My family is obsessed with pumpkin desserts. My kids go absolutely crazy for chocolate chip pumpkin bread, pumpkin juice, pumpkin pie, and anything else pumpkin flavored. We have even grown our own sugar pumpkins so we can make homemade pumpkin puree! So it’s no surprise that my kids loved helping make these easy pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting. Other pumpkin cookie recipes are made with spice cake mixes or call for pumpkin pie spice, but I wanted to avoid that with this recipe. I feel like I already have too many spice blends in my cupboard as it is. And let’s face it, pumpkin spice would only get used for a month or two out of each year. I prefer to use up the jars of individual spices and get the balance of flavors just the way I like. Which is why I think these are the best soft pumpkin cookies I’ve ever had. Also, can we just talk about this wonderful cream cheese frosting for a second? It’s so tangy and sweet and amazing. The cookies are delicious all on their own and can totally be eaten plain, but the frosting takes them over the top. Especially with just a sprinkle of cinnamon for decoration. When it’s fall and all things are pumpkin, some of our other favorite recipes to make are Twice Glazed Pumpkin Scones, Pumpkin Ice Cream, and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread!
How to Make Pumpkin Cookies
How to Make Cream Cheese Frosting
How to store pumpkin cookies so they stay soft
Cream cheese frosting doesn’t set up as much as regular buttercream, so stacking these cookies isn’t the best idea. You really need to store these pumpkin cookies in a single layer if they have already been frosted with the cream cheese frosting. The frosted cookies can sit out on the counter for up to 8 hours before they need to be refrigerated. Sugar helps preserve the cream cheese, so even though there is dairy in the frosting, it’s okay at room temperature for longer than normal. But if you need the pumpkin cookies to last longer, just cover them loosely with wax paper or aluminum foil and they will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Can you freeze pumpkin cookies?
You can freeze unfrosted soft pumpkin cookies for about 2 months. Just thaw on the counter overnight and frost the next day. Unfortunately, the cream cheese frosting doesn’t freeze very well, so I don’t recommend freezing frosted cookies that have not been eaten.
Pumpkin Cookie Variations
Skip the cream cheese frosting and add 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips to the pumpkin cookie dough before scooping and baking for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Stir in ¾ cup chopped pecans or walnuts for a nutty crunch! Instead of frosting the tops of the pumpkin cookies, frost the bottom of one cookie and sandwich it with another to make pumpkin cookie sandwiches.
More Cookie Recipes To Make This Fall
Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies Perfect Peanut Butter Blossoms Halloween Chocolate Blossom Sprinkle Cookies Dark Chocolate Halloween Chip Cookies Toffee Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies The Best Snickerdoodle Cookies Recipe Soft & Chewy Molasses Cookies Chocolate Lofthouse Frosted Sugar Cookies Best Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
This soft pumpkin cookies first appeared on The Salty Marshmallow, where I am a contributor.
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