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Chewy Pumpkin Cookies are the quintessential fall treat! These Pumpkin Cookies are chewy – not cakey – thanks to pumpkin butter, which allows us to get a more concentrated pumpkin flavor, without adding so much moisture that the cookies turn cakey. The cookies also have plenty of cozy fall spices, and a sillky maple glaze!
Why you’ll love Pumpkin Cookies:
- Chewy Cookies – By removing an egg white (reducing the amount of moisture), we have wiggle room to add more pumpkin to these cookies without turning them cakey!
- Pumpkin Flavor –Pumpkin butter has a more concentrated flavor than plain pumpkin puree!
- Maple Glaze – A simple maple glaze is the perfect finishing touch.
Ingredient Overview:
As always, the full recipe with measurements & directions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Use the table of contents (back at the top, below the first image, to navigate).
- Butter – I always use salted buter for the best flavor, but feel free to use unsalted butter if you prefer. Be sure to let it come to room temperature before baking – creaming cold butter is not easy.
- Pumpkin Butter –
- All-purpose flour – Spoon your flour into the measuring cup, then level it with a flat utensil for best results, or use a scale. Scooping the measuring cup directly into your flour will lead to too much flour, and a potentially dry bake.
- Eggs – Use large eggs.
- Sugars – A combination of brown sugar and white sugar ensures the perfect ratio of spread & chewiness!
- Vanilla extract – Use real vanilla extract for best results.
- Maple Syrup – Use real maple syrup!
Recipe Substitutions & Variations:
- Pumpkin – If you absolutely can’t find pumpkin butter, you can make your own, or you could use canned pumpkin puree, but the cookies will likely turn out a little closer to cakey than chewy.
- Dairy-Free – Use your favorite trusted dairy-free butter sticks. I haven’t tried browning dairy-free butter, so you may be better off skipping that step, unless you’ve had luck with it!
How to Make Chewy Pumpkin Cookies:
Step 1: Brown the Butter. Melt butter in a medium saucepan, then continue cooking, stirring lazily, for 5 minutes or so, until foamy & golden brown. This simple step intensifies the flavor of the butter and adds caramely, nutty notes.
Step 1: Make Cookie Dough. In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter, pumpkin butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices.
Step 2: Scoop Cookie Dough. Scoop dough balls that are 70 grams in size. These don’t need to chill but you can chill them for up to 48 hours in the fridge before baking.
Step 3: Bake Cookies. Roll cookies in pumpkin spice sugar and place a few inches apart on a lined baking sheet. Bake as directed in the recipe card below.
Step 4: Make the Maple Glaze. Whisk together powdered sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, and a bit of water to thin the glaze.
Serving + Storing:
Enjoy immediately once glazed! The glaze is optional, so you can skip it if you’re not into that. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temp for 3-4 days or in the fridge for 5-6 days
Bake my Pumpkin Scones or my Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies once these have disappeared in a flash!
Expert Baking Tips:
- Oven Thermometer – An oven thermometer will tell you if your oven is actually running at the temperature you set it to. Your oven may not be accurate. Accurate oven temperature is crucial for most bakes, so I leave an oven thermometer in at all times to keep an eye on my oven’s calibration.
- Kitchen Scale – A food scale is the best way to make sure your flour is at the proper weight, since amounts will vary SO widely based on how you measure it, as well as the measuring cup you use, as they are not standardized.
FAQs:
Yes! You can do either.
More Pumpkin Recipes to Love:
- Pumpkin Streusel Muffins with Maple Glaze
- Pumpkin Snickerdoodles with Rum Caramel
- Pumpkin Cupcakes with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake
- Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
- Mom’s Best Ever Pumpkin Bread
- Ultimate Pumpkin Cake
Did you make this recipe? Leave a comment & star rating!
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Chewy Pumpkin Cookies with Maple Glaze
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 14 tbsp salted butter, 200 grams before browning, 156 grams after – See Notes
- 1/3 cup pumpkin butter, 130 mL
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar , 163 grams
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar , 156 grams
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled, 423 grams
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 and 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
For the Pumpkin Spiced Sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar , 105 grams
- 2 and 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ginger
- pinch of ground cloves
For the Maple Glaze
- 3 tbsp maple syrup, 45 grams
- 1 cup powdered sugar , 130 grams
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- milk as needed, to thin the glaze
Instructions
- Brown the Butter (Optional): Add butter to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Melt the butter, stirring occasionally. Once it's melted, turn the heat to medium-low, and continue cooking the butter, stirring frequently. The butter will get foamy and bubbly, then turn a deep golden shade with a nutty, caramely aroma. (This will take about 4-6 minutes once the butter has melted.) Pour into a large bowl, making sure to scrape in the brown bits from the bottom of the pan, and allow to cool in the freezer for about 30-40 minutes.(See note about brown butter & skipping this step below.)14 tbsp salted butter
- Make the Dough: Add the cooled brown butter (or melted & cooled regular butter) to a large mixing bowl and whisk in the pumpkin butter. Add the sugars and whisk to combine. Add the eggs and vanilla, and whisk until smooth and combined, about 30-45 seconds. Stir in the dry ingredients, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to get any hidden dry bits from the flour mixture. (You can also do this part with a mixer.)1/3 cup pumpkin butter, 3/4 cup dark brown sugar , 3/4 cup granulated sugar , 2 large eggs, at room temperature , 1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract , 3 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 and 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- Chill the Dough: Scoop dough balls that are 70 grams (2.5 ounces) in size (about 3.5 tbsp) and skip the chill! Tip: (Make a test cookie, and if it spreads more than you like, you can pop the dough balls in the freezer for 15-30 minutes. The dough balls can also be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 48 hours before baking.)Smaller Cookies: You can make cookies 35-40 grams in size to stretch the recipe yield. Bake for 7-9 minutes. The recipe will yield about 26 cookies with 40 gram dough balls.
- Make Pumpkin Spice Sugar: Stir together granulated sugar and the spices.1/2 cup granulated sugar , 2 and 3/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/8 tsp ginger, pinch of ground cloves
- Bake: Preheat your oven to 365℉. Line a few cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough balls in the spiced sugar and place 5-6 on a cookie sheet, leaving space for them to spread. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes. They will be a little puffy and crinkly on top, and the edges will appear set. Immediately place a round cutter around the outside of each cookie and swirl the cookie within it to "scoot" them into perfect circles. This also helps them appear thicker. Place baking sheet on a wire rack to let the cookies cool for at least 20-30 minutes.
- Make the Glaze. Whisk together all glaze ingredients and adjust to taste.3 tbsp maple syrup, 1 cup powdered sugar , 1/4 tsp vanilla extract , milk as needed, to thin the glaze
- Serve + Store: Dip the warm or cooled cookies in the glaze or drizzle it on. Enjoy cookies immediately, or let the glaze set! Store cooled cookies with the glaze in single layers in airtight containers in the fridge for 5-7 days. Unglazed cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days.
- Make Ahead Tips: Cookie dough can be balled, frozen on a sheet pan until solid, then transferred to a freezer bag or airtight container. Freeze for 1-2 months. Bake from frozen, adding 1-2 mins to the bake time. You can also refrigerate the dough balls for 2-3 days before baking.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These are absolutely delicious and came out exactly like the recipe described
So glad to hear you enjoyed these, Sherri!
Hi, Stephenie!!! Could you please share the right way to make from scratch the pumpkin butter? I’ve found a few recipes, but I’m not sure if those are correct. Thank you!!! 🫶
Hi Fernanda! I haven’t made pumpkin butter from scratch, so I’d just recommend using a recipe with positive reviews online!
I’m stalking your pumpkin recipes and they are all fantastic! Needless to say I burned the caramel so I had to skip that part. If I had been thinking clearly, rather than panicking, I would have replaced it with the pumpkin butter I had. I did cut back quite a bit on the sugar in the cinnamon cream cheese frosting by about half. I know that seems extreme but it was still very sweet and delicious. Also, in the frosting directions it says to add maple syrup but I didn’t find that in the ingredients list. So measured with my heart. ❤️
Hi Carma! Thanks so much for making my recipes – I appreciate your support! I think you may have left this comment on the wrong recipe – there’s no caramel or frosting in the pumpkin cookies. 🙂