Impossibly tender, cake-like pumpkin spice cookies with a glossy brown butter and icing sugar drizzle, the most intensely autumnal cookie you can bake, and the one that makes the whole house smell extraordinary.
About This Recipe
Pumpkin cookies are unlike any other cookie in texture, the high moisture content of the pumpkin puree produces a cookie that is genuinely soft and cake-like rather than chewy or crisp, almost a miniature pumpkin cake in cookie form. This texture is by design and is one of the most distinctive things about pumpkin baked goods. Anyone expecting the chew of a chocolate chip cookie will be surprised; anyone who embraces the tender, pillowy quality will be entirely converted.
The pumpkin spice blend that defines the flavour of these cookies is the same combination used in pumpkin pie, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice, but used generously enough to be clearly present in every bite rather than merely hinting in the background. The pumpkin itself provides a mellow sweetness and a distinctive orange colour that deepens during baking, and the combination of spices transforms that sweetness into something warm and complex.
The brown butter icing is the finishing element that elevates these from a simple spiced cookie to something memorable. Browning the butter before making the icing produces a nutty, toffee-like flavour that pairs with the warm spices in the cookie below in a way that plain buttercream cannot match. The icing is thinned with milk to a drizzleable consistency and applied immediately, it sets to a glossy, slightly matte finish that looks professionally made.
History & Origins
Pumpkin as a baking ingredient is deeply embedded in North American food culture, where Indigenous peoples had been cooking with various squash and gourds for thousands of years before European colonisation. Pumpkin pie became associated with autumn harvest celebrations and Thanksgiving in the 18th and 19th centuries. The specific concept of pumpkin spice, the blend of warm spices associated with pumpkin pie, became a dominant autumnal flavour trend in the early 21st century, accelerated by Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte introduced in 2003.
Why It’s Easy To Make
Tinned pumpkin puree is available in most supermarkets. Simple mixing technique. No special equipment required.
Soft Pumpkin Cookies With Brown Butter Icing
24
servings13
minutes20
minutes3120
kcalIngredients
•t115g unsalted butter, softened
•t200g brown sugar
•t240g tinned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
•t1 large egg
•t1 tsp vanilla extract
•t280g plain flour
•t1 tsp baking powder
•t0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
•t2 tsp cinnamon
•t1 tsp ground ginger
•t0.5 tsp nutmeg
•t0.25 tsp cloves
•t0.5 tsp salt
•tFor icing: 60g butter, 180g icing sugar, 2 to 3 tbsp milk, 0.5 tsp vanilla
Directions
- Preheat oven to 175°C. Line trays with baking paper.
- Beat butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add pumpkin, egg and vanilla.
- Whisk together all dry ingredients. Fold into wet mixture until just combined.
- Scoop large spoonfuls onto prepared trays. The batter will be quite soft.
- Bake for 11 to 13 minutes until set and just barely golden at the edges.
- Cool completely on a rack.
- For icing: brown the butter in a small pan until golden and nutty. Cool for 5 minutes.
- Whisk icing sugar and vanilla into browned butter. Add milk until drizzleable.
- Drizzle over cooled cookies and allow to set.
Notes
- Use pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling which already contains sugar and spices.
The batter is quite wet and cannot be rolled into balls, use a spoon or cookie scoop and simply drop onto the tray.
These cookies will not spread or flatten during baking. The domed shape they arrive with is the shape they keep.
Allow the icing to cool slightly before drizzling, too hot and it runs off entirely.
Make Ahead Tips
Batter keeps refrigerated for 24 hours. Baked uniced cookies keep for 4 days. Ice on the day of serving. These freeze well for 3 months uniced.
Storage & Serving
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. The pumpkin keeps these moist far longer than most cookies. Freeze uniced for 3 months and ice after thawing. These are best at room temperature but also excellent slightly warm. They are a natural fit for Thanksgiving cookie boxes, autumn bake sales, and any seasonal gathering from September through November.
Variations & Substitutions
Add 80g of chocolate chips to the dough for a chocolate pumpkin version. Replace the brown butter icing with a maple cream cheese frosting. Add a tablespoon of molasses alongside the brown sugar for a deeper, darker flavour. Roll spoonfuls of dough in cinnamon sugar before baking instead of icing for a simpler finish.
