Spiced Pumpkin Cookies
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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.
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
Step-by-Step Instructions
To begin, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves in a bowl.
Whisk well and set aside.
Next, in the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar.
Beat until light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs one at a time.
Then add the vanilla extract and pumpkin purée.
Beat to combine. The mixture will look a little curdled at this point — that’s okay.
Add the dry ingredients.
Mix on low speed to combine.
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).
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.
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.
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Spiced Pumpkin Cookies
With warm fall spices like cinnamon, ginger and cloves, these pumpkin cookies are soft inside and slightly crisp on the outside.
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
- Arrange oven racks in upper and middle thirds and preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside.
- 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.
- 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
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- 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
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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Amazing! They’re a lot more like little blobs of cake than cookies (soft, fluffy, cakey goodness!). They were a huge hit when I brought them to a party – they’re perfectly spiced, the raw sugar adds a bit of crunch, and they’re super comforting and delicious. I just used two regular spoons to drop them on the cookie sheets since I didn’t have an ice cream scoop, and that worked perfectly!
Super tasty! I read that they are best baked and eaten on the same day. I can see that the cookies are cake-like and could have a tendency to be dry over time. Under-baked them a bit and they are soft and toothsome a couple of days later.
As always, thanks, Jen!
Thanks for a scrumptious recipe! I made them subbing white whole wheat flour for the ap flour, and used coconut sugar instead of the white and brown sugars. I added 1 1/2 C chopped toasted pecans, then instead of using the turbinado sugar, I added a few extra pecan pieces to the top of each cookie before baking. I am freezing some, so we’ll see how they turn out.
These are wonderful fall cookies! We enjoyed them very much. I do live at 9,000ft and was wondering if you have high altitude tips for this recipe and other baking recipes.
Thanks!
Hi Sandy, so glad you liked these. I don’t have any experience with high altitude baking, but perhaps these tips will help a bit. 🙂
These cookies were a hit at recent gathering! Instead of using the raw sugar on the tops, I drizzled a simple powdered sugar frosting over the cookies after they cooled a bit. Otherwise, I followed the directions completely and was very happy with the results! Thanks!
These cookies are amazing! I iced them with a penuche icing and I had lots of people tell me that they are the best cookie ever! Love it! Thank you!
SO good! I followed the directions but added chocolate chips and kept them in the oven just a few extra minutes for a little extra crisp. It makes a lot, so I ended up freezing half the dough balls and was able to easily have fresh baked cookies another day (the frozen ones baked just as well). I agree that these are best the day of, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t go quickly the next day too 🙂
I harvest pumpkin from long neck pumpkins. It tends to be less dense than any canned pumpkin. Do you think I could use my fresh instead of the canned?
Hi Carolyn, it’s hard to say for sure without seeing the puree. But if you do feel like it may be a little too light, you could always reduce it over the stove to thicken it up a bit. (That would actually deepen the pumpkin flavor as well :).
I tried this recipe today, and the cookies are wonderful, and addictive. I had to break mid-way through, so I chilled the remaining dough for a couple of hours. The chilled dough was a bit easier to handle, although there was no difference in the baked cookies. I had slightly better results baking one tray at a time vs. two at a time, but that might just be due to my oven. Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe Jenn!
I made these cookies last week. I frosted them but I ate several straight from the oven and they were delicious! They are definitely best the first day if frosted but even if you do not frost them you could make a wicked dessert with the cookies a few days later.