Pumpkin sugar cookies are tender, cakey, and filled with your favorite fall spices. These eggless cookies make the perfect last minute treat because they're ready in 30 minutes and require no chilling time!
Recipe summary
Flavor/texture: Tender, ultra-soft cookies are made with pumpkin puree and warm spices rolled in sugar. They're like a fall version of my Soft Sugar Cookies recipe.
Egg-free: This recipe uses pumpkin puree for structure and stability, replacing the eggs commonly found in cookie recipes.
Yield: 36 cookies
Similar to: Strawberry Sugar Cookies, Iced Chai Sugar Cookies, Soft Molasses Cookies
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Pumpkin puree - Make sure you're grabbing a can of plain pumpkin puree (the only ingredient is pumpkins) and not pumpkin pie filling, which is a prepared mix that has added sweeteners and spices.
- Flour - All-purpose flour is a must. If you have a different type of flour on hand, I suggest searching for a recipe using your preferred flour. Many times it's not a 1:1 substitution, and I haven't tested this recipe with anything other than all-purpose flour.
- Pumpkin spice - Cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger can be substituted with pumpkin pie spice blend if you have it on hand.
How to make pumpkin sugar cookies
- Cream together butter and sugar, mix in pumpkin puree and vanilla.
- Whisk dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and slowly mix to combine.
- Scoop dough with a 1.5 tablespoon scoop and gently roll to coat in sugar.
- Place 2 inches apart on a lined baking sheet.
- Bake until cookies look set and have cracked on top.
Heather's Top Tip
For accurate results every time, use a kitchen scale to measure flour by weight. If you don't have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level method. Stir the flour (especially if it's been packed down in a bag/container), then gently spoon into the measuring cup, leveling off the top with a knife. Scooping with a measuring cup compacts flour into the cup and adds up to 25% extra to the recipe, resulting in dry, bland cookies that don't spread properly.
Tips and tricks
Dough consistency - This cookie dough is a little wetter than a standard dough, making it difficult to roll balls by hand. I recommend scooping the dough with a cookie scoop or using two spoons to portion dough into your sugar bowl, then agitating to coat in sugar.
Optional cinnamon-sugar coating - For extra cinnamon flavor, add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the granulated sugar topping.
Watch your cookies, not the time - While I include a time frame in the recipe card, every oven runs slightly hotter or colder than the next. The time that worked for me may not work for you. Keep an eye on your cookies and don't remove them from the oven until they look completely set on top.
Parchment paper - A greased baking sheet causes cookies to spread more in the oven. Instead, use parchment paper or a reusable silicone baking mat.
Frequently asked questions
Add a slice of bread to your cookie container and replace as it gets hard. The bread adds moisture to the container and as your cookies begin to dry out, they draw moisture out of the bread.
Homemade cookies last up to 5-7 days in a tightly sealed container at room temperature.
Yes, homemade cookies freeze well for up to 3 months in freezer-safe container. To thaw frozen cookies, place the open container on a countertop to thaw for 1-2 hours.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (170 g) pumpkin puree
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
Topping:
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add butter and sugar. With a hand mixer, cream together until fluffy, about a minute. Add vanilla extract and pumpkin puree and mix to combine.
- In a separate bowl, add dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Whisk to combine and remove clumps.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir to combine.
- Scoop dough using a 1.5 tablespoon scoop or drop by spoonful into a bowl of granulated sugar and agitate to coat. Place onto prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart.
- Bake for about 12-14 minutes, or until cookies look set and tops begin to crack. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Cookie storage: Cookies will keep for 5-7 days in a sealed container. To help keep cookies fresh, place a slice of bread in the container with the cookies. Replace the bread slice as needed.
- Dough storage: Raw cookie dough will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days. Cookie dough balls (and baked cookies) freeze well, up to 3 months in a sealed plastic container or freezer bag. Allow frozen balls to thaw for up to 10 minutes on the baking sheet before baking or add 1-2 minutes to the baking time.
- Cinnamon-sugar coating: Add a teaspoon of cinnamon to your topping sugar for an added kick of spice in your sugar coating.
- Tips: Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking cookies, based on reader comments and questions!
I was looking for a recipe to use some leftover pumpkin puree. I chose this recipe because it has minimal ingredients. I followed the directions, including weighing the specific ingredients with grams. I baked the first batch at the recommended 350* for 15 minutes. They were raw in the center, so I pressed the next batch down and baked them at 350* for 16 minutes. They were more done in the center. The last batch I pressed and baked at 375* for 13 minutes. These were done to my preference. They are tasty, I will make them again using the modifications.
I made these moist tasty cookies. I did add mini chocolate chips and some chopped pecans too. They were a hit.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Brenda. Chocolate chips and pecans sounds amazing!
These cookies turned out great. So soft and kind of cakey.