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Home » Recipes & Tips » Soft Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

Soft Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

10/14/21 | Dessert, Recipes & Tips

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These pumpkin sugar cookies are perfect little treats for fall. Packed with flavor and topped with a homemade cream cheese icing.These pumpkin sugar cookies are perfect little treats for fall. Packed with flavor and topped with a homemade cream cheese icing.

These pumpkin sugar cookies are perfect little treats for fall. Packed with so much great flavor in every cookie and topped with homemade cream cheese icing, these cookies really are a fantastic autumn dessert.

We use real pumpkin puree in these pumpkin spice sugar cookies making them a wonderful way to use homemade puree or canned storebought. The pumpkin is what gives us our orange color and real pumpkin flavor but it’s the spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves that really help to drive the flavor home. 

Every cookie is a winner and even without the delicious frosting on top, these cookies will be a treat everyone won’t want to keep their hands off of. 

Ingredients

  • Shortening
  • Granulated sugar
  • Egg
  • Pumpkin puree
  • Nutmeg
  • Cinnamon
  • Cloves
  • Baking soda
  • Salt
  • Butter
  • Cream cheese
  • Milk
  • Vanilla
  • Powdered sugar

Make sure to check out the recipe card below for the exact measurements needed.

How to Make Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

  1. To make the cookies, start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set the mixture aside.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar until well mixed.
  4. Add in the egg and pumpkin puree, mixing again to combine.
  5. Add your dry ingredients and mix until just combined (do not overmix).
  6. Scoop the dough out by the rounded tablespoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet and then flatten them down with the palms of our hands or a greased glass until the cookie dough is ¼ inch thick.
  7. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the bottoms are slightly golden brown in color.
  8. After the cookies have cooled, make the frosting by combining the butter, cream cheese, milk, and vanilla in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until smooth.
  9. Add in powdered sugar, a little at a time until the frosting is a spreadable consistency that will not drip off of the cookies.
  10. Ice the tops of your cookies and then sprinkle some ground cinnamon on top for a finishing garnish that looks pretty.
creamed butter and sugar with added egg
creamed butter, sugar, and egg mixture in a stand mixer with pumpkin puree
dry ingredients added to bowl of pumpkin butter mixture for cookie dough
scooped pumpkin sugar cookie dough on parchment lined baking sheet
pressed pumpkin sugar cookie dough on parchment lined baking sheet
glass jar pressing down the pumpkin cookie dough balls on baking sheet
glass bowl filled with frosting and a whisk
frosted pumpkin sugar cookie with sprinkled cinnamon

Substitutions

  • Shortening. If you do not have shortening on hand you can use room temperature butter instead. Keep in mind that if the butter is too soft the cookies may spread, so if needed, chill your dough for at least 15-30 minutes before scooping and baking.
  • Spices. The spices can be switched for pumpkin pie spice if desired. Pumpkin pie spice is a blend of seasonal spices that would taste great with this recipe.

Variations

  • Shaped cookies. This dough is great for rolling out and cutting into shapes, making them extra fun for seasonal cookies! Just roll the dough out to be ¼ inch to ½ inch thick (depending on how thick you want them) and then cut with your desired cookie cutters. The dough will not spread much while baking but you do need to make sure that the dough is all the same thickness or else some parts will cook more than others.

Recipe Tips

  • Storage. I recommend keeping these cookies stored in the fridge in an airtight container. To prevent the cookies from sticking together once frosted, lay a sheet of wax paper between layers or place them in a container big enough for them to fit side by side. The cookies will last up to a week this way.
  • Freezing. These cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months. If freezing with the icing on, freeze them on a baking sheet for 1 hour until solid before transferring to an airtight container. You can also freeze them once cooled if you don’t plan on adding the frosting until ready to serve.

FAQs

How long do pumpkin cookies last?

These cookies can last anywhere from one week in the fridge to 3 months in the freezer making them perfect for enjoying whenever you want. Just make sure to thaw before eating if you chose to freeze them. You can do this by placing a cookie on the counter for about 15 minutes.

Do pumpkin cookies need to be refrigerated?

If the cookies are unfrosted then no, they will not need to be placed in the fridge and they can last up to a week in an airtight container at room temperature. If they have been iced, they should be kept stored in the fridge because the icing contains cream cheese which must be kept refrigerated.

How to tell if pumpkin cookies are done?

The cookies will appear set around the edges and no longer look glossy on top. The bottoms of the cookies will be lightly golden brown in color too. If you have doubts you can always use an instant-read thermometer to check the doneness. The internal temperature of your cookies should be at least 165 degrees F.

stack of frosted soft pumpkin sugar cookies
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Soft Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

These pumpkin sugar cookies are perfect little treats for fall. Packed with so much great flavor in every cookie and topped with a homemade cream cheese icing.
Prevent your screen from going dark
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword pumpkin spice sugar cookies, pumpkin sugar cookies, soft pumpkin sugar cookies
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 36 cookies
Calories 123kcal
Author Longbourn Farm • Alli Kelley
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Equipment

  • Redmond Real Salt
  • Liquid Measuring Cups
  • Measuring Cups + Spoons
  • Glass Mixing Bowls
  • Sheet Pans
  • KitchenAid Hand Mixer
  • KitchenAid Stand Mixer
  • Wooden Kitchen Utensils

Ingredients

For the Cookies

  • 1/2 cup shortening OR butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 3 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon cloves
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Icing

  • 2 tablespoons butter softened
  • 2 ounces cream cheese
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar enough to make a spreadable icing that won’t drip
US Customary – Metric

Instructions

For the Cookies

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
  • In a medium bowl, sift flour, spices, baking soda and salt together, set aside.
  • In a large bowl, cream shortening (or butter) and sugar together.
  • Add egg and pumpkin puree, mix well.
  • Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
  • Scoop tablespoons onto greased baking sheets. Flatten with the bottom of a greased glass to about 1/4 inch thick.
  • Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until bottoms are slightly golden brown.

For Icing

  • Combine butter, cream cheese, milk, and vanilla.
  • Add powdered sugar until the icing is spreadable and won’t drip off the cookies.
  • Ice cookies and sprinkle with cinnamon to finish.
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Notes

If you’d like to cut these into shapes, you would need to roll out the dough.
I like mine a little thick, so I leave them about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Just make sure they are all the same thickness or they won’t bake evenly. This dough will not spread out very much at all, so how they go into the oven is how they will come out.

Nutrition

Calories: 123kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 76mg | Potassium: 32mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 1108IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @longbournfarm or tag #longbournfarm!

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Comments | 7 comments

« Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies
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Comments

  1. Sammi Windley says

    December 30, 2017 at 4:28 PM

    5 stars
    These are my favorite holiday cookies! Perfect for the fall mood.

    Reply
  2. Anonymous says

    November 27, 2017 at 4:08 PM

    5 stars
    I love all of

    Reply
  3. Trailerparkdiva says

    November 11, 2016 at 6:36 PM

    These look great. Just what I needed to take something different for Thanksgiving. Thanks so much.

    Reply
    • Alli says

      November 12, 2016 at 1:07 PM

      Thank you! Let me know what you think of them 🙂

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Snickerdoodle Bars • Longbourn Farm says:
    May 31, 2022 at 8:19 PM

    […] Soft Pumpkin Sugar Cookies […]

    Reply
  2. What is Brine? • Longbourn Farm says:
    November 1, 2021 at 8:07 AM

    […] Pumpkin Sugar Cookies […]

    Reply
  3. Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe • Longbourn Farm says:
    November 24, 2020 at 11:34 PM

    […] Soft Pumpkin Sugar Cookies […]

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Hi, Friend!

Alli Kelley
Alli Kelley is an Agriculture focused entrepreneur. She runs a successful food blog, a consulting and coaching business, and all the social media connected with an online presence.

She also owns and operates a small, diversified farmstead where she enjoys home improvement projects, experimenting in the garden, creating profitable mini businesses on the farm, and of course, riding her big grey horse, Zane.
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