It isn’t fall without a pumpkin cookie. This recipe makes moist, chewy, and lightly spiced Soft Pumpkin Sugar Cookies.
I know it – pumpkin is everywhere in the fall. But trust me on this, you will want to try this cookie recipe. My soft pumpkin sugar cookies are so incredibly soft and moist, you’ll be addicted. When I say soft, I mean it. These are some of the softest sugar cookies I’ve ever made. The pumpkin flavor is light and subdued, but you can tell it’s there. A sugar and spice blend coats the outside of the cookies for some extra fall flavor.
Fun fact about this cookie recipe – it does not contain eggs. I originally made this recipe to include eggs. In my first batch, the cookies turned out too light and cakey. They practically fell apart as I transferred them off the baking sheet to a cooling rack. Upon seeing this, I decided to double the pumpkin (the original batch was not pumpkin-y enough) and omit the eggs completely. The pumpkin acts as a binding agent and also adds moisture to the recipe, just like an egg would. Now that I’ve found this out, I want to make pumpkin everything!
Pumpkin is such an easy ingredient to work with, you’ll want to make pumpkin everything. Try my Pumpkin Pecan Quick Bread recipe. The recipe makes a single loaf. If you want to use an entire can of pumpkin, double the recipe and make two loaves of bread. One to keep, one to share. Or, freeze one to enjoy later.
Soft Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Rolling Sugar:
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Beat for a full 3 minutes, mixture will look fluffy. Add vanilla extract and pumpkin puree and mix to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk (or sift) together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Gradually stir dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture until just combined.
- Cover bowl or wrap dough in wax paper. Chill for at least 1 hour (up to 24 hours) in the refrigerator. Refrigerating will help the flavors meld and also create a firmer dough to roll into balls.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Remove dough from refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Scoop dough using a 1.5 tablespoon scoop or shape by hand into 1.5 inch balls.
- In a small bowl, combine the rolling sugar ingredients: granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Gently roll balls in sugar mixture to coat. Place cookie dough balls 2 inches apart onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until cookies begin to brown around edges and tops begin to crack. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
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