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!
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 honestly, it’s difficult to keep these amazing 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 four 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!
Our Tips
- This recipe makes a LOT of cookies. About 60! It’s great for the holidays when you’re expecting friends and family.
- 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
Melt-In-Your-Mouth Pumpkin Cookies Recipe
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 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 15- ounce can pumpkin
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
Frosting
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 to 4 cups powdered sugar add until desired consistency/firmness
- ground cinnamon sprinkled on top optional
Instructions
- 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. Beat in the eggs and 2 teaspoons of vanilla until combined. Beat in pumpkin. Beat in as much of the four 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.
Video
Save This Recipe?
Enter your email and we’ll send it straight to you + get all our latest recipes.
Nutrition
Did you make this?
I would love to hear from you! Make sure to leave your review below and follow on Pinterest for more!
I’m just taking these cookies out of the oven and I tried one and you are so right they melt your mouth! I don’t know if they are going to make it to the Thanksgiving dinner! They are easy to make take no time to bake. I haven’t even iced them yet. You have to try this recipe!
I just made these and they smell absolutely wonderful! I was wondering, are they really suppose to be this super soft? Or was I suppose to leave them in longer than 12 minutes??
Hi Katie, they are a very soft, cake-like cookie. :)
How long will these keep in an airtight container? Or should they be refrigerated?
This recipe makes many more than 60 cookies. I baked a little over half of the dough and already have 84 cookies. I even went back to the recipe to see if I was supposed to make them into sandwich cookies! They are delicious and would be great also with a cream cheese frosting. One adjustment that I would make would be to add a teaspoon or two of pumpkin pie spice. The pumpkin flavor is very subtle if you make the recipe as is.
Do they need to be refrigerated to store?
Can I substitute honey for the granulated sugar?
Hi Janelle, I’m not sure how that would turn out. If you try it, let us know.
A co-worker brought these in last year and I’ve been holding on to the recipe since. I made them last night and my family just raved about them. Daughter said these are the best cookies she’s ever had. Son and Husband agree. THANK YOU for sharing!
These are awesome! I substituted butternut squash because I had an abundance. Thank you for sharing. I will be using this recipe for years to come!
How long do they last? Thinking of making a whole batch for 2 events, 5 days apart. Have you tried freezing these?
Just made these…I halved the recipe only because we are having a bake off with the kids and didn’t want a bazillion cookies. So soft and delicious! Thank you!