Soft Pumpkin Cookies (Printable)

Tender, cake-like cookies with pumpkin and warm spices for perfect autumn comfort.

# What you'll need:

→ Dry Ingredients

01 - 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1 teaspoon baking powder
03 - 1 teaspoon baking soda
04 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
05 - 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
06 - 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
07 - 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
08 - 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

→ Wet Ingredients

09 - 1 cup granulated sugar
10 - 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
11 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
12 - 1 cup pumpkin purée
13 - 1 large egg
14 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

→ Optional Add-ins

15 - 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped nuts

# Directions:

01 - Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves until well blended.
03 - In a large bowl, cream together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and softened butter until light and fluffy.
04 - Beat in the pumpkin purée, egg, and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
05 - Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Do not overmix.
06 - Gently fold in chocolate chips or nuts if using.
07 - Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart.
08 - Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, or until the edges are set and the tops look dry.
09 - Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • They taste like a cross between a cookie and a slice of pumpkin pie, which is basically the best of both worlds
  • The dough comes together in one bowl without any fancy equipment or techniques
  • These stay soft for days, unlike crisp cookies that go stale overnight
02 -
  • These cookies will look slightly underbaked when you take them out, but they firm up as they cool
  • Using pumpkin pie filling instead of purée will make the dough too wet and they wont bake properly
  • Chilling the dough for 30 minutes helps prevent spreading if your kitchen is particularly warm
03 -
  • Scoop your dough with a cookie scoop so they bake evenly and look uniform
  • Rotate the baking sheets halfway through baking if your oven has hot spots

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