A soft and tender cake-like pumpkin cookie with pumpkin pie spices, slathered with an amazing brown butter icing! This Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Icing recipe is the pumpkin recipe that started the whole pumpkin obsession for me, and they do not disappoint!
Hello, friends! How’s everybody? Today we are chugging along with more pumpkin things. Are you sick of it yet? Good. Me neither! I’m going to level with you… these are cakey pumpkin cookies. Because, as of right now, I don’t have a perfect chewy pumpkin cookie recipe that I really love. But I’m working on it. Just you wait. (The wait is over: you NEED to try these Pumpkin Spice Latte Cookies! They’re the perfect chewy pumpkin cookie! They’re loaded with spice, and a hint of coffee too.).
Today though, this is what I’m giving you: a cakey pumpkin cookie. A recipe for pumpkin mini-cakes labeled as cookies. No matter. These Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Icing are still perfect and lovely. A cakey pumpkin cookie still has its time and place! These are ridiculously delicious. This recipe is old, old, old. It’s another one that was born out of my law school days when the only life I had outside of studying was experimenting in my kitchen. It’s tried-and-true deliciousness for the ages.
These Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Icing are soft and tender little pillows of pumpkin goodness combined with the best fall spices. It doesn’t stop there. They are then slathered in an amazing brown butter icing. If there is something better than brown butter in this world, then I’m not aware of it. You can also find it on these Brown Sugar Maple Bacon Scones, and a slew of other things on the blog. I’m obsessed with brown butter, basically. I even have a brown butter buttercream recipe. It’s unreal.
These Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Icing are a perfect and balanced combination of some of the best flavors of fall. Like a party for autumn in a cookie (Errr, a mini-cake?). Have a fall party in your mouth! Make this pumpkin cookie recipe. You will not be sorry. I made them last week. We ate them all in about 2 days. And now they must happen again.
Yes, you caught me. There are little powdered sugar clumps in the icing. Let’s pretend those aren’t there, shall we? Also… the cookie with the bite looks like Pac-Man, doesn’t it? Adventures in learning how to photograph food, people. That is what you’re witnessing here. 🙂
Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Brown Butter Icing
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 1/2 c. butter softened
- 3/4 c. white sugar
- 3/4 c. packed brown sugar
- 1 c. canned pumpkin puree
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 1/2 c. flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp. clove
- 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
Icing:
- 3 c. powdered sugar
- 1/2 c. unsalted butter
- 1/4 c. milk
- 2 tsp. vanilla
Instructions
Cookies:
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In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars.
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Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla; beat until well-blended.
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In another large bowl, combine remaining ingredients (all the dry cookie ingredients).
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Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and beat until just combined.
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Drop on cookie sheets by tablespoonfuls, and flatten slightly.
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Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned.
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Remove cookies to a wire rack. Cool completely.
Icing:
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Place the powdered sugar in a medium bowl, and set aside.
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Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently, until golden brown. It will develop brown flecks and a nutty fragrance, about 10 minutes.
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Remove from heat, cool 2-3 minutes, and pour over powdered sugar.
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Add milk and vanilla, and vigorously whisk the mixture until smooth. Icing should be thin enough to spread, but not runny or drippy. Add additional milk or powdered sugar, as needed, to achieve desired consistency.
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Spread approximately 1 tablespoon of icing onto each cookie. Allow to set. Enjoy!
I hope you love these Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Icing!! Please let me know if you try them!
These look delicious… perfect cookies in fall season.
Thanks! Yes, they’re fantastic. BROWN BUTTER! Haha. Thank you for stopping by! Have a wonderful weekend!
That made me laugh that you mentionned Sally’s Baking Addiction’s pumpkin cookies, because I had just finished making her pumpkin chocolate chip cookies when I read this! Still a bit cake-y but definitely less so than most pumpkin cookies! I love the brown butter icing on these, brown butter is so good.
I’m now convinced that a truly chewy pumpkin cookie doesn’t exist! I can’t seem to make it happen without sacrificing pumpkin flavor, which, HELLO, is all I really want anyway! Haha. But these are excellent even if they fall under the ‘cakey’ category! Brown butter… best stuff on the planet, right? Hope you’re having a wonderful weekend!! 🙂
I just went to a birthday party and the host served cookie that looked exactly like this that she purchased from a bakery! They were amazing like these sound and look! PINNED because now I can make these sweet treats at home! Sweet! :–)
Saying hello from the craft o maniac link party!
Cathy
Hi Cathy! Thanks so much for stopping by! I’m so glad you like this recipe – the cookies are unbelievably good! The brown butter icing… there are no words to describe! Haha. Thank you for pinning! I’ve followed you as well because I took note of your Apple Cider Doughnut Cake recently on another link party and it sounded delicious. Happy Sunday to you!
Oh. My. Gosh. These cookies looks sooooo good! I have to pin this recipe. Thanks for sharing. Stopping in from the link up today.
Oh, how funny because I saw your Cobbler recipe in the linkup and hadn’t had a chance yet to leave a comment! Thanks so much for stopping by! I appreciate it. Btw, I LOVE LOVE LOVE your blog name! 🙂
Sarah, I love that you used brown butter in the icing; it adds such an amazing flavor! Your cookies look pillowy soft and I know my family would love them. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Can’t get enough of pumpkin!
Hi Heather! Thank you so much for stopping by! These are one of my favorite cookies of all time. They’re just incredible. Isn’t brown butter the greatest? 🙂 I hopped over to your blog and spotted these. You had me at brown butter, but butterscotch + cashews? Omgosh. Pinned, for sure. Have a great evening!
Thanks for the pin, Sarah! The blondies are my absolute favorite:) Good to find another butterscotch fan!
These look amazing! I have a pumpkin pie recipe I love, Pumpkin bread and even a pumpkin spice latte recipe I adore, but pumpkin cookies! Yay! Thank you so much! Can’t wait to try!
Hi Gwen! I’m so glad you like the cookie recipe! Try them! They’re delicious and easy, and the icing is AMAZING!! Thanks for stopping by here! Have a fabulous day. 🙂
Oh my! Pumpkin AND brown butter icing? I’ve just gone to cookie Heaven! Thanks for sharing at Wednesday Whatsits!
I feel the same way! These are definitely a cookie euphoria for me. I can’t get enough pumpkin things right now and I heart brown butter so much. Definitely one of my favorite things on the planet. Haha! Thanks for stopping by, Rachel! 🙂
I didn’t know what the big deal was about brown butter. Then I made it. OH.MY.WORD. That’s why I immediately clicked over here from Mouthwatering Mondays! Love your blog, love this recipe. Yum! Pinning. 🙂
I know – it’s funny that butter is sooooooooo incredible and amazing when you basically cook the heck out of it. Who would’ve thought? But it is! Haha. Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate your kind comment! 🙂
Oh my gosh, I’m pretty sure my friend made this exact recipe and brought them to school today. YUM! They were so good!
Hi Sami! Yes, I love these cookies. I have tried a lot of different pumpkin cookies, and so far, these are my favorite! Thanks for stopping by!
These look absolutely amazing!
Thank you, Tiffany! Thank you for stopping by!
Thank you for linking up these delicious looking cookies to Wonderful Wed. Blog Hop last week.
I am adding them to my Cookie Roundup post.
Blessings,
Diane Roark
Hi Diane! Thanks so much for popping over here, and for including me in the cookie roundup! I feel so honored. I appreciate it! Hope you’re having a wonderful weekend!! 🙂
Thank you for linking up with us again at Tickle My Tastebuds! I am featuring you this week and would love if you’d stop by and link up some more delicious recipes!
Julia @ Mini Van Dreams
Hi Julia! Done! Thanks so much for the party, and for featuring these cookies! Hope you have a fantastic week! 🙂
What great stuff! I LOVE to bake.
So glad you like the recipe!
Does the icing harden? They sound wonderful. I would like to take them to a party and wonder how to transport them and how many days in adcvance of the party can I make them. Thanks
Hi there! The icing hardens! It sets if you leave them out in a single layer. They should be fairly easy to transport once the icing sets. I would put foil or saran between layers of cookies though! You can definitely make these a day or two ahead of time. You could even make them well ahead of time, and freeze, if you wanted, but I’d freeze separately – freeze the cookies, make and freeze the icing, then defrost and assemble. Please let me know how you like them!
What size can pumpkin?? Cant wait to make these
Just realized it’s a cup … sorry my bad lol
No problem!! 🙂 Please let me know how you like them!
Ohhhhhhh, YES! Made these last night and boy are they Yummy! They even look like the picture 😄
Thanks for sharing this recipe Golden Girl👩🏼🍳
Oh, that’s awesome!! I’m so happy to hear that. This recipe has been super popular lately. The pictures on my blog post are OLD!! I’ve made these a few times this month too, and these are such a staple for me. I love them. I’m so happy you like them too. 🙂
I used a whole 15oz can of pumpkin on accident 🤦🏻♀️ How can I fix this?
Eek!! That’s almost double the amount, so double the rest of the recipe, if it’s not too late! You’ll just have LOTS of cookies, but that’s not a big problem. 🙂
I thought I’d try this. Yummy! They were gone in no time. Have made second batch already this week. Daughter wants a batch to take to work. Put on my husband’s favorite ,list. I said they are just like his mom’s orange drop cookies but pumpkin spice.had no problem with the recipe? Thanks.
Hi Kristie! YAY! I’m so glad you like them. They’ve been a favorite of mine for years. I should really update the pictures in that post though – they’re quite awful. Haha. Your MIL’s orange drop cookies sound amazing!!
Just made these!! Divine!! Mmmmm!! Thought I would have too much frosting but it was just enough!! Excellent recipe!!
Wonderful!! I’m so glad it worked for you! Any critique or feedback? I’ve made them for a long time, and really love them. So glad you liked them too! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
These cookies look delicious! Do you unsalted butter or salted for the cookie part?? Thanks!
I know a lot of bakers use unsalted butter, but I’ve baked with salted butter for years, so I just haven’t really changed that about my recipes. I use salted! Thanks for clarifying. 🙂 I hope you like them – made them for years now!
I only have unsalted butter, how much salt do I add to the cookie mixture? I thought salt was always an important part of the baking process. 🤔
Can’t wait to make them and try them!
Unsalted butter is totally fine! Add 1/4 tsp. salt! It’s helpful for balancing and enhancing sweetness, so I do add it when I’m not using salted butter. 🙂
Soooooo good. Making these for my sons birthday to take to his class. Delicious!!
Yay! I’m so glad you like them!! Thank you so much for letting me know! Anything you would change next time? Thanks for your comment. 🙂
Hi i was wondering what size canned pumpkin?
You use 1 cup canned pumpkin puree – a 15 oz. can will be plenty, you won’t use the whole thing!
Perfect thank you 🙂
Just made these tonight! The cookies themselves are SO good. I just realized as I was reading the other comments that I used a whole can of pumpkin purée instead of a cup and honestly I’d keep it that way. The cookie taste is great and it cooked just fine (although I had to cook them about 15 mins or so).
What I feel I must have done wrong is the icing. My husband and I both felt like it tasted almost exclusively like the vanilla and overpowered the cookies. I ended up only drizzling a little bit of the icing on 2/3s of the cookies and left the last tray plain. Should the icing have tasted more like butter? I have more unsalted butter so I might try again tomorrow with less powdered sugar and vanilla.
Great recipe though. Again, we loved the cookies even without the icing (and with extra pumpkin purée thrown in.).
Oh, you used a whole 15 oz. can and they still turned out great? Whew, that’s great! I thought I’d seen one or two other comments about how much pumpkin, so I’m going to make a note in there so that it’s clearer. I’m so glad they still turned out well for you even with the extra! Maybe I’ll try that myself. Thank you for letting me know!
The brown butter icing should definitely have a bit more depth than being just a vanilla icing – it should have notes of nuttiness and caramel in it. It shouldn’t overpower the cookies though… I myself do a pretty thin layer of frosting (though my family goes OVER that and adds more to the cookies I’ve frosted – haha!). But I like to make sure that they don’t overtake. I’m sorry it didn’t turn out for you! If you decide to try it again, let me know how it goes. Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Hello! Just made these delicious cookies! So amazing I must say! But my icing is veryyyy sweet, anything to fix that?
I’m sorry I didn’t see your comment earlier in the day! I would say to add a pinch of salt if it’s too sweet – that might help cut it a bit!
Just made these for Thanksgiving Day. I followed the cookie recipe but had to make a few adjustments after making my first batch.
First, I added 1 tsp nutmeg and cloves instead of just 1/4 tsp to the dough mix.
Second, when droping by Tbsps of dough onto parchment paper, I totally had to flatten my dough balls to look like cookies cuz my first
batch looked just like baked cake balls and tasted really dry.
Third, I sprinkled more cinnamon on top of the flattened dough balls before baking them.
The icing was a little on the sweet side, so I sprinkled more nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon into it to my taste.
These pumkin spice mini cakes came out great!
Thank you for this recipe. Happy Thanksgiving. Aloha from Hawaiʻi.
Thank you so much for sharing your feedback! Nutmeg is not my favorite, so I usually do pretty small amounts, but the spices can definitely be changed easily for preference. I’m glad you found a combo of spices that you liked better! And yes – sometimes they are pretty puffy, occasionally I slightly flatten them, but usually they flatten out as they cool. I’m glad that you liked them overall, and I hope you had a wonderful holiday!! Thank you!! 🙂
If I use salted butter will that make a big difference?
Nope, it won’t! I use salted butter most of the time. Unless I indicate that I used unsalted in a recipe, I use salted! I know a lot of bakers work with unsalted butter only, but I mostly use salted because it’s just how I know my recipes at this point. 🙂 Please let me know how you like them!
Do these have to go in the fridge or freezer? Every year I make about 1800 cookies the week before and the week of Christmas (a few different types) and either fridge or freeze them until it’s time to give them away. How should I keep these cookies fresh? They look and sound amazing! Thank you!
HOLY COOKIES!! Eek! What all are you making this year? I’d love to know what’s on your baking list!
I would refrigerate them to keep them fresh. Freezing shouldn’t be needed if you’re only making them a few days before – these should keep well for a solid 5 days or close to a week. They’re cakey though, so I think they would benefit from time in the fridge! I hope you like them. Please let me know. They’ve been a favorite cookie of mine for many years now! 🙂