Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Maple Frosting

These delicious soft pumpkin cookies are the perfect fall treat! With a cake-like, moist cookie base filled with warm spices and finished with a dreamy maple buttercream frosting. Vegetarian.

Several Pumpkin Cookies with Maple Frosting on a cutting board and cooling rack.

Note: This recipe is NOT dairy free. It was published before Cook Nourish Bliss transitioned to dairy free recipes and remains popular with long time readers. You can try using substitutions to make it dairy free, however I have not tested this myself and can’t say how it will turn out.

These cookies were my very first pumpkin treat of this season.  

To be honest, I’m pretty surprised that I haven’t had a pumpkin spice latte yet – it’s unheard of for me.  I think I need to fix that soon.

At the end of last year, I hoarded a ridiculous amount of canned pumpkin.  It took me forever to find pumpkin in the stores last fall, so when I finally got my hands on some I dumped them in my cart quicker than you can imagine.  

And those cans have taken up quite a bit of precious space in my tiny pantry, but it was so worth it.  I had plenty to turn to when the craving for something pumpkin struck.

Soft Pumpkin Cookies on a cutting board and cooling rack.

I debated back and forth over whether I should make muffins or cookies, but of course my love for cookies won out in the end.  

These cookies are more cake-like in texture, very soft and moist.  They are full of pumpkin flavor, with the perfect hint of cinnamon and nutmeg.  

And then there’s the frosting.  While I loved these cookies all on their own, the frosting really makes them extra special.  The hint of maple plays wonderfully with the pumpkin and adds just a bit of extra sweetness.

While you certainly don’t need to add sprinkles for decoration, I couldn’t help myself.  

Three Frosted Pumpkin Cookies on parchment paper.

Additional Pumpkin Recipes You Might Enjoy:

Did you make this recipe? Rate and review it down below! I’d love to hear from you.

Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Maple Frosting

Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Maple Frosting

Yield: about 45 cookies
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 42 minutes

These delicious soft pumpkin cookies are the perfect fall treat! With a cake-like, moist cookie base filled with warm spices and finished with a dreamy maple buttercream frosting. Vegetarian.

Ingredients

For the cookies:

  • 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 ¾ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 cups packed light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 ½ cups (1 15-ounce can) pumpkin puree
  • ¾ cup evaporated milk
  • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

For the frosting:

  • 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup pure maple syrup
  • few tablespoons milk, if needed

Instructions

To make the cookies:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Set aside.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter and brown sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and creamy, about 2 minutes.
  4. Add in the eggs and mix until incorporated. Add in the pumpkin, evaporated milk and vanilla. Beat on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. (The batter may look like it is not coming together but once the ingredients are incorporated go ahead add the flour). With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in the flour mixture. Beat until combined.
  5. Drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet using a large cookie scoop (about a heaping tablespoon), spacing the cookies 1 inch apart. {Keep the dough in the refrigerator while not in use, otherwise it will not be firm enough to scoop and the cookies will not hold their shape while baking.}
  6. Bake for about 12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. The tops should spring back if you touch them gently.
  7. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting:

  1. Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
  2. With the mixer on low, slowly add in the confectioners’ sugar (so it doesn’t go everywhere). Once incorporated, increase the speed to medium and beat until well combined.
  3. Add in the salt, vanilla, and maple syrup. Beat on low speed until incorporated and then increase the speed to high and beat for about 3 minutes, until fluffy. {If you need to thin out your frosting, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time. Add more sifted confectioners’ sugar to thicken your frosting.}
  4. Spread frosting as desired on each cooled cookie. Decorate with sprinkles, if desired.

Notes

Do not substitute pumpkin pie filling for the pumpkin puree.

Cookie base adapted from Martha Stewart. Frosting adapted from Savory Sweet Life.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 45 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 168Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 109mgCarbohydrates: 24gFiber: 1gSugar: 17gProtein: 2g

Nutrition data shown is an estimate provided by an online calculator and is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered a substitute for a medical professional’s advice.