Oh, when that first crisp morning hits and you just crave that warm, cozy feeling, nothing beats pulling a fresh batch of autumn spices out of the cupboard! That’s exactly what inspired these incredible Pumpkin Spice Cookies. I wanted a recipe that wasn’t those hard, cakey discs you sometimes find—no thank you!
My goal was simple: the absolute softest, chewiest cookie imaginable, perfectly balanced with just the right amount of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. These embody that heritage feeling I grew up with—simple, comforting, and made to share at the kitchen table. Trust me, these sweet treats are going to be your new favorite fall tradition. They just melt in your mouth!
Why You Will Love These Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Honestly, once you try these, you won’t go back to any other recipe. They tick every single box for fall baking perfection. I made sure these were easy enough for a weeknight but special enough for company. Here’s why they quickly became a family staple:
- They are unbelievably soft & chewy! That texture is non-negotiable for me.
- The spice blend is warm and fragrant, but never overpowers the lovely pumpkin base.
- These are truly easy cookie recipes; we mix this up quickly—no fancy techniques required!
- They bake up beautifully round with those lovely crinkles on top that just beg for a dunk in coffee.
- The chilling time is short, making them quick enough for a last-minute craving.
- They hold their shape so well, making them perfect for packing up or gifting.
Essential Ingredients for Perfect Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Okay, let’s talk turkey—or maybe I should say pumpkin! Getting the right foundation is everything when you want truly amazing Pumpkin Spice Cookies. I’ve broken down exactly what you need below. Don’t stress too much; these are standard pantry items, but the quality matters, especially for those warm spices!
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter softened
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 Tablespoon pumpkin spice (this is our main flavor driver!)
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon (we add a little extra pop here)
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk (don’t skip that extra yolk—it’s key!)
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups (350 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- For rolling: ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- For rolling: 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions for Soft & Chewy Cookies
Every item on that list has a job to do if we want those beautiful Soft & Chewy Cookies. For instance, I call for an extra egg yolk. That yolk is pure fat and richness; it prevents the cookie from drying out and guarantees that tender crumb we love so much!
Also, see that cream of tartar? It might sound old-fashioned, but it’s vital! It reacts with the baking soda to keep the cookies softly textured and slightly chewy, rather than cakey or flat. If you run out, you can substitute it using ¼ teaspoon lemon juice, but honestly, the cream of tartar is worth keeping around for baking.
Now, about the spices—I listed pumpkin spice and cinnamon separately. You see, pre-mixed pumpkin pie spice blends can vary wildly in strength. If you absolutely must use only one pre-mixed jar, use about 1 ¼ Tablespoons of your favorite blend in place of the separate 1 Tbsp pumpkin spice and ¼ tsp cinnamon listed above. But trust me, measuring them out yourself gives you control over that perfect comforting fall flavor!
Step-by-Step Instructions for Homemade Cookies
Alright, let’s get this autumn magic started! Baking instructions can seem fussy, but I promise, following these simple steps ensures you get those gorgeous, soft Pumpkin Spice Cookies every single time. Making great Homemade Cookies relies on paying attention right now, especially before they hit the oven. Don’t forget to preheat your oven to 350F (175C) before you even start combining things, and make sure those baking sheets are lined with parchment paper—it saves cleanup duty later! If you love getting deep into cookie science, you should check out my post on how to bake perfect cookies every time!
Mixing the Dough for the Best Pumpkin Spice Cookies
First things first, grab your mixing bowl. We need to get that butter, brown sugar, and our lovely spices creamed until they are beautifully smooth. That takes a minute or two with the mixer. Next, we carefully add the egg, the extra yolk (remember that richness!), and the vanilla. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of that bowl really well here! You don’t want pockets of unincorporated butter hiding down there; we want perfect incorporation!
Now for the dry stuff. Mix your flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt in a separate bowl. With the mixer on its absolute lowest speed—and I mean low—gradually add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. As soon as you don’t see any dry streaks left, stop! Overmixing the flour is the fastest way to take the ‘soft’ out of these cookies, so stop as soon as it comes together.
Chilling and Rolling Your Cookie Dough
This next step is non-negotiable for texture, so stick with me! Cover that dough tightly and pop it in the fridge for a solid 30 minutes. This chilling time lets the flour hydrate properly, which stops the cookies from spreading into flat pancakes while they bake. While that’s happening, quickly whisk together your granulated sugar and the extra teaspoon of pumpkin spice for rolling in a small dish.
Once chilled, pull out the dough. You want one and a half tablespoon-sized balls here—I use a small cookie scoop—that’s about 35 grams if you’re weighing. Roll those little dough balls right through your spiced sugar mixture until they’re totally coated. Then, lay them onto that prepared baking sheet, making sure they have at least two inches between them, because these beauties puff up just a little bit!
Baking Tips for Soft & Chewy Cookies
Pulling these Pumpkin Spice Cookies out of the oven at exactly the right moment is the secret handshake of a great baker. We want to capture peak softness, right? It’s all about reading what the cookie tells you, not just watching the clock.
Here are a few things I’ve learned over years of trying to make the best Soft & Chewy Cookies possible. These little tips elevate them from good to absolutely unforgettable. If you’re looking for other fantastic baking inspiration, check out my thoughts on making the best Cowboy Cookies too!
First tip: Trust the Edges, Ignore the Center (Initially!). The recipe says 8 to 10 minutes, but that’s just a guideline. You are looking for the edges of the cookie to look firm and set—maybe just starting to look dry. If the entire cookie looks solid brown, you’ve baked too long, and you’ll end up with a crispy situation.
Second, and this is huge: Don’t Touch Them Immediately! When you pull them out, those centers are still extremely fragile and hot, even if they look set. They will continue to bake on that hot sheet pan for a good five minutes as they cool down. If you try to move them right away, they’ll fall apart, guaranteed. Let them hang out there, setting up their structure, before you even think about transferring.
Third, if you notice your cookies are spreading too much, it usually means your butter was too soft when you creamed it, or you skipped the chill time—oops! For puffier cookies next time, make sure your butter is cool but pliable when you cream it, and give that dough that full 30 minutes in the fridge. A colder start means less spread.
Finally, use an oven thermometer if you can! Ovens lie to us all the time. If your oven runs hot, those 8 minutes might actually be too long. A thermometer lets you know that 350°F really means 350°F, which keeps your cookies perfectly soft and spiced.
Serving Suggestions for Your Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Now that you have these amazing, warm, spiced Pumpkin Spice Cookies cooling, you have to think about what you’re going to pair them with! These aren’t just any Dessert Recipes; they are pure fall comfort, and they honestly demand a beverage partner that can handle those deep spice notes.
My absolute favorite way to enjoy these is when they are still slightly warm, grabbed straight off the cooling rack with a big mug of something steaming. A rich, dark roast coffee, nothing too fancy, really lets that cinnamon and clove shine through. If coffee isn’t your jam, a strong black tea or even just a big glass of cold milk works wonders!
If you’re feeling ambitious and want to make the whole afternoon cozy, try making one of my featured warm drinks! You can find some truly wonderful pairings for these cookies over on my list of cozy, creative hot drink recipes. A small cider or even a homemade spiced latte would be just heavenly alongside these soft treats. Honestly though, they are so good on their own, they barely need anything at all!
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips for Pumpkin Spice Cookies
We never seem to have enough of these Pumpkin Spice Cookies, but when we do manage to have extras, I have rules about storage! Because these are so wonderfully soft, we have to treat them gently so they don’t dry out or get squished. These aren’t the kind of cookies you just leave out on a platter uncovered for days; they need a little protection to stay marvelous.
For baked cookies, the key is an airtight container. Seriously, seal them up tight! I usually layer mine between sheets of parchment paper right in the container—just a piece between layers of cookies to stop them from sticking together. Stored this way at cool room temperature, they stay perfectly soft and chewy for I’d say four or five days. If you keep them refrigerated, sometimes the brown sugar hardens up and you lose that soft texture, so keep them out on the counter if you plan to eat them within the week.
Now, the real secret to year-round enjoyment? Make-ahead dough! I almost always double the recipe just so I can freeze half the dough. Roll the dough balls out just like you would for baking, coat them totally in that spiced sugar mixture, and then place them on a baking sheet to freeze for about an hour until they’re rock solid. Once they’re hard little orbs, toss them all into a freezer-safe zip-top bag. You don’t even need to thaw them!
When a craving hits, just pull out as many frozen dough balls as you need, add about 1 or 2 minutes to the baking time—maybe 10 to 12 minutes total at 350F—and you have hot, fresh, Homemade Cookies. This way, you always have Easy Cookie Recipes ready in under 15 minutes without doing all the mixing!
Frequently Asked Questions About Pumpkin Spice Cookies
When I first developed this recipe for Pumpkin Spice Cookies, I had about a million questions myself! Baking is all about experimentation, but sometimes you just need to know the reliable answers so you don’t waste good ingredients. Since these are intended to be one of your go-to Easy Cookie Recipes, I wanted to make sure you didn’t run into any snags.
Here are the things folks ask me most often when they are whipping up a batch of these autumn delights. Don’t hesitate to pop your own extra questions in the comments below if you have them!
Can I use canned pumpkin puree in these Pumpkin Spice Cookies?
Yes, you absolutely can use standard canned pumpkin puree instead of fresh pumpkin if you need a shortcut! But here’s the big warning sign, and this is super important for texture: canned pumpkin has a lot more water than fresh cooked pumpkin, and if you just dump it in, these Homemade Cookies will spread out into thin, sad puddles in the oven.
To fix this, you must drain the moisture out first. Spoon the puree into a fine-mesh sieve lined with a paper towel or cheesecloth and let it sit over a bowl in the fridge for at least an hour, or even overnight if you have time. You aren’t trying to get it dry, just releasing some of that excess liquid. Once it’s thicker, you can use it just like you would the pumpkin I used in the recipe!
How do I make these cookies thicker or puffier?
I love a thick cookie—I absolutely do! If you want these already soft cookies to be extra thick and a bit puffier when they come out of the oven, we need to make sure the dough is cold when it hits the heat. You can actually leave the dough chilling for an hour instead of the required 30 minutes; that extra time helps the fats solidify.
The other critical area is creaming the butter and sugar (Step 1). When you start creaming, make sure your softened butter isn’t room temperature warm—it should still feel slightly cool to the touch. When that butter is too warm, it mixes too easily with the sugar, incorporating air that collapses later. If the butter is slightly cooler and firmer, it traps more air during creaming, which leads to a fluffier, thicker cookie structure when baked!
Estimated Nutritional Information for Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Now, listen up, because I always get asked about the numbers! We are making cozy, sweet treats here, not health bars, so don’t go scrutinizing this too closely if you’re just looking for happiness in a bite. But for those of you keeping track, I’ve gathered the estimates for one of these glorious Pumpkin Spice Cookies.
These figures are based on the ingredients listed in the recipe above, assuming you get about 2 dozen cookies out of the batch. Remember, as with all my baking recipes, these are just helpful guidelines. If you use a different brand of butter, or maybe a heavier hand with the sugar coating, things will shift a tiny bit!
Here is the rough breakdown:
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 180
- Sugar: 15g
- Fat: 9g (5g saturated)
- Carbohydrates: 24g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 35mg
Because we use brown sugar and butter generously to guarantee that amazing softness, the sugar and fat content reflect that rich, decadent flavor profile! Don’t stress over the numbers, though. These are meant for holidays and cozy afternoons, and they are totally worth every bite. Enjoy them with your coffee this fall!
Share Your Homemade Cookies Experience
And just like that, you’ve got a beautiful batch of the coziest Pumpkin Spice Cookies cooling on the rack! I truly hope the scent of cinnamon and spice fills your home the way it always does mine. These recipes, the ones steeped in tradition and warmth, only become better when they are shared around the table.
I absolutely live to hear how your baking sessions went! Did they come out perfectly soft? Did your family request them again before the platter was empty? Don’t be shy—please take a moment to leave a rating right here on the card and tell me all about your experience in the comments below. It helps new bakers feel confident diving into these Homemade Cookies!
If you snap a picture of your beautiful, spiced treats, please share it on social media and tag us! Seeing my family recipes come to life in your kitchens is honestly the best part of my job as a Family Cooking Specialist here at Sena Recipes.
Keeping these classic, comforting baking traditions alive is what I love doing most—you can read a little more about my own journey and love for heritage cooking over on the About Us page. Now go enjoy that well-earned sweet treat!
Print
Soft Pumpkin Spice Cookies
- Total Time: 55 min
- Yield: About 2 dozen 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Bake soft, chewy pumpkin spice cookies perfect for fall gatherings. This recipe uses simple steps for a comforting, spiced treat.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter softened
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 Tablespoon pumpkin spice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups (350 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- For rolling: ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- For rolling: 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
Instructions
- Combine butter, brown sugar, pumpkin spice, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl. Beat until smooth.
- Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Stir on low speed until well incorporated, scraping the bowl sides and bottom as needed.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.
- With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients until completely combined. Scrape the bowl sides and bottom to finish mixing.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- While the dough chills, whisk together the granulated sugar and pumpkin spice for rolling in a small bowl.
- Preheat your oven to 350F (175C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Roll the dough into 1 ½ Tablespoon (35g) sized balls.
- Roll each ball through the sugar/pumpkin spice mixture until fully coated. Place the coated balls on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them at least 2 inches (5cm) apart.
- Bake on the center rack at 350F (175C) for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are set but the centers are still slightly soft.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet before moving them.
Notes
- These cookies pair well with coffee or tea.
- The dough requires chilling time for best texture.
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 180
- Sugar: 15
- Sodium: 80
- Fat: 9
- Saturated Fat: 5
- Unsaturated Fat: 4
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 24
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 2
- Cholesterol: 35
Keywords: Pumpkin Spice Cookies, Easy Cookie Recipes, Homemade Cookies, Baking Recipes, Soft & Chewy Cookies, Fall Baking, Spiced Cookies