Our melt-in-your-mouth pumpkin cookies are soft, pillowy, and piled with delicious frosting. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon and you truly have the best soft pumpkin cookies recipe ever!
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Soft Pumpkin Cookies
I love pumpkin treats during the fall season, and you can’t beat these easy pumpkin spice cookies.
These cookies bake up with a cake-like texture.
They have just the right amount of pumpkin flavor, and it’s hard to keep these soft pumpkin cookies on hand after I’ve made a batch.
My dad really loves soft pumpkin cookies and he usually makes oodles of them from store-bought mixes, so when I saw this recipe for pumpkin cookies in an old holiday issue of Better Homes and Gardens, I knew I wanted to give it a whirl.
These cookies really lived up to their name!
The pumpkin flavor in these cookies is sweet and delicious, and yes, these pumpkin cookies are so soft that they really do sort of melt in your mouth.
One really just isn’t enough!
What could be better than a yummy pumpkin cookie, you ask? Well, a yummy FROSTED pumpkin cookie, of course!
How to Make Pumpkin Cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl beat the 2 cups of butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds.
Add granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, the 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and the nutmeg.
Beat until combined. Then, beat in the eggs and 2 teaspoons of vanilla until combined. After that, beat in pumpkin. Finally, beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour with a wooden spoon.
Drop dough by heaping teaspoons 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until tops are set. Transfer to wire racks to cool.
For frosting, in a small saucepan heat the 1/2 cup butter and brown sugar until melted and smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl.
Stir in milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Beat in powdered sugar until smooth. Spread frosting on cookies. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon if desired.
Don’t forget, we publish the full recipe with specific directions in the recipe card below!
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Our Tips
- This recipe makes a LOT of cookies. About 60! It’s great for the holidays when you’re expecting friends and family, and they look so pretty on a Christmas cookie tray next to my Spritz Cookies.
- You really don’t have to use the frosting because the cookies are great on their own, but, who skips frosting?
- I will say that the recipe for the frosting in the magazine did not end up matching the photos featured in the article. I think the recipe was probably printed wrong because I ended up having to add MUCH more powdered sugar to the frosting to produce a more firm, spreadable icing.
If you’re like me, your family will eat most of these pumpkin cookies in a couple days and you can share any excess with your friends or co-workers.
Sprinkle the tops of these luscious melt-in-your-mouth pumpkin cookies and you have a really beautiful holiday cookie that everyone in your family will absolutely adore.
If you’re a pumpkin fiend like me, you’ll also definitely want to check out my pumpkin donuts and Pumpkin Crunch Cake recipes! They are also huge hits with my family!
- Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Pumpkin Sheet Cake
- Fantasy Fudge
- Maple Walnut Fudge
For another pumpkin dessert that’s perfect for Thanksgiving, try my Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars with Streusel Topping.
More Pumpkin Baking
- Pumpkin Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars
- Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Bread
- Pumpkin Cornbread
- Baked Pumpkin Donuts
- Pumpkin Crunch Cake
Melt-In-Your-Mouth Pumpkin Cookies Recipe
Video
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2 cups butter softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
Frosting
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 to 4 cups powdered sugar add until desired consistency/firmness
- Ground cinnamon for sprinkling on top, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, the cinnamon, and the nutmeg. Beat until combined. Beat in the eggs and the vanilla until combined. Beat in pumpkin. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour with a wooden spoon.
- Drop dough by heaping teaspoons 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until tops are set. Transfer to wire racks to cool.
- For frosting, in a small saucepan heat the frosting butter and brown sugar until melted and smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in the milk and frosting vanilla. Beat in powdered sugar until smooth. Spread frosting on cookies. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is an estimate from an online calculator, not medical advice, and depends on your portion size.
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Made them yesterday, They are very tasty. Not too much pumpkin. Frosted them with cream cheese frosting. Makes dozens.
Cream cheese frosting sounds like a delicious twist, Linda! And yes, they make plenty for sharing!
Our new Favorite cookie Thankyou,
Yay! So glad they’re your new favorite, Nancy!
Best pumpkin cookies ever! Everyone always requests them.
Thank you, Nichole! I love that everyone asks for them!
The Best ever, every time I make these I never have any left, people ask me for the recipe
Never any left is the best compliment! Thank you so much, Sybil!
I make these about once a year for work. The recipe makes a large batch. They are absolutely delicious.
They really do make a big batch, perfect for sharing at work! So glad your coworkers get to enjoy them!
Do these cookies freeze well?
Yes, they freeze well! I’d freeze them unfrosted in an airtight container with parchment between the layers, then thaw them and add the frosting. That keeps the frosting looking fresh.
LOVE THESE COOKIES!!! Amazing!!! Make them every year in the fall!!! Curious if there is a way to make them Dairy free and gluten free?? Thank you!
I’m so happy these are part of your fall baking every year! I haven’t tested a dairy-free or gluten-free version myself, so I can’t promise how it would turn out. If you try it, a 1-to-1 gluten-free flour blend and dairy-free butter sticks would be the place to start. Let me know if you do!
These are some of my favorite cookies ever and I’m not always sold on pumpkin. Does anyone have a gluten free version of this recipe? I want to make some for my girlfriend!
These cookies were so good. Soft and good pumpkin flavor. The icing made them extra yummy!
Absolutely delicious! The whole family, friends, & neighbors love these cookies!