Frosted Pumpkin Cookies
These Frosted Pumpkin Cookies are everything you love about fall in a single bite. The cookies are soft and tender, with a light, melt-in-your-mouth texture that’s perfectly complemented by a rich cream cheese frosting. With the warm flavors of pumpkin and spice, these cookies are the ultimate comfort treat for cooler days. You’ll love how they balance sweetness and spice, making them a delightful addition to any autumn gathering.
Why You’ll Love These Cookies:
- Soft and Tender Texture: The combination of cake flour and cornstarch creates a cookie that is incredibly light and tender, almost like a pillow of pumpkin spice. These cookies do have a more cakey texture that pairs perfectly with the rich cream cheese frosting.
- Perfectly Spiced: With a blend of cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and ginger, these cookies have a warm, cozy flavor that’s balanced by the natural sweetness of the pumpkin.
- Cream Cheese Frosting: The tangy cream cheese frosting adds richness and depth, making each bite a perfect blend of sweet, spicy, and creamy.
Ingredient Choices and Techniques:
- Squeezed Pumpkin Puree: By squeezing out excess liquid from the pumpkin puree, we reduce moisture, allowing the cookies to hold their shape while still being moist and tender.
- Cake Flour: Cake flour has a lower protein content, which means less gluten formation. This results in a softer, more delicate cookie, perfect for that melt-in-your-mouth texture.
- Mix of Sugars: Using a combination of brown sugar, granulated sugar, and powdered sugar helps create a balanced sweetness while adding complexity to the texture—chewy from the brown sugar, slightly crisp from the granulated sugar, and tender from the powdered sugar.
- Cornstarch and Cream of Tartar: These ingredients contribute to the light and airy texture of the cookies by preventing the formation of too much gluten and adding a subtle tang that enhances the overall flavor.
- Balanced Fat Content: The blend of butter and margarine provides richness and moisture without making the cookies greasy. This balance is crucial for achieving a tender crumb that’s not too dense.
These cookies are designed to be the perfect balance of flavor and texture, making them a must-try for pumpkin spice lovers!
These Frosted Pumpkin Spice Cookies are soft, tender, and perfectly spiced, with a light, melt-in-your-mouth texture. The cookies are made with squeezed pumpkin puree for balanced moisture and topped with a rich, creamy cream cheese frosting, making them the ideal fall treat.
- 148 g pumpkin puree (liquid should be squeezed out with paper towel (I start with around 340 g))
- 100 g unsalted butter
- 100 g margarine (can replace with butter)
- 110 g brown sugar
- 60 g granulated sugar
- 70 g powdered sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 368 g cake flour
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp cream of tartar (can omit if you don't have)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (can add more if you'd like)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 4 oz cream cheese (softened)
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter (softened)
- 1/8 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 80 g powdered sugar
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, margarine, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and powdered sugar until light and fluffy.
Mix in the egg until fully incorporated.
Add the squeezed pumpkin puree and vanilla extract to the mixture, and blend until smooth.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the cake flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, cream of tartar, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and ground cinnamon.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing just until combined. Be careful not to overmix to ensure the cookies stay tender.
Using an ice cream scoop/spoon, portion the dough into 12 even-sized balls and place them on the prepared baking sheet.
Because these cookies don’t spread much during baking, gently flatten each ball of dough slightly with your hand or the back of a spoon.
Bake in the preheated oven for 14 minutes, or until the edges are set and the tops are slightly golden.
Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and butter together until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
Pour in the heavy cream and vanilla extract, and continue beating until everything is well combined and smooth.
Gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing on low speed at first to avoid a sugar cloud. Once all the powdered sugar is added, increase the speed and beat until the frosting is smooth and fluffy.
Once the cookies are completely cooled, take a tablespoon of cream cheese frosting and spread it evenly on top of each cookie.
Lightly dust the frosted cookies with a sprinkle of cinnamon for an extra hint of warmth.
Serve and enjoy these perfectly frosted pumpkin spice cookies!
