Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies
Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies are a fall spin on classic sugar cookies. Adding pumpkin spice to both the cookie dough and the cream cheese frosting makes these the best cookies. They are literally melt-in-your-mouth delicious!
My pumpkin love is real, y’all! You’re gonna really enjoy Baked Pumpkin Donuts, our amazing Pumpkin Streusel Cake, and some simple Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins.
Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Gosh, there are so many things to say about pumpkin. While I’m a huge fan of this magical ingredient, I know a lot of people don’t care much for it. To me, it spells FALL, and that is definitely part of the magic for me.
So while I normally use canned pumpkin puree in my recipes, THIS recipe doesn’t include it. Instead, it uses pumpkin spice only as the pumpkin flavor.
The Formula
This cookie was created with a very simple method described below. So delicious and simple too!
- A simple sugar cookie.
- Plus pumpkin spice.
- With a cream cheese frosting.
- Using more pumpkin spice.
- Plus cinnamon!
Cookie Ingredients:
- Butter – You’ll need unsalted butter that’s been softened to almost room temperature.
- Sugars – A combo of brown sugar and granulated sugar.
- Egg – One large egg required.
- Vanilla – Some Watkin’s Vanilla adds great flavor!
- Flour – I recommend using all-purpose flour for these cookies.
- Baking Soda – The needed leavener.
- Cream of Tartar – A necessary ingredient for sugar cookies! Adds incredible flavor.
- Pumpkin Spice – THIS is the key ingredient to these cookies. So good!
- Salt – A pinch of kosher salt.
Frosting Ingredients:
- Cream Cheese – You’ll need regular full-fat cream cheese for the frosting.
- Butter – Unsalted butter, at “almost” room temperature.
- Vanilla – Just a bit of vanilla extract.
- Pumpkin Spice – A little bit in the cookies and a little bit in the frosting.
- Powdered Sugar – The sugar that’s always used in my icing and frosting recipes.
- Cinnamon – A few sprinkles on the top of the cookies, for good measure!
How to make Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies:
Step 1
Cream butter and sugars. In a large standing mixer, cream together the butter and sugars.
Step 2
Add wet ingredients. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix again.
Step 3
Add dry ingredients. To the mixer, add the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, pumpkin pie spice, and kosher salt. Mix until just combined.
Step 4
Chill. Chill the dough for at least two hours. Form into cookie balls.
Step 5
Bake. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep a baking sheet with parchment paper, and add cookie balls to the pan, spacing them apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies are just starting to brown.
Step 6
Cool. Let the cookies sit for several minutes before transferring them to cooling racks.
How to make Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Mix cream cheese and butter. In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to cream the butter and cream cheese together.
- Add remaining ingredients. Add the vanilla, pumpkin spice, and powdered sugar until well combined.
- Frost cookies. Frost the cooled cookies with the cream cheese frosting. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon to the frosting.
Expert Tips:
- Use “almost” room temperature butter for better creaming of the butter and sugar.
- Carefully measure the flour using the spoon and sweep method. Makes a huge difference when baking!
- Chill the cookie dough for at least an hour before baking. This helps the cookies from overspreading.
- Let cookies cool slightly before moving them to cooling racks.
How to Save Cookies that Spread Too Much:
If you see your cookies are spreading too much and are getting too flat, do the following. (Confession…I do this all the time and it works like magic!)
- Take the cookies out of the oven before they are fully cooked (or when you see them getting flat).
- Use a spatula to gently push the sides of the cookies inward, reshaping the cookies.
- Place the cookies back in the oven and continue baking. Repeat as necessary.
Storing Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Store these cookies in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to five days. Set them out for 30 minutes before you eat them. The frosting holds up best if you keep the cookies cold.
How to Freeze Sugar Cookies and Dough:
- You can freeze the baked cookies (without frosting) for up to three months.
- You can also freeze pumpkin spice cookie dough balls. Just roll the balls, place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, and do a quick freeze for about 30 minutes. Then place the cookie balls in a freezer bag and place in freezer. These are good for about three months as well.
- To bake frozen cookie dough balls, remove from freezer and place on cookie sheet. Bake as directed, but add a couple of minutes to baking time.
How to make Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice:
There are several different methods to making your own version of pumpkin spice! Here are the spices you can play with to come up with your favorite combination. I recommend using about 75% cinnamon in your ratio, and then adding the others to equal the remaining 25%.
- cinnamon
- ginger
- cloves (or allspice)
- nutmeg
Coffee and Cookies
While you could always pair these cookies with a tall glass of milk, you could also go with a delicious coffee. Try my Cold Brew Coffee, a simple Caramel Latte, or my favorite Homemade Eggnog Lattes.
Kitchen Tools Used: (affiliate links)
xoxo ~Sue
Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1 cup unsalted butter – softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup brown sugar – I used Dixie Crystals!
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg – at room temp
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
For the frosting:
- 6 oz. cream cheese – softened
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter – softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- 2 ¼ cups powdered sugar
- top with cinnamon
Instructions
Make the cookies.
- In a large standing mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until creamy. Add both sugars, the egg, and the vanilla – and mix again.
- To the mixing bowl, add the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, pumpkin pie spice, and kosher salt. Mix until just combined.
- Chill the dough for at least two hours. Roll the dough into 18 cookie balls.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper, and add 8 cookie balls. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until just starting to brown on top.
- Let the cookies cool slightly before removing them to the cooling rack.
Make the frosting.
- Cream together the cream cheese and butter until well combined. Add the vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and the powdered sugar – and mix well.
- Use a spoon to add the frosting the cooled cookies. Sprinkle with a little bit of cinnamon.
Notes
Nutrition
More #FallFlavors Recipes Below:
Beverages
- Apple Cider Milk Tea With Boba And Caramel Apple from Magical Ingredients
- Apple Cider Old Fashioned from Books n’ Cooks
Breakfast and Baked Goods
- Apple Cider Donut Muffins from Cheese Curd In Paradise
- Pear and Apple Cider Scones from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Spiced Pumpkin Coffee Cake from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
Side Dishes
- Balsamic Roasted Purple Brussels Sprouts W/ Grapes & Chestnuts from Savory Moments
- Cinnamon Sweet Potato Pumpkin Muffins from Blogghetti
- Fall Roasted Vegetable Medley from Family Around the Table
- Glazed Cippolini Onions With Rosemary from Life Love and Good Food
- Sweet Potato Latkes from Take Two Tapas
Main Dishes
- Apple Cider Pulled Pork With Apple Slaw from Simple and Savory
- Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce from Jen around the world
Desserts
- Apple Blondies from Eat Move Make
- Apple Turnover from Art of Natural Living
- Butterscotch Pie from Lemon Blossoms
- Gf Cinnamon Graham Cracker Cupcakes from Frugal & Fit
- No- Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake With Salted Caramel Glaze from West Via Midwest
- Oatmeal Scotchies from Palatable Pastime
- Pear Bundt Cake from The Fresh Cooky
- Pear Cobbler from Fresh April Flours
- Pear Crisp Ice Cream from Jolene’s Recipe Journal
- Pecan Butter Cookies from An Affair from the Heart
- Pecan Pie Bars from Devour Dinner
- Pumpkin Cupcakes from House of Nash Eats
- Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies from SueBee Homemaker
- Rosemary Pecan Shortbread With Honey-Ginger Icing from The Spiffy Cookie
- Sweet Tea Panna Cotta from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Turtle Waffle Ice Cream Sandwiches from That Recipe
I’m obsessed with these cookies! This will be a go-to fall recipe for me.
Made this yesterday and everyone loved it. Going to make it again this weekend!
I can’t stop eating this amazing cookies! Love actually that they don’t have pumpkin in them, because while I love it, my family not-so-much (weirdos) 🙂 The best of fall spices!
Haha, love it! Thanks for trying them, Kathleen!
I have made these three times!! They are so yummy!
YAY! I’m so glad!!
I love everything about this recipe! Soft delicious cookies under a creamy frosting is my love language!
They’re my love language too!
The perfect fall cookies! Thanks for this delicious, easy to make recipe.
We love these too!
Ok, these are GOOD. And the icing on top is amazing!
The icing MAKES these cookies!
I made a batch of these a few days ago and took them to my neighbors. I’m now the most popular person on the block LOL!
That’s so sweet to hear!
What a great seasonal cookie. I love that you took sugar cookies to a new flavor level.
Thank you Ellen!
These look perfectly delicious. I love the frosting on top. It’s perfect for those that love pumpkin pie spice. Like me!
Awesome recipe and name! Pumpkin. Spice. Sugar. Cookie. Repeat.
I know, right?!
OMG these cookies are SUPER delicious, Suebee!! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
I intended on following the recipe exactly, but I’m 99% (not 100%) sure that I forgot to add the second stick of butter in the cookie dough. I realized after I put the dough ball in the fridge, getting ready to start making the frosting, and realized I had an “extra” stick of butter on the counter. I was so fearful that my cookies were going to come out dry or flat or aweful somehow, but they were amazing. I might just keep the recipe with half the amount of butter for the cookies in the future when I make this again.
Hi Jeanette! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies, even with less butter! LOL! 🙂
Your explanation says 2 large eggs are required but the actual recipe calls for 1 egg. I’d like to make these but not sure how many eggs to use.
Thanks for clarifying.
Oh I’m sorry. I just fixed that. Should just use one egg!
They look delicious! I need to try these.
These are my new favorite fall cookies! They were so delicious and easy to make!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed them Amy!
New favorite, which I seem to say each time I try a new recipe. These pumpkin spice cookies are amazing! You gotta try these!
Thanks for your feedback, Mark! I greatly appreciate it!
I totally want to make these today! I love pumpkin spice (almost) anything especially cookies
These cookies are so cute and I am dying to try them!
I haven’t had one of these cookies in so long! I need to make a batch of these yum!
These look so soft and chewy and that frosting on top sounds divine!
These were so easy and so pumpkin-y, I loved it! This is a great party pleaser for a fall party!
I’m glad you enjoyed them, Rebecca!
I’m in love with these cookies and that frosting! They look so good. Pumpkin cookies are always a win.
These will be perfect for Thanksgiving! They look and sound amazing.
These sound so good! I had never heard of reshaping part baked cookies. Going to have to try that next time mine spread!
Okay, I love pumpkin, however; I love that you just used the pumpkin pie spice in these sugar cookies! Instead of a cakey pumpkin cookie, you get all the flavor with a chewy, delicious cookie and that frosting! YAY!
You are on the same page as me, Kathleen! 🙂
Pumpkin makes fall real deal.
Love the cookie recipe. The fun thing is there is no pumpkin, but the aroma brings fall in.
I host annual pumpkin carving for a few friends and will make sure these cookies add some spice to that day in October!
Hi Lusine! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies! 🙂 Yay pumpkin!
Double the pumpkin spice deliciousness! Can’t wait to bake these and eat them up!
They are delicious! Enjoy!
So many great tips! Can’t wait to make these with my niece!