Pumpkin Spice Cookies — These pumpkin spice cookies are made without pumpkin puree but are full of flavor thanks to the pumpkin pie spice! These are so soft and fluffy!
Table of Contents
Cozy Spiced Pumpkin Cookies
These pumpkin spice cookies are supremely moist, soft, with hints of chewiness at the edges, and their flavor is pure fall.
I used pumpkin pie spice in them, rather than pumpkin puree. I have a recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies which uses pumpkin puree and it was a hard recipe to nail.
In general, baking cookies with pumpkin puree can turn cookies into little pumpkin cakes, unless you’re using a small amount (under 1/4 cup or so).
But at that point, you don’t taste it anyway, and all the flavor comes from the spices. Because on its own, I think pumpkin puree is bland and gross.
So I skipped the puree and went with pumpkin pie spice for all the flavor, and none of the potential for cakey cookies.
The intensity of the pumpkin pie spice, with notes of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves shining brightly, give the cookies such great depth of flavor. The brown sugar helps keeps them soft and adds a richness of caramel-like flavor.
If you’re a fan of spice cake, pumpkin, brown sugar cookies, soft gingersnaps or soft molasses cookies, add these little pumpkiny puffballs to your list.
Ingredients in Pumpkin Spice Cookies
To make these pumpkin spiced cookies, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Light brown sugar
- Egg
- Honey
- Pumpkin pie spice
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Cornstarch
- Baking soda
- Salt
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
Adjusting the Spice Level
I used 2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice in these cookies, which is a pretty hefty amount, but it flavors the entire batch of cookies very nicely. They’re robustly spiced, without being overdone. If you are more sensitive to spices, you may wish to dial down the amount.
How to Make Pumpkin Spice Cookies
- Cream together the butter, sugar, and egg until light and fluffy.
- Then, add in the vanilla, honey, and pumpkin pie spice and continue mixing until combined.
- Add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined (be careful not to over work the dough!).
- Scoop the cookie dough into balls and chill for at least 3 hours, and up to 5 days.
- Once the dough has had time to chill, bake the cookies until the edges are set.
Baking Tip
If you prefer softer cookies, don’t bake for more than 9 minutes! For firmer cookies, bake these for roughly 10 minutes.
Recipe FAQs
I added cornstarch to the dough, my workhorse for creating super soft and supple cookies. I’ve used it in at least 15 cookie recipes and it never disappoints. They’re like puffy little pillows. Lightweight, supremely soft, delicate, and just melt in your mouth.
Technically yes, but your pumpkin spice cookies won’t turn out as soft and fluffy as mine did.
I’ve only ever made these cookies as written, but I bet you could add mini chocolate chips or chopped nuts to these pumpkin spice cookies if desired. This is a really soft dough, so you’ll want to be gentle when folding in the mix-ins.
If you can’t find pumpkin pie spice, it’s usually a blend of about 1 part cinnamon, to one-half part allspice, to one-quarter part each of ground ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
For example, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon allspice, 1/4 teaspoon each of ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Give or take. It’s all personal preference.
Play around with what works for you, and if you already keep those spices on hand, it’s cheaper to DIY than buy pre-made and you can tweak it to your liking.
Yes, this pumpkin spice cookie recipe is easily doubled. Just keep in mind that you’ll need to bake the cookies on multiple baking sheets since you don’t want to overcrowd them!
I’ve only made these pumpkin spice cookies as written, but if you have a gluten-free flour blend that you’ve used before and trust, you can certainly try it in this recipe! If it works out, please leave me a comment down below.
The spicd pumpkin cookie dough must be chilled before baking, no exceptions. It’s a scientific impossibility to take warm dough and have it bake up into thick, puffy cookies. Warm dough is limp and spreads much more while baking. Chill your dough if you want puffy cookies, period.
Yes! You can freeze the cookie dough AFTER you’ve scooped and shaped it, and bake off these cookies one by one if desired. You’ll likely need to add a minute or two to the total bake time if using frozen cookie dough, but otherwise you won’t have to alter the recipe at all.
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Soft and Puffy Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup honey, I used clover from TJs
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice, yes tablespoons, not teaspoons
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
Instructions
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, egg, and beat on medium-high speed until well-creamed, light and fluffy, about 5 minutes (or use a hand mixer and beat for at least 7 minutes). Do not shortcut the creaming process; make sure dough is very light in color and fluffy, stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the honey, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until combined and smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, optional salt, and mix until just combined, about 1 minute.
- Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, form heaping two tablespoon mounds (I made 17). Place mounds on a large plate, flatten mounds very slightly with your palm, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line baking sheets with Silpats, or spray with cooking spray.
- Place mounds on baking sheets, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet). Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set, even if undercooked, pale, and glossy in the center. Do not bake longer than 9 minutes for soft cookies because they firm up as they cool; bake for 9-10 minutes if you like firmer cookies (The cookies shown in the photos were baked with dough that had been chilled overnight, allowed to come to room temp for 10 minutes while oven preheated, and were baked for 8 minutes).
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Pumpkin Cookie Recipes:
The pumpkin spices cookies are made with NO pumpkin puree, but the cookie recipes shared below DO use pumpkin puree.
Soft and Chewy Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies — These pumpkin oatmeal cookies are bursting with chocolate chips in every bite! They’re thick, hearty, perfectly chewy, and not at all cakey.
Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Cookies — Soft, chewy, loads of white chocolate, and so much pumpkin flavor!! A pinch of salt balances the sweet white chocolate for a salty-and-sweet treat!!
Soft and Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies — No cakey cookies here! Soft, chewy, thick, loaded with chocolate and bold pumpkin flavor! Your new favorite pumpkin cookies!
Iced Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies — Soft and pillowy pumpkin cookies that are chock full of pumpkin spice and everything nice! The icing takes these cookies over the top.
Buttery Pecan Pumpkin Spice Cookies – Buttery soft dough with big chunky pecans in every bite! Salty-and-sweet and so hard to resist!
Soft and Chewy Pumpkin Snickerdoodles — Soft and pillowy in the middle, chewy around the edges, and ever so slightly crisp on the bottom! Classic snickerdoodles get a makeover with the addition of pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spices!
I love all things pumpkin – and it is THE flavor of fall for me…
These look absolutely amazing!!! :)
Thanks Kelly and hope you’re doing great! :)
Hmm… I wonder what the pH of honey is? Maybe it’s more acidic, but so it reacted with the baking soda more vigorously. That would cause puffiness, I’d think. These cookies sound delightful. I can’t wait to try them with my Big Island mac nut honey.
I was wondering if you had a frosting that will compliment these pumpkin cookies. I have had them with a maple cream cheese frosting but it’s a frosting that needs to harden so it doesn’t get all over the cookies and I can’t see to get it to work with any of the recipes that I have tried. Any thoughts?
This was a new, original recipe from my so when you say you’re had them with a maple cream cheese frosting, you mean you already made them and tried them with that? I hope you enjoyed them!
I personally didn’t frost them but if you’re looking for a runnier frosting, or you can just tweak it to taste, I would use 1/4 cup unsalted butter softened, about 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice, tiny drizzle of vanilla and beat until smooth. AS NECESSARY drizzle in milk/cream til you get the desired consistency. LMK what you end up doing!
Actually, I should have been a bit more clear when I first spoke. I have NOT tried your recipe but have tried similar cookies made by a mom in my subdivision who started her own cookie delivery business when her kids when to college. She has since stopped making them and I am trying to replicate the recipe because my family LOVES the cookies. These look and sound very similar, I am going to make them tonight and will report back to you. She frosted them with a maple, cream cheese frosting that was to die for. She stacked them in a beautiful wire basket that was wrapped in cellophane. I’m sure these cookies will be delicious, it’s the frosting that is my issue. We travel to Door County every year for the Fall as a family and she made them for us every year and has since stopped making them. We are leaving in 2 weeks and I am desperate to get this recipe down. I have tried to replicate the frosting but mine never firms up so the frosting ends up getting on the cookies after they have been stacked. It was not a wet frosting, it dried on the outside but has some creaminess on the inside. I will try your frosting and will add some maple extract as well. I will try the recipe as you state and use the frosting that you suggested above. I will post a comment after I have made them. THANK YOU!
Hi Kathy – okay thanks for the details. The info you just gave me with the woman with a cream cheese/maple frosting and what I suggested for you, off the cuff, they are not going to taste the same – butter based vs. cream cheese based. Frosting is one of those things it’s really best ‘developed’ in the mixing bowl. Start with what you know you need to have, i.e. cream cheese, confectioners sugar, maple syrup or extract, and then adjust ratios of things, to taste.
The cookie recipe I developed on my own as a hybrid of many of my other cookies and glad you think it will remind you of the cookies you have such fond memories of! Keep me posted how things go!
I love pumpkin pie spice, and I love how puffy these are!!
Oh, but I do love a plump, fluffy cookie! You’re so right about pumpkin purée, it’s unbearably bland (I was always afraid to admit that fact!). :D Brill idea to use actual spices!!
These look so perfect! Love the honey, pumpkin, spice combo!
These sound so good! I love a puffy cookie, for sure. What an interesting idea to just use pumpkin spice instead of actual pumpkin!
Much chewier and less cakey results that way!
Hi! Made the pumpkin spice cookies last night. Didn’t chill the dough. Added 1/2 cup of oats, 3/4 cup pecans, and placed raisins on top of each cookie in the shape of a star. Cookies came out great!
I love that you added oats (good call if you didn’t chill – bulked up the dough I bet) and then the raisins in a star shape. Cute! So glad they came out great for you!
Hey Averie! Since FB doesn’t like leaving notifications when pages are tagged, I thought I would let you know I featured these on my page yesterday. They look amazing!! https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151822826253070&set=a.174654903069.124188.163690253069&type=1
Thanks again! Been traveling today and very limited email so sorry for my delay :)
mmm… Thank you for not using pumpkin puree! You’re probably the only one in the million that has popped up this week. I cannot find pumpkin puree in Malaysia. Just a sad fact. We only have kabocha… which in essence is a squash, not pumpkin. I am normally not a soft cookie fan but in my unwell state, this looks toooo inviting. I kinda want one right now.
Most American canned pumpkin puree is actually a blend of winter squashes, it’s not really pumpkin. Pumpkin is hard to find (except once a year) and expensive, compared to squash. So the avg can of pumpkin puree IS squash…thus, that’s why I find ‘canned pumpkin puree’ so gloppy and almost gross. It’s canned squash! I like squash, but not in that form—which is where the spices, massively, must come into play to doctor it up :)
All your recipes are fantastic and I have not experienced a failure yet and I have tried a good portion of them.These are no exception.They are wonderful.One question. Would you consider developing a recipe for pecan rolls? Like sticky buns?The cinnamon roll recipe was heavenly and have made it many times.It has replaced the one that secured me a Blue Ribbon in our county fair.A pecan roll from your creative and talented mind will no doubt be a hit and wonderful for the holidays.I look forward to your posts.
Hi Candy thanks for such a glowing comment & compliments! So glad you love my recipes & that you’ve never had a fail. That’s wonderful to hear. I really try to make them as foolproof as I can!:) And glad you loved these cookies, too!
And sticky buns, oh boy, I do have a recipe that I developed that’s amazing. But it will not be out and in stores until fall 2014 & I cannot blog about it :)
So…I will have to come up with a recipe equally as good as that one. I think I can. It’s actually on my to-do list, sort my own mental bucket list. So we shall see. Thanks for the nudge!
And that’s amazing that you loved my roll recipe for cinn rolls and that it even replaced your own Blue Ribbon recipe. What an honor. Thank you!
I keep saying that there will be that *one* recipe that will convince me that it’s finally autumn–but I truly think this might be it. We have a friend who gives us fresh jars of honey from his beehives–I’ve been looking for ways to include it in a travel-friendly dessert so he can partake, and I really think this might be it! Bookmarked, Averie~
Oh wow, fresh honey from a friend with hives. WHAT an amazing gift that must be to have around. If this recipe is enough of a nudge to convince you fall is here, well, I take that as an honor considering there are apple, pumpkin, etc recipes…everywhere!!
So I just made the batter now letting them rest. I’m excited to try them!! I also added butterscotch chips tho because I’m ridiculous. I’ll let you know how they come out! So excited!!!!!!
Omg butterscotch chips in them!!! HEAVENLY! I almost added white choc chips to them but at the last minute I didn’t b/c not everyone is a fan, but either butterscotch, white choc, or cinnamon chips would be so good in them. Hope they turned out amazing for you. LMK!
Wow! These look amazing!! Honey and pumpkin- two of my favorite things. Definitely want to try these out :)
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thanks! :)
These look SO good!