close relative of my soft and chewy sugar cookies, my Funfetti sugar cookies, and my browned butter sugar cookies. They just got a little pumpkin spice makeover.
Start by creaming the butter and the sugars. This will add air into the mix and create a nice fluffy cookie. Add the egg, the pumpkin, and the vanilla. Mix until fully combined. Add the dry ingredients; the baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour.
These cookies do not need to be chilled. Using a three tablespoon cookie scoop, make cookie dough balls and roll each in a small bowl filled with coarse sugar. Place on a nonstick baking sheet and bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes. If you choose to use a smaller cookie scoop, like a two tablespoon scoop, make sure to take the bake time down to 8-10 minutes. These cookies come out more golden the longer you leave them in, and if you add an additional minute or two, can be nice and crispy. If you want them a little more underdone, start at the eight minute mark and go up from there. When they are done to your liking, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for five minutes. Remove them to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
The Cream Cheese Buttercream + Sugar Topping
This glorious frosting is made up of four simple ingredients: salted butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and pure vanilla extract. Ensure that you whip it just good enough to get all of the powder incorporated. Do not overmix, this frosting is amazing a little more on the dense side. Divide the frosting evenly between the cookies and pipe or spread onto each cookie.
For the sugar topping, combine the spices and the sugar, plus the finely chopped walnuts if you choose to add them, in a small bowl. Mix until sugar is well coated with the spices, about 30 seconds. Spoon a little bit of the mixture onto each cookie. The Coarse spiced sugar topping is amazing, but can be omitted if you prefer to just have a frosted cookie.
Store any leftovers of these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days.
Dietary Substitutions
I love providing gluten, egg, and dairy free substitutions so that those with alternate dietary needs can enjoy my recipes to their fullest! These are subs that I have either used and continue to stock in my own home, or that have come highly recommended from others. I want your baking experience to be the best it can be, and avoiding gluten, eggs, and dairy shouldn’t hinder that process in the slightest.
As always, here is a list of tried and true dietary substitutes, so that you can enjoy this recipe without the additions of gluten or dairy.
Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Baking Flour is a wonderful all-purpose sub, and it’s cup for cup, so use the same measurements as you would all-purpose flour.
Bob’s Red Mill also makes a fantastic egg replacer that is gluten free and vegan.
Miyokos butter is a plant based brick that closely resembles dairy butter not only in its look, but it’s taste as well. It melts, browns, and spreads just like real butter, and truly is a fantastic substitute in this recipe. Use it as a 1:1 ratio sub, same as the flour, so the recipe measurements will not change.
Miyokos also makes a wonderful cream cheese that would be an excellent dairy free base in this frosting recipe.
I hope you love this fun fall twist on the classic sugar cookie! These pumpkin sugar cookies are festive and full of flavor, and I can’t wait for you to try them. Happy Baking!
XO,
Heather
Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
For the Pumpkin Sugar Cookies:
- 1 Cup Salted Butter, softened to room temperature
- ½ Cup Granulated Sugar
- ½ Cup Dark Brown Sugar, packed
- 1 Large Egg
- ½ Cup Pumpkin Purée
- 1 ½ Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- ½ Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- 2 ⅓ Cups All Purpose Flour
- Coarse or Raw Sugar, for rolling (optional)
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- ½ Cup Salted Butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 Ounces Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 ½ Cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
For the Spiced Sugar Topping:
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- ½ Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- 1 Tablespoon Coarse or Raw Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Finely Ground Walnuts, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F.In a standing mixer or by hand, combine butter and both sugars and cream until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds. Add the egg, pumpkin, and vanilla, and mix until throughly combined, another 30 seconds. Add baking soda, salt, spices, and flour. Mix until just combined. Dough should be soft but not sticky.
- Using a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop, make dough balls with all of the dough. Roll in granulated sugar if desired. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until slightly golden on the edges. Gently press the bottom of a tablespoon in the center to create a divet for the frosting Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes, and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Ensure that the cookies are completely cool before frosting.
- For the frosting, combine all ingredients in a small to medium sized bowl, and mix with a hand or standing mixer for 30 seconds. There should be no powdered sugar left unmixed and the frosting should be fluffy but not whipped.
- Pipe or spread an even amount of frosting onto each cookie. Combine the spices sugar ingredients in a small bowl, and mix. Spoon a small amount into each frosted cookie. Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to four days. Makes 18-20 cookies. Enjoy!
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