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Spiced Pumpkin Cookies

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By Jenn Segal
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With warm fall spices like cinnamon, ginger and cloves, these pumpkin cookies are soft inside and slightly crisp on the outside.

Spiced pumpkin cookies on a wire rack.

These little pumpkin are imbued with warm autumn spices, like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. They have a cakey texture with a bit of crunch from the raw sugar sprinkled on top. My family flocks to the kitchen as soon as I pull them out of the oven, and the first batch disappears before the second trays are even done. Because of their soft and tender texture, they’re best enjoyed fresh out of the oven, so I recommend chilling (or freezing) the dough and baking as needed.

Table of Contents

What You’ll Need to Make Spiced Pumpkin Cookies

Cookie ingredients including pumpkin puree, vanilla, and eggs.

Step-by-Step Instructions

To begin, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves in a bowl.

Bowl of unmixed dry ingredients.

Whisk well and set aside.

Whisk in a bowl of dry ingredients.

Next, in the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar.

Bowl of butter and sugars.

Beat until light and fluffy.

Bowl of creamed butter and sugar.

Beat in the eggs one at a time.

Egg in a bowl of creamed butter and sugar.

Then add the vanilla extract and pumpkin purée.

Pumpkin in a bowl with a butter mixture.

Beat to combine. The mixture will look a little curdled at this point — that’s okay.

Bowl of light orange ingredients.

Add the dry ingredients.

Dry ingredients in a bowl with a pumpkin mixture.

Mix on low speed to combine.

Bowl of pumpkin cookie dough.

Scoop heaping tablespoons of cookie dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets. It’s easiest to use a 1-1/2 tablespoon ice cream scoop (and it will make your cookies will be prettier).

Balls of pumpkin cookie dough on a lined baking sheet.

Sprinkle the cookie dough with turbinado sugar. This is just a large crystal, natural brown sugar; most grocery stores carry it but you can always use the “Sugar in the Raw” brown packets found at coffee shops. Then bake until puffed and slightly browned around the edges, about 20 minutes.

Pumpkin cookies on a lined baking sheet.

Let the cookies cool on the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Note that these cookies are best fresh out of the oven, so I suggest refrigerating the dough and baking as needed. It will keep for up to four days in the fridge.

Spiced pumpkin cookies on a wire rack.

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Spiced Pumpkin Cookies

Metric Cup Measures
By Jenn Segal

With warm fall spices like cinnamon, ginger and cloves, these pumpkin cookies are soft inside and slightly crisp on the outside.

Servings: Makes 58 cookies
Cook Time: 20 Minutes
Total Time: 30 Minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off with back edge of knife
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¾ teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1¼ cups canned pumpkin purée (from one 15-ounce can, though you'll have some left over)
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons turbinado (or demerara) sugar

Instructions

  1. Arrange oven racks in upper and middle thirds and preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside.
  3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter with the granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy, a few minutes. Scrape down the bowl, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the vanilla and pumpkin puree. The mixture will look somewhat curdled at this point -- that's okay. Scrape down the bowl, then mix in the flour mixture on low speed. Scoop the dough by heaping tablespoons (it's easiest to use a 1½ tablespoon ice cream scoop) onto the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle cookies evenly with turbinado sugar and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating pans midway through, until puffed and slightly browned around the edges. Remove from the oven and let rest for a few minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer with a spatula to a wire rack. These cookies are best enjoyed warm out of the oven, or on the same day.
  4. Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The Cookie Dough can be Frozen for up to 3 Months: Roll the dough into balls, let set on a baking sheet in the freezer, then place in a sealable bag and press out as much air as possible. Bake as needed directly from the freezer. (Allow 1 to 2 minutes longer in the oven.) To Freeze After Baking: Let the cookies cool completely and store in an airtight container separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove the cookies from the container and let them come to room temperature.

Nutrition Information

Powered by Edamam

  • Serving size: 2 cookies
  • Calories: 173
  • Fat: 7 g
  • Saturated fat: 4 g
  • Carbohydrates: 26 g
  • Sugar: 16 g
  • Fiber: 1 g
  • Protein: 2 g
  • Sodium: 105 mg
  • Cholesterol: 30 mg
Nutritional Data Disclaimer

This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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Comments

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  • Totally making these on the weekend. I’m thinking an orange/ginger cream cheese filling would work awesome for sandwich cookies

  • Anybody ever tried to make these gluten free?

    I am hoping you will find a GREAT recipe for pumpkin snickerdoodles to make this fall.

    • Hi Kate, I’ll let other readers weigh in on whether or not they’ve made a gluten-free version. (Personally, I haven’t.) (And I’ll add your request for a pumpkin snickerdoodle recipe to my list of recipes to potentially develop :).

  • These are delicious cookies, which have a delicious blend of spices. I made them with semi-sweet chocolate chips. Thank you for publishing the recipe.

    • How did you use the semi-sweet chocolate chips? Did you add them by taking some of the batter out or just added it?

  • Very nice cookie.
    Great texture with just the right amount of sweetness.

  • Hi Jenn, I was wondering if these cookies can be frozen, either in dough form or after they are baked? Have you ever tried freezing them?

    • Hi Tamara, while I haven’t tried it, I think you’d have better results with freezing the dough versus freezing the cookies after baking (as these are best right out of the oven). Enjoy!

    • Hi! Did you ever try freezing the dough? I was wondering the same thing.

      Thanks 🙂
      –Taryn

  • The BEST cookies ever!!! These cookies go to every family gathering no matter what time of year. One batch is no longer enough, they disappear too quick! It’s impossible to eat just one. I like to add chocolate chips and now I’m trying a batch with some walnuts. Cannot say how much my family and I LOVE these cookies!!

  • Any tips to keep the cookies slightly crispy like when they first come out of the oven? Once they cool completely I place them in storage containers and they become overly soft and stick together.

    • Hi Lisa, the reality is these cookies are best enjoyed warm out of the oven and there’s not really a way to avoid them getting a little soft when stored. If you really want the right-out-of-the oven crispiness, it’s not a bad idea to make the dough, then refrigerate and bake as needed.

  • Hello, We can now can Libby’s pumpkin in New Zealand but at $4.99/can it is expensive. You say there will be some pumpkin left over and I am wondering what I can do with it. At that cost it is pretty necessary to use all of it. Thanks. I still think your pumpkin bread is your best ever… Susan

    • Hi Susan, Try my pumpkin cornbread muffins — they are wonderful 🙂

  • My kids love these! But as you indicated, the texture is best when fresh out of the oven. I’m wondering if you could flash freeze the unbaked dough scoops, right on the cookie sheet, and then store the dough balls in a freezer bag in the freezer – the thought would be to take out as many as you need for one round of snacking, thaw them to room temp, and then pop them in the oven just before the kids get home from school – do you think they would still bake up the same? Curious to know your expert thoughts on that before I test it out!

    • Hi Amy, I think that would work well!

  • I made these yesterday. They are fabulous! Living in high altitude, I increased the pumpkin to 1 1 /3 cup and really watched the time closely (17 min). Thanks for another terrific dessert!

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