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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I am a little confused by this recipe. The product it produced was tasty but I definitely wouldn’t call these cookies. This batter is much closer to a muffin or cake batter and that’s exactly what the “cookies” ended up being – like little cakes.
I loved these! Simple, yet the subtle flavour of the spices came through a nice cake like cookie.
Amazing and deliciously spiced! New hit among my family. I didn’t have any raw sugar, but I found sprinkling some course dark brown sugar on the top works just as well.
For anyone who enjoys the cakey texture and doesn’t want them to crisp up (which is how I like them), I would recommend taking them out of the oven when they’re no longer squishy, but are still a bit spongey to the touch.
I followed the recipe exactly and found these bland. I thought with 2 sticks of butter, they had to be delicious, so I was very disappointed.
I was hoping to make these for a potluck. Concerned they may not be OK as it means they will be a couple of days old. Any ideas, or would you choose a different recipe? Thanks, your recipes are my go-to!
Hi Evelyn, These really are best if eaten right out of the oven or on the same day they’re baked. If you really want to make these, you can bake them and freeze for a few days. Just let them come to room temperature before serving. Hope that helps!
Where is the nutritional information on these? Wondering why some recipes have this info and some don’t.
Hi Sarah, This recipe is an earlier one of mine and at the time I entered it, I wasn’t adding nutritional info. I just updated it with the information (and if you come across other recipes that you’d like the nutritionals for, just let me know). Hope you enjoy the cookies!
Delicious! Made these for a party and they were a huge hit. The scent and taste truly embody fall. I have a lot of batter left so I’m baking more for my coworkers tomorrow morning!
LOVE YOUR RECIPE!! Made 10 dozen cookies yesterday for a friend’s fundraiser event!! Very easy & being a Chef for the past 30 years…. you have nailed it! I did add 10 oz of chocolate dark chocolate chips to each batch!! They’re simply delicious!! Thank You so much for sharing!!
💗
Thank you for this great recipe!! So tasty & the addition of the turbinado sugar took it to the next level! I added 3/4 cup chopped pecans! Family loves them😊
The flavor of these cookies is great, but I just couldn’t get past the texture which is more like cake or pumpkin bread. When I think of cookies I always crave that crispy, chewy texture. These are good right out of the oven, but I wish the texture allowed them to keep a little longer. Just not as convenient for my lifestyle and baking habits. These are worth a try if you like the cakey texture though! Recipe works perfectly as described (as do all of Jen’s recipes), and again flavor is really wonderful.
Is ok to use fresh butternut squash puree..or Kaiko..
Or maybe 50/50 of both??
Hi Sabine, I’m not familiar with kaiko. I’ve never used butternut squash in these, but I suspect it would work. Please LMK how they turn out if you try them this way!