Pumpkin cookies are one of the most beloved fall cookies. You put pumpkin cookies into Google search, and you will get about 271,000,000 results. So they are pretty popular. So I decided I wanted a complete pumpkin taste for my cookies.
This means that the cookie was going to be pumpkin, and the frosting was also going to be pumpkin.
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Ingredients
Pumpkin Cookie Dough
COOKIE DOUGH
- Butter unsalted
- Cream Cheese
- Light brown sugar
- Sugar white
- Pumpkin puree
- Egg
- Vanilla Extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Kosher Salt
- Nutmeg
- Ground ginger
- Ground cinnamon
Pumpkin Buttercream Frosting
PUMPKIN BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
- Butter unsalted
- Powdered sugar
- Pumpkin puree
- Pumpkin pie spice
- Half & Half
- Pure maple syrup
- Pecans
Why Add Cream Cheese
When I use cream cheese in my cookies, it provides a cookie with a creamier denser texture. If I want a fluffy cookie, I do not add cream cheese. Unless I am making cheesecake bites I do not use only cream cheese in my cookie recipes.
Butter is higher in fats, saturated fats, and cholesterol, but cream cheese is higher in carbohydrates. I found a website called Calories-Info.com that gives you comparison charts on the nutritional value of both.
So the bottom line is if you see a recipe that includes both butter and cream cheese, don't be afraid to give it a whirl. You will be surprised at what it can add to the cookie's taste and texture.
Making Pumpkin Cookies
I find it easier to weigh all my ingredients and have everything ready before mixing my cookie dough. Start with weighing or measuring the sugars into a bowl and set it aside. Next, weigh or measure the flour, and add the baking powder, salt, nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon. I run a whisk through to blend the dry ingredients.
Mix the cream cheese and the butter for a couple of minutes.
Next, add the sugars and mix for another 3 minutes. You want the sugars to blend in with the butter and cream cheese.
Now you want to add the egg, vanilla extract, pumpkin puree and blend.
Next, gradually add the flour mixture. I make sure my mixer is on a low speed. Mix for 30 seconds. Mixing the flour too long will create hard and dry cookies when baked.
Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
Scoop twelve mounds onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet pan and bake at 350°F (175°C or 180°C) for 12-14 minutes.
Then, move them to a cooling rack after they come out of the oven. Let the cookie completely cool before starting the frosting.
How to Make Pumpkin Buttercream Frosting
You can buy pecan that are already chopped or chop your own if you have the pecan halves. Rough chop them on a cutting board with a sharp knife.
Now we start the buttercream frosting.
Add the butter and blend it for a minute before adding the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and maple syrup. Blend for a minute. Next, add the powdered sugar and the Half & Half, starting at the lowest mixer speed.
When the powder sugar has been incorporated, turn the mixer to a medium or medium-high speed for 2 minutes. Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides, and turn the mixer back to medium mixer speed for another 2 minutes or until thick and creamy.
Spread about 1 to 2 tablespoons of frosting on each cookie's top and finish with some chopped pecans.
If you love pumpkin cookies, you are really going to love this one. It is all about pumpkins!
FAQ's
The pumpkin pie spice that I use in the frosting is a combination of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. In the cookie recipe I do not have allspice or cloves which has a similar taste. So if you use the pumpkin pie spice just know that it will have a more allspice or clove taste.
Buttercream can break if the ingredients are at different temperatures. Make sure your butter is at room temperature and your pumpkin puree is not cold from the fridge.
Pumpkin pie filling has additives, spices, and sugar already added. I like to add my own spices, so I know the ratio of spices is what I am looking for in my cookies. Also, without knowing the amount of sugar they put into their pumpkin pie filling, your cookies could turn out to be super sweet.
I suggest cream cheese or vanilla buttercream frosting.
I put them in an air-tight container, lasting about four days. But if you refrigerate them, they can last up to a week.
I would make the cookies and freeze them. Then make the frosting and add the frosting and topped with pecans to the thawed-out cookies,
Love Fall Cookies Try These
Recipe
All About Pumpkin Cookies
Barbara HallWould you like to save this recipe?
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Ingredients
COOKIE DOUGH
- ½ cup (113.5 g) Butter unsalted room temperature
- 4 ounces (4 ounces) Cream Cheese room temperature
- ½ cup (110 g) Light brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) Sugar white
- 1 cup (245 g) Pumpkin puree
- 1 (1) Egg
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Vanilla Extract
- 2 ½ cups (312.5 g) All-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Kosher Salt
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Ground cinnamon
PUMPKIN BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
- ½ cup (113.5 g) Butter unsalted room temperature
- 1 ½ cup (180 g) Powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon) Pumpkin puree
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Pumpkin pie spice
- 1 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon) Half & Half
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Pure maple syrup
- ½ cup (49.5 g) Pecans chopped
Instructions
COOKIE DOUGH
- Weigh or measure the sugars into a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, weigh or measure the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon, then run a whisk through to blend.
- In a handheld or stand mixer, blend the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy — about 2 minutes on medium speed. Add the sugars and beat for another 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the egg, vanilla extract, and pumpkin puree, and mix until blended. Turn the mixer down to low and gradually add the flour mixture to the bowl. After the flour is incorporated. Cover the bowl loosely and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C)—line 2 cookie pans with parchment paper and set aside. Arrange 12 cookie mounds on a pan using a medium cookie scoop and bake for 12-14 minutes. Leave cookies on the pan after taking them out of the oven for a minute or two. Then move them to a cooling rack.
PUMPKIN BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
- The pecans I usually get are halves; I do a rough chop on them so I can place them on top of the frosting.
- In a mixer, cream the butter for a minute. Next, blend the pumpkin puree, pie spice, and maple syrup into the butter. Finally, scrape down the sides and gradually add the powdered sugar along with the Half & Half. Start on the lowest mixer speed until the powdered sugar has been incorporated, then increase the speed to medium or medium-high and mix for 3 minutes or until thick and creamy.
- Take about a tablespoon or two of frosting and spread it over the top of a cookie. Then sprinkle some of the chopped pecans on top of the frosting.
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NUTRITION DISCLAIMER
I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist. The nutrition amounts given below are provided through a program and are only a guideline.
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