These Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies are the ultimate fall dessert! They are so soft and chewy and made with real pumpkin puree and pumpkin spices then topped with an easy powdered sugar frosting. This easy recipe delivers delicious results every time!
Even though it's usually still 90 degrees in Texas, once September 1st rolls around, I'm ready for the fall season! Bring on the pumpkin spice, apple crisp, and every other quintessential fall flavor you can find!
One of my favorite ways to kick off fall is with these super easy Pumpkin Spice cookies! They are packed with cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and all the warm flavors of autumn.
If you are a pumpkin fan check out my Pumpkin Spice Latte, Iced Maple Latte, Easy Homemade Pumpkin Pie, and Pumpkin Banana Bread.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Quick and Easy: These cookies come together in under 30 minutes, making them perfect for a last-minute treat.
- Festive Flavor: The pumpkin spice blend brings the cozy, warm flavors of fall into every bite.
- Kid-Friendly: Kids will love helping to make (and eat) these soft and chewy cookies.
Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter: Kerrygold Butter works great. You will want to use unsalted, room-temperature butter.
- Egg: Room temperature, pasture-raised organic egg.
- Pumpkin Puree: Be sure to use pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling! Check the ingredients and make sure the only ingredient listed is organic pumpkin puree.
- Coconut Sugar: Coconut sugar is not refined, and a great replacement for white sugar.
- Vanilla Extract: You can also use vanilla bean paste.
- Gluten-Free Flour: You can use any gluten-free flour here, however, I prefer 1:1 baking flour like Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Flour.
- Almond Flour: Super fine almond flour works best. I like to use Bob’s Red Mill.
- Baking Powder: Not baking soda!
- Sea Salt: Redmond Real Salt is a great option.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: Simply Organics makes my favorite Pumpkin Pie Spice. You can also make your own by combining ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.
- Powdered Sugar: Lakanto makes a Monk Fruit sweetener which is a fantastic 1:1 substitute for powdered sugar.
- Dairy-Free Milk: I use my Homemade Cashew Milk, which is slightly sweetened, but any non-dairy milk (or dairy if you can easily tolerate it) will work.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
- Non-Gluten-Free: If you are not gluten-free you can swap out the gluten-free flour for all-purpose flour.
- Spices: If you don't have pumpkin pie spice, you can create your spice blend with cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and nutmeg. Feel free to mix and match and create your own warm spices!
- Sugar: If you are not concerned with keeping the recipe refined sugar-free, you can swap the coconut sugar for brown sugar. For a non-refined option, you can use maple syrup.
- Frosting: You can top these soft sugar cookies with royal icing, buttercream frosting, or cream cheese frosting. You can also skip the frosting altogether.
How To Make Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Step 1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees f. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Step 2. In a small bowl, whisk the gluten-free baking flour, almond flour, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
Step 3. Add the room-temperature butter, and coconut sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment of your electric mixer, mix at medium speed until combined. Beat in the egg, pumpkin pie puree, and vanilla extract.
Step 4. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed. You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure everything is combined. Be careful not to overmix!
Step 5. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out the sugar cookie dough and roll it into a ball, then place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Continue until you have formed 12 balls.
Step 6. Place a small square of parchment paper or plastic wrap (large enough to cover the ball) on top of one of the balls of dough. Using a mason jar gently press down on the dough until it flattens about halfway. Continue until all 12 balls have been pressed down. Be careful not to flatten completely.
Step 7. Place the dough balls onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden.
Step 8. Allow the cookies to cool for 5-10 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a wire rack while you prepare the icing.
Step 9. Add powdered sugar and 2 tablespoon dairy-free milk to a small bowl and stir to combine. If you need to thin out the icing add another tablespoon of milk.
Step 10. Once the pumpkin cookies have cooled, add 1 teaspoon of icing to each cookie. Spread it out to cover the top of the soft sugar cookie and sprinkle with a pinch of cinnamon
Expert Tips and Notes
- For the best soft and chewy texture, be careful not to overbake these cookies. They may look slightly underdone when you take them out of the oven—but they'll continue to set as they cool.
- Let the cookies cool completely before you add the icing!
Serving Suggestions
- Iced Maple Latte
- Dairy-Free Pumpkin Spiced Latte
- Peppermint Matcha Latte
- Vanilla Ice Cream (hello ice cream sandwiches!)
Storage and Reheating
- Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: You can totally make these cookies in advance and freeze them for later—They will store up to 3 months!
- Reheating: To reheat, place them in a 300-degree f oven for 5 minutes.
Recipe FAQs
No, you will want to stick to real pumpkin puree. Pumpkin pie filling contains added sugars and spices that will alter the pumpkin flavor and texture of the cookies.
Yes! You can prepare the dough and refrigerate it for up to 48 hours before baking. Just let it sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before scooping and baking.
More Dessert Recipes
If you tried these Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today!
Soft Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies With Frosting
Ingredients
For The Cookies
- ½ cup Butter room temperature, unsalted
- 1 Egg room temperature
- ½ cup Coconut Sugar
- ⅓ cup Pumpkin Puree
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Gluten Free Baking Flour
- 1 cup Almond Flour super fine
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
For The Icing
- ¼+2tbsp cup Monk Fruit Powdered Sugar
- 2-3 tablespoon Dairy Free Milk
Instructions
For The Cookies
- In a small bowl, whisk the gluten-free baking flour, almond flour, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
- Add the room-temperature butter, and coconut sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment of your electric mixer, mix at medium speed until combined.
- Beat in the egg, pumpkin pie puree, and vanilla extract.
- Add about ⅓ of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed. Once combined, add another ⅓ of the flour mixture and repeat for the final ⅓. Mix on medium-to-low until combined. You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure everything is combined. Be careful not to overmix.
- Remove your bowl from the stand-mixer and cover with plastic wrap. Store in the fridge for one hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out the sugar cookie dough and roll it into a ball, then place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Continue until you have formed 12 balls.
- Place a small square of parchment paper or plastic wrap (large enough to cover the ball) on top of one of the balls of dough. Using a mason jar gently press down on the dough until it flattens about halfway. Continue until all 12 balls have been pressed down. Be careful not to flatten completely.
- Place the dough balls onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden.
- Allow the cookies to cool for 5-10 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a wire rack while you prepare the icing.
For The Icing
- Add powdered sugar and 2 tablespoon dairy-free milk to a small bowl and stir to combine. If you need to thin out the icing add another tablespoon of milk.
- Once the pumpkin cookies have cooled, add 1 teaspoon of icing to each cookie. Spread it out to cover the top of the soft sugar cookie and sprinkle with a pinch of cinnamon.
Notes
- For the best soft and chewy texture, be careful not to overbake these cookies. They may look slightly underdone when you take them out of the oven—but they'll continue to set as they cool.
- Let the cookies cool completely before you add the icing!
Nutrition
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