This pumpkin cookie recipe is one of my family’s favorite ways to celebrate the fall season. And it’s a simple soft pumpkin cookie recipe!
Does your family have a favorite cookie?
For as long as I can remember, my mom has been baking pumpkin cookies every fall.
I imagine when I was younger, I loved these cookies because of the powdered sugar on top.
But now that I am all grown up- I can appreciate the deliciousness of the pumpkin itself.
I am sharing my family’s favorite pumpkin cookie recipe with you for you to decide for yourself ;).
In a rush?
My Family’s Favorite Pumpkin Cookie Recipe
- Ingredients Grocery List
- The Recipe
- Tips to Get the Best Soft Pumpkin Cookie
- My Favorite Fall Kitchen Items
Firstly, I changed my mom’s pumpkin cookie recipe a little bit ;0.
My mom’s original recipe calls for only one CUP of pumpkin.
However, the very first time I made this recipe in college, I accidentally added the whole can of pumpkin!
That story is that I made the cookies to bring along on a ski trip my college friends and I were taking to Steamboat Springs, Colorado back in December 1990.
I realized my mistake after I made the cookies but brought them along anyway…
Well my friends (all males btw plus my now husband) were obsessed!
They said never lower the amount of pumpkin in the recipe as it makes it a soft pumpkin cookie with better pumpkin flavor ;).
So there you have it… to this day I have never made these cookies with just the one cup my mom’s original recipe calls for 🤷♀️.
The other change I have made to my mom’s original recipe is the amount of time I bake my cookies for.
I only put them in the oven for 8 minutes (and my mom’s recipe says 14 minutes).
I am not sure if that is a based on the oven time for her or if she likes her cookies to be cooked longer than I do but it probably is just a matter of preference as far as how soft you like your cookies.
I prefer mine to be almost bread-like thus the shorter baking time…
Ingredients Grocery List
This pumpkin cookie recipe may actually be the simplest cookie recipe you will ever make!
It only calls for seven ingredients.
And barring the can of pumpkin – I imagine you have all of the ingredients in your pantry already ;).
But fyi – in 2020 there was a shortage of canned pumpkin!!!!!
OMG!
You can bet your bottom dollar that I stocked up on that ingredient last year.
I mean – it’s not fall in my house if we don’t make this soft pumpkin cookie recipe at least every other week…
Ingredients you will need for the powdered sugar glaze:
THE LIST:
- Butter
- Granulated Sugar
- One 15 oz can pumpkin
- Baking soda
- Baking Powder
- Cinnamon
- Flour
- Powdered Sugar
- Vanilla
- Milk
The Recipe
Mom’s Pumpkin Cookie Recipe
A super simple soft pumpkin cookie
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour hr
Course Dessert
Servings 5 dozen
Equipment
Electric Mixer
Cookie Sheets
Measuring cups and spoons
Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Cup Butter
- 1 Can Pumpkin
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Cinnamon
- 2¼ Cups Flour
Drizzle Icing
- 1½ cups Powdered Sugar
- 5 tsp Milk
- 1 tsp Vanilla
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Beat butter, sugar, and pumpkin with electric mixer
Mix baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and flour
Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture
Drop by teaspoonful onto baking sheet
Bake in a 350 degrees oven for 8 minutes or until bottoms are a golden brown
Let cool for about ten minutes
With a fork, mix together all drizzle icing ingredients until of drizzle consistency- continue adding milk if mixure is too thick or powdered sugar if too runny. You don't want the icing to be translucent or too runny.
With a butter knife, add icing to each cookie
Tips to Get the Best Soft Pumpkin Cookie
- I honestly do not actually mix the dry ingredients separately!! I just keep my electric stand mixer running and add the baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon to the butter/pumpkin mix while it is mixing! And then add the flour the same way (you might have noticed that in the photo above!).
- I am not a big fan of cinnamon so I only add 1/4 tsp at most to my recipe
- I bought new cookie baking sheets last year and honestly can tell the difference for my baking!!! I kid you not! So if you can – I 100% suggest these amazing cookie sheets.
- Do not make this cookie large – I say drop by the teaspoonful in the recipe above but honestly – it is really more like a 1/2 teaspoon (well at least with the silverware I have anyway!!)
- Keep an eye on your bake time! You want the bottom of this soft pumpkin cookie to be perfectly brown. All ovens cook differently. Mine is quite strong and cooks everything faster than I expect. Here is a photo of what you want your bottoms to look like so that your pumpkin cookies come out perfectly soft and muffin-like:
I honestly think everyone in my house looks forward to fall mostly because I only make these pumpkin cookies September – November.
In fact my youngest has asked me why that is 🤷♀️.
I don’t really have a good answer for her but I guess I could say it’s to make us excited about having them.
You could compare it to having your Christmas tree up too long really.
We wouldn’t appreciate it if we had it up for longer than just Christmas season (well maybe…).
My Favorite Fall Kitchen Items
I hope you make this yummy pumpkin cookie recipe of my family’s this season!
When I bake this soft pumpkin cookie – I usually end up eating about a dozen of them fresh out of the oven!
So be careful – they really are that good – with or without the icing ;)!
If you end up making them – be sure to let me know here in comments what you think!!!
Have you been decorating your home for fall lately too? I am all about neutrals this year! You can read more about what I have been using this year here ;).
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Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go.
~ Unknown
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