These frosted pumpkin cookies are soft, fluffy, and topped with a sweet pumpkin-spiced frosting—the perfect fall dessert.
If you’re a pumpkin lover, these soft frosted cookies are a fall must-try. Bakery style cookies that are irresistible; they’ll disappear in no time!
I absolutely love fall; it’s my favorite season here in Colorado! The beautiful changing leaves, the nice 60-70 degree temps, and all that sunshine make it such a magical time of year.
Add pumpkin, and well, you’ve made all my dreams come true. I love pumpkin, and I think it stems from the memories of my grandma’s pumpkin bread recipe. It’s the best fall treat, and I loved baking it with my mom growing up.
I love these frosted pumpkin cookies because the frosting doesn’t overpower the pumpkin flavor. While I usually enjoy cream cheese frostings, it doesn’t fit this soft, light cookie. The cream cheese frosting is a bit too thick for this one.
This soft pumpkin cookie is the best because you get all the pumpkin flavor without a lot of extra calories. The downside to eating pumpkin bread is that it’s calorie-dense.
I love topping this glaze with a dusting of pumpkin spice seasoning; it just makes these cookies pop. Once the glaze hardens, they are so easy to stack.
Tips for making pumpkin cookies
How do you make pumpkin cookies?
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
Cream the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar in a medium bowl. Add the pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to the butter mixture and beat until creamy. Mix in the dry ingredients.
Scoop onto the cookie sheet with a cookie scoop or tablespoon.
Bake for 15 minutes and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Enjoy!
how to make frosting
Mix confectioners’ sugar, milk, one tablespoon melted butter, and one teaspoon vanilla until combined. Add more milk as needed to get your desired consistency.
I love a thin glaze on these cookies, but my kids love the icing, so on occasion, I will just add the minimum amount of milk to get a thick icing, like in pictures. However, if you just want a simple glaze to dip the tops of these cookies in, then add more milk, about 1 tablespoon at a time, until you get the consistency you want.
How to store pumpkin cookies?
To keep your cookies fresh for as long as possible, store them in an airtight container at room temperature or in a freezer bag. At room temperature, they’ll last 1-2 weeks; stored in the freezer, they’ll last up to 2 months.
More recipes that use pumpkin
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Frosted Pumpkin Cookies
Video
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 1 teaspoon clear vanilla or almond extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by cookie dough scooper or by the tablespoon. (It says in the original recipe to flatten slightly, I don’t ever do this.)
- Bake for 13 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow the cookies to cool completely before making the glaze.
Glaze
- Combine confectioners’ sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency.
Looks totally irresistible! Can’t wait to make this!
This is making me hungry and I just ate
These pumpkin cookies look amazingly delicious! Must make them for sure!
I do not have butter or Vanilla; Can I use shortening in both the glaze and cookies? Will almond extract work instead of vanilla in the cake? I see it’s an option for the glaze which I’ll be doing but will it be too much if I use it in the cookies as well?
I said cake however I meant cookies
I haven’t tried shortening in the glaze and not sure how it will turn out. And yes, you can totally use almond extract that is our favorite.