Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies

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Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies are a fall spin on the classic sugar cookies. Adding pumpkin spice to both the cookie dough and the cream cheese frosting make these the best cookies. They are literally melt-in-your-mouth delicious!

My pumpkin love is real, ya’ll! You’re gonna really enjoy my Baked Pumpkin Donuts, my amazing Pumpkin Streusel Cake, and some simple Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins.

Welcome to #FallFlavors where more than 25 food bloggers are sharing recipes with favorite Fall flavors. Our sponsors, Millican Pecan, Dixie Crystals, Melissa’s Produce, Taylor & Colledge, Nairn’s, and Republic of Tea, have furnished participating bloggers with complimentary product to use in their recipe creations that they will be sharing this week. These same sponsors have generously offered prizes for our giveaway so be sure to enter and share with your friends so they can enter too. Be sure to follow our Fall Flavors Pinterest account for more inspiration.

This post is sponsored by Dixie Crystals in conjunction with Fall Flavors Week. I was sent a box of brown sugar for recipe creations, however, all opinions are my own.

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 the 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!

1. A simple sugar cookie.
2. Plus pumpkin spice.
3. With a cream cheese frosting.
4. Using more pumpkin spice.
5. 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 god measure!

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How to make Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies

1. Cream butter and sugars. In a large standing mixer, cream together the butter and sugars.
2. Add wet ingredients. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix again.
3. Mix dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, pumpkin pie spice, and kosher salt.
4. Add dry to wet. Pour the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and mix again. Be careful to avoid over-mixing.
5. Chill. Chill the dough for at least two hours. Form into cookie balls.
6. 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.
7. Cool. Let the cookies sit for several minutes before transferring them to cooling racks.

How to make Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Mix cream cheese and butter. In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to cream the butter and cream cheese together.
2. Add remaining ingredients. Add the vanilla, pumpkin spice, and the powdered sugar until well combined.
3. Frost cookies. Frost the cooled cookies with the cream cheese frosting. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon to the frosting.

Expert Tips

1. Use “almost” room temperature butter for better creaming of the butter and sugar.
2. Carefully measure the flour using the spoon and sweep method. Makes a huge difference when baking!
3. Chill the cookie dough for at least an hour before baking. This helps the cookies from over spreading.
4. 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!)

1. Take the cookies out of the oven before they are fully cooked (or when you see them getting flat).
2. Use a spatula to gently push the sides of the cookies inward, reshaping the cookies.
3. 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 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)

• USA Pan Half Sheet Pan
• Hand Mixer

Please let me know if you try this recipe. Be sure to comment and leave a review on the blog so I can see what you think. You can also like my Facebook Page, follow me on Pinterest, and catch me on Instagram.

xoxo ~Sue

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

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