What if the easiest way to make your kitchen smell like fall is a batch of pumpkin cookies?
You don’t need a complicated dessert or a whole afternoon of baking.
Give me pumpkin puree, a little brown sugar, warm spices, and a mixing bowl, and I’m already thinking about cookies.
Pumpkin cookies are soft, cozy, and incredibly easy to customize.
You can keep them simple with cinnamon and pumpkin spice, add chocolate chips for a richer bite, make them chewy with oats, or turn them into little sandwich cookies with a creamy filling.
And here’s something worth knowing before you start.
Pumpkin adds a lot of moisture to cookie dough.
That’s why many pumpkin cookies have a softer, almost cake-like texture instead of the crisp edges you might expect from a traditional cookie.
I’ve put together five easy pumpkin cookie recipes that are perfect for fall baking, Halloween parties, Thanksgiving dessert tables, school treats, or simply keeping a container of homemade cookies on the counter.
Let’s get baking.
What You’ll Need
Soft Pumpkin Spice Cookies
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pumpkin Sandwich Cookies
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Tools You’ll Need
- Large mixing bowls
- Medium mixing bowls
- Electric hand mixer
- Whisk
- Rubber spatula
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Cookie scoop
- Baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- Cooling rack
- Small bowl
- Wire whisk
- Offset spatula
5 Easy Pumpkin Cookie Recipes for Fall
1. Soft Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Start with these if you want a simple pumpkin cookie that tastes like fall without a lot of fuss.
They’re soft, lightly sweet, and packed with cinnamon and pumpkin spice.
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until creamy.
Add the pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla.
Mix until everything is combined.
In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture.
Mix just until the flour disappears.
Use a cookie scoop to drop rounded portions of dough onto the prepared baking sheets.
Leave about 2 inches between each cookie.
Bake for approximately 10 to 12 minutes.
The cookies should look set around the edges but remain soft in the center.
Let them cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes.
Transfer them to a cooling rack.
Don’t wait for pumpkin cookies to look completely firm in the oven.
They continue setting as they cool.
2. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pumpkin and chocolate make a very convincing argument for eating cookies in the middle of the afternoon.
These have the warm spice flavor you’d expect from a pumpkin cookie, plus little pockets of melted chocolate.
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.
Add the pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla.
Mix until smooth.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt.
Add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients.
Stir until just combined.
Fold in the chocolate chips.
Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
If you want extra chocolate in every bite, press a few chocolate chips onto the tops immediately after they come out of the oven.
Use semi-sweet chocolate for a nice balance.
Pumpkin is naturally sweet, so very sweet chocolate can make the cookies feel heavy.
3. Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
These are the cookies for anyone who likes a little chew and crunch.
The oats give them more texture, while chopped pecans add a buttery crunch.
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Beat the softened butter and brown sugar until creamy.
Add the pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla.
Mix until combined.
In another bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture.
Stir until just combined.
Fold in the chopped pecans.
Scoop the dough onto the baking sheets.
Gently flatten each portion with the back of a spoon.
Bake for approximately 11 to 13 minutes.
The edges should look set.
Cool for several minutes on the baking sheet before transferring the cookies to a rack.
Don’t skip the flattening step.
Pumpkin cookie dough can be thick, and gently flattening the portions helps them bake more evenly.
4. Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies
This is where a familiar cinnamon-sugar cookie gets a serious fall makeover.
The pumpkin makes the cookies soft, while the cinnamon-sugar coating gives the outside a sweet little crunch.
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until creamy.
Add the pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla.
Mix until smooth.
In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
Mix until a soft dough forms.
In a small bowl, combine the remaining granulated sugar and cinnamon.
Scoop portions of dough and gently roll them into balls.
Roll each ball in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Place them on the baking sheet and gently flatten them.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
Let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
The cinnamon-sugar coating is what makes these different.
Don’t be shy with it.
5. Pumpkin Sandwich Cookies
If regular pumpkin cookies are good, putting a creamy filling between two of them makes things considerably more interesting.
These are soft, spiced, and filled with a simple cream cheese frosting.
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until creamy.
Add the pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla.
Mix until combined.
In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture.
Mix until just combined.
Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets.
Bake for approximately 10 to 12 minutes.
Let the cookies cool completely.
While they cool, prepare the filling.
Beat the softened cream cheese and butter until smooth.
Gradually add the powdered sugar.
Add the vanilla and beat until creamy.
Spread or pipe the frosting onto the flat side of one cookie.
Place another cookie on top.
Gently press them together.
Make sure the cookies are completely cool before adding the filling.
Warm cookies will soften the cream cheese frosting and make a very messy sandwich.
Pro Tips
A few little tricks can make pumpkin cookies much easier to get right.
- Use pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Pie filling already contains sugar and spices.
- Don’t add extra flour just because the dough looks soft. Pumpkin naturally creates a softer dough.
- Don’t overmix once the flour goes in. Stir until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.
- Let cookies cool before storing them. Trapping warm cookies in a container creates condensation.
- Use parchment paper. It makes removing soft pumpkin cookies much easier.
Why Are Pumpkin Cookies So Soft?
Pumpkin contains quite a bit of water.
That moisture gets into the cookie dough and creates a soft, tender texture.
It’s also why pumpkin cookies often look more like little cake cookies than traditional crisp-edged cookies.
If you’re expecting a crunchy cookie and get a soft one instead, you didn’t necessarily do anything wrong.
That’s just pumpkin doing its thing.
For slightly firmer cookies, make sure you measure the pumpkin accurately and avoid adding extra liquid to the recipe.
Should You Drain Pumpkin Puree?
For these recipes, you generally don’t need to drain canned pumpkin puree.
The recipes are designed around the moisture in pumpkin puree.
If you’re using homemade pumpkin puree and it seems unusually watery, you can let it drain briefly through a fine-mesh strainer.
The goal is thick pumpkin puree, not pumpkin soup.
Substitutions and Variations
Pumpkin cookies are easy to customize.
Butter: Use melted coconut oil in recipes where melted butter is called for.
Chocolate chips: Try dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or white chocolate chips.
Pecans: Walnuts are an easy swap.
Rolled oats: Use old-fashioned oats rather than quick oats for more texture.
Pumpkin pie spice: Use cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
Cream cheese filling: Add a pinch of cinnamon for extra fall flavor.
Brown sugar: You can replace some or all of it with granulated sugar, though the cookies may have a slightly different texture.
You can also add:
- Chopped pecans
- Chopped walnuts
- Raisins
- Dried cranberries
- White chocolate chips
- Dark chocolate chunks
- Toffee pieces
For Halloween, you can decorate cooled pumpkin cookies with a simple cream cheese or vanilla glaze.
Make-Ahead Tips
You can prepare pumpkin cookie dough ahead of time.
Keep the covered dough refrigerated for up to 24 hours before baking.
Let it sit at room temperature briefly if it’s too firm to scoop.
You can also freeze shaped cookie dough portions.
Place them on a baking sheet until firm, then transfer them to a freezer-safe container.
Bake from frozen, adding a little extra baking time if needed.
Baked pumpkin cookies can also be made a day or two before serving.
For parties, the sandwich cookies are best assembled fairly close to serving time.
That keeps the filling fresh and prevents the cookies from becoming too soft.
What to Serve With Pumpkin Cookies
Pumpkin cookies are made for cozy drinks.
Try them with:
- Hot coffee
- Chai tea
- Apple cider
- Hot chocolate
- Black tea
- Vanilla milk
- Pumpkin spice latte
For a fall dessert platter, arrange several varieties together.
A soft pumpkin spice cookie next to a chocolate chip version and a cinnamon-sugar cookie gives everyone something different to grab.
And yes, a glass of cold milk still works beautifully.
Leftovers and Storage
Let pumpkin cookies cool completely before storing them.
Place them in an airtight container.
Soft pumpkin cookies can usually be stored at room temperature for about 3 to 4 days.
Keep parchment paper between layers if you’re stacking them.
Pumpkin sandwich cookies should be refrigerated because of the cream cheese filling.
Store them in an airtight container and use them within about 3 to 4 days.
You can freeze baked pumpkin cookies too.
Place them in a freezer-safe container with parchment between layers.
For the best quality, use them within about 1 to 2 months.
Let them thaw at room temperature before serving.
Don’t frost or fill cookies before freezing unless the specific filling freezes well.
For cream cheese sandwich cookies, freezing the individual cookies and adding the filling later is usually the better option.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use canned pumpkin puree for cookies?
Yes.
Canned pumpkin puree is convenient and gives consistent results.
Just make sure it is plain pumpkin puree rather than pumpkin pie filling.
Why are my pumpkin cookies cakey?
Pumpkin contains a lot of moisture, so pumpkin cookies naturally tend to have a soft, cake-like texture.
That’s normal.
Can I make pumpkin cookie dough ahead of time?
Yes.
Keep it covered in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking.
Can I freeze pumpkin cookies?
Yes.
Both baked cookies and portions of cookie dough can be frozen.
Why are my pumpkin cookies spreading too much?
The dough may contain too much moisture or the butter may have been too warm.
Make sure you measure the pumpkin accurately and chill the dough if it feels unusually soft.
Can I use homemade pumpkin puree?
Yes.
Use a thick puree with a similar consistency to canned pumpkin.
Watery puree can change the texture of the cookies.
What chocolate goes best with pumpkin cookies?
Semi-sweet and dark chocolate both work well.
White chocolate is also delicious if you want a sweeter cookie.
Do pumpkin cookies need to be refrigerated?
Plain pumpkin cookies generally don’t need refrigeration.
Cookies with cream cheese filling should be refrigerated.
How do I keep pumpkin cookies soft?
Store completely cooled cookies in an airtight container.
Avoid leaving them uncovered for long periods.
Can I make pumpkin cookies without eggs?
Egg substitutions can work, but they may change the texture.
For the most reliable result, use the egg called for in the recipe unless you’re adapting the recipe specifically for egg-free baking.
Wrapping Up
Pumpkin cookies are one of those fall desserts that make baking feel ridiculously easy.
You can keep them simple with pumpkin spice.
Add chocolate chips when you want something richer.
Mix in oats and pecans for more texture.
Roll them in cinnamon sugar.
Or sandwich two soft cookies together with cream cheese frosting when you’re ready to go all in.
And you don’t need a special occasion to make them.
Bake a batch for a weekend afternoon.
Put them on a Thanksgiving dessert table.
Make them for a Halloween party.
Or just keep a few in the kitchen for when the craving hits.
Because sometimes a warm pumpkin cookie is all you need to make an ordinary fall day feel a little better.
If you make one of these pumpkin cookie recipes, leave a comment and tell me which one you tried.
I’d love to know if you went classic, added chocolate, or tried one of the other variations.
