Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin spice sugar cookies are happening in my kitchen this fall, and I'm not even sorry about it!

There's something about October in Nashville that makes me want to bake everything pumpkin. The air gets cooler, the leaves start changing, and suddenly I'm pulling out every fall spice I own. These cookies started as a "what if" experiment on a Sunday afternoon when Amy asked if we could make something with the leftover pumpkin puree from our pie making session.

What we ended up with? The softest, most flavorful pumpkin spice sugar cookies topped with tangy cream cheese frosting. They're thick, they're chewy, and they taste like fall wrapped up in cookie form. Bradley ate three before dinner (don't tell John), and Amy has been asking me to pack them in her lunchbox every single day since.

These cookies are ridiculously easy to make. You don't need any fancy equipment or hard-to-find ingredients. Just basic pantry staples, some canned pumpkin, and about 30 minutes of your time. The cream cheese frosting takes them over the top without being too sweet, which is exactly what I look for in a good cookie.

If you're looking for more fall treats, you'll love my pumpkin cookies with orange icing that the kids go crazy for every year.

Jump to:

• Why You'll Love These Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
• What You'll Need for Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies
• How to Make the Best Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
• Storage and Reheating Tips for Pumpkin Cookies
• My Best Tips for Perfect Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
• Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies FAQs
• Recipes You May Like
• Conclusion
• Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Why You'll Love These Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

• So incredibly soft – These cookies stay tender and chewy for days, which is rare in our house because they disappear so fast
• Simple ingredients – Everything you need is probably already in your kitchen right now
• Perfect pumpkin flavor – Not too strong, not too subtle, just the right amount of cozy fall spice
• Kid-approved – Both Amy and Bradley love these, and that's saying something because Bradley is picky about cookies
• Make-ahead friendly – The dough chills beautifully and can even be frozen for later
• That frosting though – Cream cheese frosting makes everything better, and these cookies are no exception

What You'll Need for Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies

For the Cookies:

• ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
• ⅓ cup pumpkin puree (canned works perfectly)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Cinnamon for sprinkling

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened (this is important!)
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
• ¼ cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

I always use canned pumpkin puree for consistency. Fresh pumpkin can work, but it needs to be really well-drained or your cookies might spread too much. Trust me, I learned this the hard way last year when I tried to be fancy with homemade puree.

The pumpkin pie spice is what gives these cookies their signature fall flavor. It's a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. You can make your own if you want, but I usually just grab it from the store because it's easier.

How to Make the Best Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

Prepare Your Oven and Ingredients

1. Set your oven to 350 degrees and let it preheat while you make the dough.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Don't skip this step because it makes cleanup so much easier, and the cookies won't stick.

Mix the Wet Ingredients

3. Add the melted butter, pumpkin puree, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract to a large bowl.
4. Combine everything until smooth and well mixed. I use a wooden spoon for this because it's satisfying to watch it all come together.

The mixture should look creamy and slightly thick. Amy loves helping with this part because there's nothing that can really go wrong.

Add the Dry Ingredients

5. Add in the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and salt to the wet ingredients.
6. Combine everything until a soft cookie dough forms. Don't overmix though! Stop as soon as you don't see any dry flour.

The dough will be softer than regular sugar cookie dough, and that's exactly what we want. It's the pumpkin puree that makes it this way.

Chill the Dough

7. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 25 minutes.

I know waiting is hard (Bradley complains about this every time), but chilling the dough is what keeps these cookies thick and prevents them from spreading into thin pancakes in the oven.

Shape and Bake

8. Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and roll it into balls about 1 ½ to 2 tablespoons each.
9. Place the dough balls on your prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. You should get 12-14 cookies total.
10. Bake for 18 minutes until the edges are set but the centers still look slightly soft.

Don't overbake these! They'll continue cooking a bit on the hot pan after you remove them from the oven.

Make the Cream Cheese Frosting

11. While the cookies bake, add the softened cream cheese and butter to a medium bowl.
12. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. This takes about 2 minutes.
13. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract, then beat again until fluffy.
14. Pop the frosting in the fridge until your cookies are completely cooled.

The key here is making sure both the cream cheese and butter are actually softened. If they're cold, the frosting will be lumpy. I usually take them out of the fridge about an hour before I start baking.

Frost and Serve

15. Remove the baked cookies from the oven and let them cool completely on the baking sheet. This is crucial because frosting warm cookies makes everything melt into a mess.
16. Spread about a tablespoon of cream cheese frosting on top of each cooled cookie.
17. Sprinkle a tiny bit of extra pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon on top for that pretty finish and extra flavor.
18. Enjoy these soft, spiced beauties with a glass of cold milk or your favorite fall beverage!

Storage and Reheating Tips for Pumpkin Cookies

These pumpkin spice sugar cookies actually taste even better the next day when the flavors have had time to settle in together.

Store your frosted cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. The cream cheese frosting needs to stay cold, so room temperature storage isn't an option here.

If you want to store unfrosted cookies, they can sit at room temperature in a sealed container for 3-4 days. Just frost them when you're ready to serve.

Here's a trick I use when I'm baking for a party: I bake the cookies a day or two ahead and freeze them unfrosted. The morning of the event, I let them thaw, make fresh frosting, and frost them right before serving. They taste like they just came out of the oven.

The cookie dough also freezes beautifully for up to 3 months. I roll it into balls, freeze them on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag. You can bake them straight from frozen by adding 2-3 extra minutes to the baking time.

My Best Tips for Perfect Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

Don't skip the chilling time. I've tried making these without chilling the dough when I was in a rush, and the cookies spread way too much. They were still tasty but flat and crispy instead of thick and soft.

Use room temperature eggs. Cold eggs don't mix as well with the other ingredients. I usually take mine out of the fridge when I start preheating the oven.

Measure your flour correctly. Too much flour makes dry, tough cookies. I spoon the flour into my measuring cup and level it off with a knife instead of scooping directly from the bag.

Let the cookies cool completely before frosting. Seriously, I know I already said this, but it's so important! Warm cookies plus cream cheese frosting equals a melted disaster.

Want to make these extra special? Try adding a handful of white chocolate chips to the dough. Bradley loves them this way, and the sweetness pairs perfectly with the pumpkin spice.

You can also make these cookies smaller for parties. Just use about 1 tablespoon of dough per cookie and bake for 12-14 minutes instead. You'll get about 24 mini cookies that are perfect for sharing.

Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies FAQs

Recipes You May Like

• Pumpkin Cookies with Orange Icing – Another fall favorite that Amy requests constantly, these have a bright citrus frosting that's so fun
• Yuzu Lemon Crinkle Cookies – If you love the soft, thick texture of these pumpkin cookies, you'll go crazy for these citrus ones
• Fudgy Peppermint Brownie Cookies – Not pumpkin, but another seasonal cookie recipe that's become a family tradition

Conclusion

These pumpkin spice sugar cookies have become one of our most-requested fall recipes, right up there with our Halloween treats and Thanksgiving desserts. They're the kind of cookies that make your whole house smell amazing while they're baking.

What I love most is how simple they are to make. No weird ingredients, no complicated techniques, just straightforward baking that anyone can do. The combination of soft, spiced cookies with tangy cream cheese frosting hits all the right notes.

Whether you're baking for a fall party, packing lunchbox treats, or just want something cozy to enjoy with your afternoon coffee, these cookies deliver every single time.

Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think! Save it to Pinterest so you can find it again when pumpkin season rolls around next year.

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