Description
Bakery-style soft pumpkin spice cookies made with real pumpkin puree, warm autumn spices, and a special ingredient combination that creates the most amazing texture. Rolled in cinnamon sugar for the perfect finish.
Ingredients
For the Cookie Base:
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- â…› teaspoon ground cloves
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup canned pumpkin purée (NOT pumpkin pie filling!)
For the Cinnamon Sugar Coating:
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
Substitution Notes:
- Can’t find cream of tartar? Use extra ¼ teaspoon baking soda but they won’t be as chewy
- No brown sugar? All white sugar works but add extra tablespoon pumpkin
- Missing nutmeg? Double the cinnamon, still tastes amazing
Instructions
1. Make the Dry Mix (5 minutes) Dump flour, cornstarch, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves into a bowl. Whisk the hell out of it for 30 seconds so everything’s mixed.
2. Cream the Butter and Sugars (3-4 minutes) Beat that butter with both sugars until it looks fluffy and pale. Takes about 4 minutes with my crappy hand mixer. Don’t rush this – it’s what makes them soft.
3. Add Wet Ingredients (2 minutes) Crack in the egg, dump in vanilla and pumpkin. Mix it up. Looks chunky and weird? That’s normal when pumpkin hits the butter mix.
4. Combine Wet and Dry (1 minute) Slowly add the flour mixture. I do it in two dumps so it doesn’t fly everywhere. Mix just until you don’t see flour streaks. Overmixing makes tough cookies.
5. Chill Time (2+ hours) Cover with plastic wrap and shove in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Dough’s super sticky right now. Patience pays off here.
6. Prep for Baking (5 minutes) Crank oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment. Mix up your cinnamon sugar coating.
7. Shape and Coat (10 minutes) Scoop golf ball-sized chunks of dough. Roll each one in cinnamon sugar like you mean it. Plop on baking sheet 2 inches apart. Press down gently with your fingers.
8. Bake to Perfection (8-10 minutes) Bake 8-10 minutes until edges look set but centers still seem soft. They look underdone but they’re not. They keep cooking on the hot pan.
9. Cool and Enjoy (5 minutes) Let them sit on the pan for 5 minutes before moving to cooling rack. Longest 5 minutes of your life but don’t skip it.
Notes
That cornstarch and cream of tartar combo is what makes these special. Weird ingredients for cookies but they create this texture you can’t get any other way.
These are best within 3 days but stay soft for a week if stored right. When my family stops sneaking them from the container, I know I messed up the recipe.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 145
- Sugar: 12g
- Sodium: 95mg
- Fat: 5g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 24g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 18mg