These cozy pumpkin spice cookies are so soft and chewy they feel like a warm hug on a crisp fall day.
Why You’ll Fall For These Cozy Cookies
- Whether you serve them warm with a cup of coffee, or pack them up as a sweet fall gift, this pumpkin spice cookie recipe is sure to become a seasonal favorite.
- With just the right blend of butter, sugar, and cozy pumpkin spice, these cookies come out soft and chewy with a melt-in-your-mouth texture. The sweet, crisp edge is hard to resist.
- All this cozy fall flavor comes together without using any pumpkin puree and is easy enough for everyday baking.
Pumpkin Pantry Picks
- Base Ingredients: Butter and sugars create the cookie’s soft, chewy texture and provide rich sweetness.
- Flavor Boosters: Pumpkin spice and vanilla gives the cookies their signature fall flavor. Pumpkin spice adds warmth and aroma, while vanilla enhances sweetness and balances the spice.
- Ingredients For Structure: The dry ingredients provide structure and rise for the cookies. Flour gives the dough body, baking soda helps them puff, salt enhances flavor, and cream of tartar adds slight tang and chewiness.
- Binding Ingredients: The egg binds all the ingredients together while also adding moisture and helping with the soft texture.
- Spiced Sugar Coating: It is easy to make with granulated sugar and pumpkin spice for that sweet, spiced, and slightly crunchy outer layer.
Cookie Creativity
- Add white or semi-sweet chocolate chips for an even more tasty treat.
- Mix in chopped pecans or walnuts for a nutty crunch.
- Drizzle each cookie with maple or vanilla glaze for a bakery-style twist.
- Turn these pumpkin spice cookies into sandwich cookies. Add a cream cheese frosting, or vanilla ice cream, in the middle for a decadent dessert.
How To Make Pumpkin Spice Cookies
- Cream together the butter, sugars, pumpkin spice, egg, and vanilla.
- Mix in flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar until just combined.
- Scoop dough and roll into balls. Chill 15 minutes.
- Roll in spiced sugar, then bake. (As directed below)
- Cool cookies on baking sheet, then cool completely on a baking rack.
Tips for Cookie Success
- For cookies that keep their shape, chill the dough for at least 15 minutes before baking. For cookies that are more spread out, bake right after mixing or chill for less time.
- Don’t overbake! The cookies look puffy when they come out but flatten beautifully as they cool.
- Cool cookies on baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a baking rack to cool completely.
- Swirl cookies in the spiced sugar once baked for even more tasty sweetness! This is optional, and makes these cookies look like Snickerdoodle cookies, but it is highly recommended for an extra sweet crunch.
- For softer and more chewy cookies, bake the minimum time.
Stay Soft And Spicy
- To keep your pumpkin spice cookies as soft and delicious as the day you baked them, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Want to save some for later? Freeze the dough balls on a tray, then pop them into a freezer bag. Just roll in spiced sugar and bake straight from frozen when the craving hits! Or freeze baked cookies separated with parchment paper for up to 3 months.
More Festive Cookies To Try!
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Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Comforting and cozy pumpkin spice cookies make the most perfect and easy fall treat!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon pumpkin spice
- 1 large egg
- 2¼ all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
For rolling
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl cream together butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and pumpkin spice.
- Add egg and vanilla, and blend until light and fluffy.
- Add flour*, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Mix until just combined. Dough will be thick.
- Using a 1 Tablespoon scoop, drop dough by scoopful onto parchment paper. Roll into balls, set in freezer for 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350˚F.
- Combine sugar and pumpkin spice in a small bowl. Roll chilled dough in spiced sugar, and place on baking sheet at least 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 8-9 minutes. Cookies will look puffed up, but will flatten when cool.
- Cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer to baking rack to cool completely.
Notes
*for cookies that are not quite so chewy, add an additional 1/4 cup flour.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 151 | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 137mg | Potassium: 34mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 213IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information does not include optional ingredients or garnish and is an estimate. It may change based on actual ingredients and cooking methods used.
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