These soft Iced Pumpkin Cookies are easy to make and absolutely delicious! The soft cake-like pumpkin cookies have warming spices and are drizzled in a tasty vanilla icing. A great fall dessert or for Christmas or Thanksgiving.
Pumpkin Cookies
These soft spiced pumpkin cookies are absolutely delicious!
Not crumbly or crunchy, they're instead beautifully moist and soft. Even slightly cake-like.
You can make them with canned pumpkin or use up a carving pumpkin (or squash) to make the puree.
I love iced cookies, so this one has a lovely fragrant vanilla icing drizzled over them.
This recipe was originally published on 7 November 2019. Republished 1 September 2020 with extra images and updated text.
I love making these for Christmas, Thanksgiving or Halloween!
To make them into Halloween Mummy Cookies, all you have to do is add candy eyes. BOO! Perfect for Halloween.
Why you'll love this recipe
Why is this my ultimate Pumpkin Cookie Recipe? That's easy! They're:
Quick
Easy
Delicately spiced
Soft
Iced
Perfect for fall
Uses canned or fresh pumpkin
And hey, they're a vegetable dessert. That pumpkin not only adds some extra goodness, but it makes them moist, soft and orange coloured. Perfect with pumpkin pie spices.
Pumpkin Spice Cookies
I absolutely adore pumpkin spices.
This mix of cinnamon, ginger and other warming spices is just utterly delicious and screams 'It's fall!'
The spices in this cookie recipe smell absolutely divine as they permeate the air while they cook.
Mix in some pumpkin puree and this recipe is the ultimate pumpkin recipe! Perfect with pumpkin pie spice.
And they are sooooo soft. Like perfect soft bakery cookies. You'll love them, I'm sure.
Ingredients
You only need simple ingredients for these soft, tender and delicious iced pumpkin cookies.
Pumpkin - use canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling, just the plain one) or puree cooked pumpkin flesh to make your own pumpkin puree.
Sugar - I just use granulated white sugar, but brown works too.
Egg - I use medium free range eggs.
Butter - or margarine.
Cream - heavy cream or double cream
All-purpose flour - aka plain flour
Baking powder
Vanilla extract
Spices - ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, allspice
Powdered icing sugar - for the vanilla drizzle.
Pumpkin Recipes
Looking for more pumpkin recipes after making these iced pumpkin cookies? Try these!
Check out my roundup of the Best Vegetarian Pumpkin Recipes.
Pumpkin mincemeat (fruity filling for mince pies)
Quick Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
Pumpkin Bark
Pumpkin Cupcakes
Baked Pumpkin Donuts
Pumpkin Spice Latte
Bakery Style Cookies
Do you love bakery style cookies as much as I do? They're thick, soft and almost cake-like. Bakeries do them so well, but now you can too with this easy recipe!
There are lots of bakery bakes that I wouldn't attempt to make at home, but this one is so easy.
It's sure to be your go-to iced pumpkin cookie recipe!
Step by step tutorial
This is a simple recipe! Just follow these step by step pictures and you'll have perfect, soft, iced pumpkin cookies.
Preheat the oven to 175C / 350° F. Lightly grease two baking sheets.
Beat the sugar and butter until blended, then add the pumpkin, egg, cream and vanilla and beat until smooth.
Sift in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and soda and stir gently to combine.
Spoon tablespoons of batter onto the prepared baking sheets and spread out slightly with the back of the spoon. Leave space between these cookies as they rise, spread and puff up.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges firm up and begin to turn golden. Allow to cool on the tray then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Get the Recipe
Check out the Veggie Desserts + Cakes cookbook on Amazon
Iced Pumpkin Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cups (170g) sugar
- ¼ cup (55g) butter, softened
- ½ cup (140g) canned pumpkin puree
- 1 egg
- 4 tablespoon heavy cream(double cream)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ⅔ cups (200g) all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ tsp ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the Vanilla Icing
- ½ cup (100g) powdered icing sugar
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream (double cream)
- 1 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F (175C). Lightly grease two cookie sheets.
- In a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter until blended, then add the pumpkin, egg, cream and vanilla and beat until smooth.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and soda and stir gently to combine.
- Spoon tablespoons of batter onto the prepared baking sheets and spread out slightly with the back of the spoon. Leave space between these cookies as they rise, spread and puff up.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges firm up and begin to turn golden. Allow to cool on the tray then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, make the glaze by mixing all ingredients together. If necessary to get a thick drizzling consistency, add a little more water or icing sugar.
- Drizzle over the cooled cookies.
Video
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors, so is not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietician for special diet advice.
Angela
I was wondering if I made some now to freeze (and decorate later) if it would be okay? By the end of October our weather here in S Australia gets a bit too hot to put the oven on. Spoils everything when it gets too hot and you can't get in the mood. I was brought up in England when the fun things like Bonfire Night and Christmas are celebrated in the winter - but we didn't celebrate Halloween then. I'm glad that the tradition has been revived - such fun : )
Shelley
Oh, Kate, these are just absolutely darling for Halloween with the little candy eyes - I love that idea! But I agree that they'll be delicious all throughout the fall and into the holiday season, too! In fact, a dear friend of mine who makes hundreds upon hundreds of cookies for Christmas gifts every year, includes an old-fashioned pumpkin cookie that's her very favorite - for sure, pumpkin is even great at Christmastime, as well!
(And now I've found a wonderful a pumpkin cookie recipe for the holidays, too! Thanks!!)
Jacqueline Meldrum
Oh tasty and perfect for handing out to the kids at Halloween.
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry
These cookies are perfect for Fall! They sound so delicious, definitely going to whip up a batch with the kids!
Gina
These are the perfect fall treat, love making a batch during the Halloween rush!
Christian Guzman
These are my favorite spiced cookies! I used canned pumpkin and they were so quick and easy to make. I ate several of them right out of the oven because who can resist the scent of warm cinnamon and ginger in the air?! Yum!
Anita
These pumpkin cookies are so good. They are good even without icing if you prefer less sweet cookies. 🙂
Alison
I love a soft moist cookie and this one does not disappoint. The pumpkin flavor really brings out the best of the seasonal flavors. Tastes great with a pumpkin latte!
Andrea Metlika
These cookies sound scrumptious. I too love the flavors and pumpkin spice and I cannot wait to try these.
Kelly Anthony
I love how the drizzle on top of these cookies adds some decorations and the perfect amount of sweetness to these moist cookies.
Beth
I will certainly need a large batch of these soft cookies! All the pumpkin recipes need to get in my belly!