This easy pumpkin cookie recipe uses canned pumpkin puree and a teaspoon pumpkin pie spice for amazing flavor. With soft, cakey texture, the cream cheese frosting on top makes it extra decadent and perfect for fall.

Taste and Texture of These Cookies

I developed these cookies around the same time everyone was going through a Crumbl Cookie phase. Honestly, I could never quite get 100% on board. The cookies were soooo sweet, an Asian dessert’s number one sin. Buuuut there was something about the cakey texture and dollop of frosting on top that appealed to me. Especially after the matcha latte cookie popped off on social media, I really wanted a similar cookie but for fall.

With pumpkin spice lattes on my mind, I took my base cakey cookie recipe, added some canned pumpkin puree, spices, and paired it with my absolute favorite whipped cream cheese frosting, and I seriously think these are the best pumpkin cookies ever. These are NOT chewy, sugar cookie style, so if that’s what you’re looking for, you’re better off with a different recipe. Nor are these the crispy shortbread kind. It’s like a slice of cake turned into a dense cookie packed with rich flavor. If that’s for you, then definitely give this a try.

Look at that texture!! *Drool*

Technique Tips for Great Cookies

Firstly, make sure you properly cream your butter and sugar. Properly creamed butter should be pale and fluffy, similar to frosting.

For these cookies, I also recommend being very careful not to over beat once you add the flour. You don’t want to develop gluten.

Because these cookies are soft, there’s a lot of moisture in the dough, especially with the pumpkin puree. Don’t skip the chilling step! I like to stick my dough in the fridge while my oven preheats, but you could use the freezer as well for that short period of time.

Notes on Ingredient Substitutions

Unfortunately, I don’t recommend trying many ingredient substitutions with this recipe. These cookies work specifically with baking powder to get a nice cakey rise, so please don’t substitute baking soda and expect to get the same dome-like shape.

You could potentially substitute brown sugar for the granulated sugar if you wanted a deeper, molasses-like flavor. However, because of the added spice, I don’t think it makes a gigantic difference in the flavor profile and may add too much unwanted moisture, so take care if you choose to switch the sugars. Similarly, I don’t recommend trying to add chocolate chips to this recipe. I think it would be too sweet and too wet in the dough.

Lastly, the sprinkles I used are from Trader Joe’s! I love how they don’t use artificial dyes, and I think it makes these cookies super festive. But you can definitely omit the sprinkles if you wish. Feel free to do some rustic swoops in the frosting or pipe in swirls if you have piping equipment.

A simple swirl still looks fun! A rustic frosting swoop is great too.

How to Use Up Leftover Pumpkin Puree

I know, I know, we all hate having leftover ingredients in a can. And if you’ve been with me a while you know I always try to give recipes that use entire cans (like my butter mochi). But it’s tough to use an entire 15 oz can for a cookie recipe.

Hopefully you’ve already made a pumpkin recipe and are looking at this recipe to use up that last 1/2 cup. But if not, one way you can try and use up a can is to double or even triple this recipe.

Another way? Make my pumpkin mochi donuts! Or make a 1/4 batch of my pumpkin butter mochi… but that would leave you with leftover condensed milk and evaporated milk so pick your poison. I’m also coming out with a pumpkin daifuku mochi recipe soon, so stay tuned.

More Cookie Recipes

Looking for more cozy cookies for the holidays? Check these out:

angled closeup of cakey pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting and Halloween sprinkles
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Cakey Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

These soft cakey pumpkin cookies are spiced like pumpkin pie and topped with a decadent cream cheese frosting.
Servings: 11 cookies
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Chill and Cooling Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 2 minutes
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Ingredients
  

For Pumpkin Cookies

  • 4 oz unsalted butter, 1 stick
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 100g
  • 1/2 tsp salt, 3g
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder, 2g
  • 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice, blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, about 120g
  • 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour, about 160g

For Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
  • 2 oz powdered sugar, about 2/3 cup
  • 4 oz heavy whipping cream, 1/2 cup
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • sprinkles, optional

Instructions
 

For Pumpkin Cookies

  • In a large mixing bowl, beat room temp butter with sugar, salt, baking powder, and pie spices with either an electric hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
  • Add egg and beat mixture until homogenous.
  • Add pumpkin and flour and gently mix until the cookie dough comes together.
  • Scoop into 1/4 cup portions and chill in the fridge while you preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Roll chilled portions into dough balls and place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
  • Bake for about 12 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.

For Cream Cheese Frosting

  • Beat softened cream cheese with powdered sugar and vanilla extract.
  • Add heavy cream and beat until light and fluffy and frosting holds its shape. If using a stand mixer, you can switch to a whisk attachment, if desired.
  • Pipe or spread onto cooled cookies and top with sprinkles, if using. Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and allow to come to room temperature before eating.
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