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Pumpkin Cookies With Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting are tender, cake-like spiced cookies baked until just set at 350°F, then generously frosted. Finish with cinnamon dusting and a pecan for a cozy, bakery-style swirl on every cookie.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 37 minutes
Servings: 30 cookies
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 160
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the cookies
  • 2.5 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 0.5 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
For cream cheese frosting
  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 0.25 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 2.5 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp cinnamon

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 stand mixer

Method
 

Bake the pumpkin cookies
  1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line baking sheets with parchment (set aside for later).
  2. Whisk together all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt until evenly combined (dry mixture should look uniform).
  3. Beat unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy, then add pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla extract (mixture should become smooth and thick).
  4. Fold the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture until just combined, keeping the dough soft and cake-like.
  5. Drop dough by 2-tablespoon portions onto the lined baking sheets, spacing them apart (each mound should be rounded).
  6. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350F, until the cookies look set around the edges and the tops are no longer wet.
  7. Cool the cookies completely on a rack (allow frosting to adhere without melting).
Frost and finish
  1. Beat cream cheese frosting ingredients—cream cheese, unsalted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon—until smooth (frosting should be thick and spreadable).
  2. Frost each cooled cookie generously with a smooth layer of cream cheese frosting (swirl or spread to the edges).
  3. Dust the frosted cookies with cinnamon and press a pecan on top so it sticks firmly.

Notes

Pro tip: For bakery-style texture, don’t overmix once the flour is added—stop when you no longer see dry streaks. Store cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days (best texture after 15 minutes at room temperature). Freeze unfrosted cookies up to 2 months; thaw and frost after thawing for the cleanest frosting set. Dietary swap: use a gluten-free 1:1 baking flour blend in place of all-purpose flour.