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- 1
Heat the oven
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line your baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. These cookies are soft and tend to stick, so a liner really is worth it here.
- 2
Cream the butter and sugars
In a large bowl, beat 1/2 cup softened salted butter for about 2 minutes until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat 1 more minute until fluffy. Taking the time to cream these well is what builds the light, tender crumb.
- 3
Add pumpkin, vanilla, and egg
Beat in 1 cup pumpkin puree (make sure it's pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling), then the vanilla and the egg. The batter will look a little grainy at this stage — that's completely normal, so don't worry.
- 4
Mix in the dry ingredients
Add the flour but don't mix yet. Make a well in the center and add the baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice, stirring them into the flour a bit first so you don't get pockets of baking soda. Mix just until combined and no streaks remain. Stop there — overmixing develops gluten and toughens the cookies.
- 5
Scoop the dough
The dough is more like a thick batter — very soft and sticky. Skip the cookie scoop and use two spoons instead: scoop up a heaping tablespoon with one and push it onto the pan with the other. Leave about 2 inches between cookies. They don't need to be perfect balls.
- 6
Bake until set
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the tops are no longer shiny. These bake up like tiny pumpkin cakes, so unlike most cookies you don't want to underbake them — if the shine is gone and they look tall and puffy, they're done. Let them cool on the pan 5 minutes, then move to a rack to cool completely before icing.
- 7
Brown the butter
For the icing, melt 3 tablespoons salted butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally: it will foam, then you'll see little golden-brown bits form on the bottom and smell a nutty aroma. That's browned butter — pull it off the heat right away, since it goes from browned to burned fast. Those toasted milk solids are where all the deep, nutty flavor comes from.
- 8
Finish the icing and drizzle
Sift 3 cups powdered sugar into the browned butter (don't skip the sifting — it's the difference between silky and lumpy icing). Whisk in 4 to 6 tablespoons of milk or cream a little at a time until you reach a drizzle-able consistency; less liquid for a thicker frosting, more for a thin glaze. Once the cookies are fully cool, drizzle the icing over the tops and let it set.
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Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Icing
Created by: SugarAndButter
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup salted butter
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 3 tbsp salted butter
- 3 cup powdered sugar
- 5 tbsp milk
Instructions
- Heat the ovenPreheat the oven to 350°F and line your baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. These cookies are soft and tend to stick, so a liner really is worth it here.
- Cream the butter and sugarsIn a large bowl, beat 1/2 cup softened salted butter for about 2 minutes until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat 1 more minute until fluffy. Taking the time to cream these well is what builds the light, tender crumb.
- Add pumpkin, vanilla, and eggBeat in 1 cup pumpkin puree (make sure it's pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling), then the vanilla and the egg. The batter will look a little grainy at this stage — that's completely normal, so don't worry.
- Mix in the dry ingredientsAdd the flour but don't mix yet. Make a well in the center and add the baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice, stirring them into the flour a bit first so you don't get pockets of baking soda. Mix just until combined and no streaks remain. Stop there — overmixing develops gluten and toughens the cookies.
- Scoop the doughThe dough is more like a thick batter — very soft and sticky. Skip the cookie scoop and use two spoons instead: scoop up a heaping tablespoon with one and push it onto the pan with the other. Leave about 2 inches between cookies. They don't need to be perfect balls.
- Bake until setBake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the tops are no longer shiny. These bake up like tiny pumpkin cakes, so unlike most cookies you don't want to underbake them — if the shine is gone and they look tall and puffy, they're done. Let them cool on the pan 5 minutes, then move to a rack to cool completely before icing.
- Brown the butterFor the icing, melt 3 tablespoons salted butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally: it will foam, then you'll see little golden-brown bits form on the bottom and smell a nutty aroma. That's browned butter — pull it off the heat right away, since it goes from browned to burned fast. Those toasted milk solids are where all the deep, nutty flavor comes from.
- Finish the icing and drizzleSift 3 cups powdered sugar into the browned butter (don't skip the sifting — it's the difference between silky and lumpy icing). Whisk in 4 to 6 tablespoons of milk or cream a little at a time until you reach a drizzle-able consistency; less liquid for a thicker frosting, more for a thin glaze. Once the cookies are fully cool, drizzle the icing over the tops and let it set.