Cake-like pumpkin cookies spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves is a perfect fall treat.
Of course a little frosting makes this a sweet dessert, but don't overlook the option to leave them plain - they go great with a little coffee, bourbon, or dessert wine.
And if you love the paisley icing, I have a few tips at the end of the blog post.
Recipe
Ingredients
COOKIE INGREDIENTS:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves **feel free to substitute 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice instead of the cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves**
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter 1 stick, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 ¼ cups canned pumpkin puree
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
FROSTING INGREDIENTS:
- 8 ounces low-fat cream cheese 1 brick, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons butter room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
COOKIES
- PREP: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- MIX DRY INGREDIENTS: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves. Set aside.
- STAND MIXER: In a stand mixer, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium-high speed for 1 minute until light and fluffy.
- Add in the pumpkin, egg, and vanilla to butter mixture, and beat on medium-speed until just combined.
- Set the mixer speed to low and add in the dry ingredients until just combined.
- MAKE THE COOKIES: Use a heaping tablespoon of batter per cookie and drop them on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet. The cookies smooth out somewhat while baking, but will hold part of their shape, so smooth them out a bit.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cookies are cooked through and bounce back slightly if you touch them. Cool on a wire rack. Frost when they are cooled.
TO MAKE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:
- With an electric mixer or in your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla together on medium-high speed until smooth. Set the speed to low and gradually add in the powdered sugar until it is all combined and the frosting is smooth. To thin it, add 1 tablespoon of milk or water at a time. Add more sugar to thicken it.
Notes
Nutrition
Paisley Pumpkin Cookies Icing
I used a very small tip squeeze bottle (the small ones in this picture from amazon). I thinned the frosting a tiny bit, you want it to flow well but hold it's shape (and not spread/flatten when put on the cookie).
Next, use google image search to find a paisley pattern you like. And if you mess up, the frosting wipes off the cookie pretty easily (or just frost the whole thing over!)
Recipe Inspiration
After going 5 years without making pumpkin cookies, I was looking for an updated version to fill an autumn craving. I am a big fan of Ali's recipes over at Gimme Some Oven and found her recipe for pumpkin cookies there. They were delicious, as expected 🙂
Spend some time browsing her blog. I've made a lot of her recipes in the past. I also have a list of ones I want to make soon like this honey beer bread and garlic lover's salmon.
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