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 followed the recipe as written and can attest that they are light, flavourful and delicious! So yummy with a cup of tea or glass of milk.
Thank you kindly for this wonderful recipe. I used all brown sugar and actually decrease the amount to 1.5 cups from 2 cups and instead added semi-sweet chocolate chips. The entire family loved them!
These are great! Adapts well as a ‘cookie in a mug’ recipe. I had some of the dough left over so I refrigerated it, and then experimented by putting a spoonful of the dough in a mug and then zapping it for 30 seconds on high in the microwave. It might be my favorite way of enjoying this recipe!
It’s pumpkin time, and I made these for my husband and to give as a treat to a couple of neighbors. They turned out perfectly and were delicious! Everyone LOVED them! They are a bit of a hybrid between soft cookie and muffin. Yummy, with a little crisp chewiness around the edges when fresh out of the oven. Unfortunately that goes away the next day, but the turbinado sugar sprinkled on top adds a little crunch that never goes away! With apologies, I did make a couple of changes. I substituted a cup of whole wheat flour for one of the white cups to give more of a nutty flavor, as well as adding chopped toasted pecans. The flour substitution seemed to make no difference in the lightness or baking of the cookies. I also was a little hesitant to use the full amounts of nutmeg and cloves, which seemed more generous than I am used to seeing and from two very powerful spices. Because I grind my nutmeg fresh, it always packs a punch, so I tend to go a little light, and cloves can be very overwhelming so I cut it back 1/4t. and added allspice instead. I really liked the result which allowed the cinnamon and ginger to shine a bit more. These were delicious with a cup of tea or a glencairn of bourbon and I will definitely make these again!
Hi Jenn,
I was wondering if you would be able to add the metric measurements to this recipe? I would really appreciate it. Thanks so much 🙂
Hi Denise, I just added them. Hope you enjoy!
Wow! I originally made this recipe to make a whoopie pie out of it. As Jenn said it’s more of a cake type cookie. I was hoping it could work! I even made cream cheese frosting from the pumpkin cake recipe.
I tried the cookie by itself, and honestly, it did not need the frosting. I left the cookie as is.
The cookie tastes so good – it’s very, very similar to the pumpkin bread. It’s just in smaller form! Another great recipe!
These cookies are fantastic and so tasty. Definitely sticky dough but the texture of the cookies is perfect. I added a bit of allspice with all the other spices and am thinking of adding chocclate chips next time.
Will for sure try more of your recipes, thanks
I finally got around to making these, and boy is that dough sticky haha! The consistency of the baked cookie is just awesome-! Just like little cakes. Easy to eat a whole bunch right out of the oven. However , I think I would like a little more “spice” flavor, didn’t get much in the taste, so next time I may slightly increase the amounts. Other than that, very tasty cookies! Thanks for the recipe!!
I made these using fresh pumpkin purée made from one out of my garden. That and the addition of 1cup of mini chocolate chips was the only change I made. Spices were right on. My family was perfectly happy with them the next day too, though took others advice to freeze some to bake later for freshness. They are wonderful, as are most of Jen’s recipes!
These were a total hit – my brother ate 5 of them in one sitting and asked for more to take home haha! Thanks so much. 🙂