These beautiful cookies have a soft and chewy center and a crackly crust. Made with pumpkin puree and warm spices, the dough can be made ahead and kept refrigerated so you can bake fresh cookies when the craving hits! They make wonderful holiday gifts.
Cute and spiced
You're in for a treat if you're a fan of soft, chewy cookies with a hint of spice.
Beyond the trendy lattes and old-fashioned pies, pumpkin adds a hint of sweetness and adds moisture to baked goods.
In these cookies, it's used with pumpkin pie spice, creating a cozy, fall-inspired flavor that pairs perfectly with the powdered sugar coating.
So whip up a batch of these delicious seasonal cookies. They're super easy, use basic pantry staples and render a dough that benefits from chilling in the fridge so you can plan in advance.
FAQ
Yes, you can use homemade pumpkin puree. Make sure to drain any excess liquid to achieve a consistency similar to canned pumpkin. Follow the instructions in the post about how to make pumpkin puree.
Yes, you can freeze the cookie dough. After preparing the dough, shape it into balls and place them on a baking sheet. Freeze until solid, then transfer the dough balls to a freezer bag. When ready to bake, simply thaw the dough balls in the refrigerator and proceed with coating and baking.
Ingredient Notes
Quantities are listed on the recipe card towards the end of this post. The Ingredients page has more details and lists the brands we use.
- Pumpkin puree: use canned fresh pumpkin or make homemade pumpkin puree. Please don't mistake it for pumpkin pie filling, which is a different product.
- Baking soda and baking powder: make sure they're not expired.
- Pumpkin pie spice: store-bought or homemade pumpkin spice mix.
Quantities are listed on the recipe card towards the end of this post. The Ingredients page has more details and lists the brands we use.
Variations & substitutions
- Sweet potato cookies: use sweet potato puree and apple pie spice mix.
- Chocolate chips: add semisweet mini chocolate chips to the batter.
- Glaze: don't roll them in powdered sugar. Bake them plain, let them cool completely and cover them with a simple powdered sugar glaze (like we do with the pistachio snowballs).
How to make pumpkin crinkles
The cookie dough is simple, a one-bowl recipe that can be made with an electric mixer (easier and my recommendation) or by hand (a little more laborious and requiring some arm muscle to fully integrate).
If making a large batch, the stand mixer with the paddle attachment is a great option.
Cookie dough
The dough must chill for a few hours before forming the balls, so take that into account.
Powdered sugar
Before baking, roll the walnut-sized balls in powdered sugar. This will create the crinkle pattern.
Don't shake them to remove excess sugar; they must be thickly coated.
Baking
Place them 1 ½ to 2 inches apart so they have space to grow during baking.
Vintage Kitchen Tip
This pumpkin cookie dough is great to make ahead and chill for up to 3 days. That way, you can plan ahead and have freshly baked cookies.
Storage
- Room temperature: store the cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to a week.
- Freezing: for longer storage, freeze the cookies in a single layer and then transfer them to a freezer bag. Thaw frozen cookies at room temperature before serving.
- Cookie dough: it can be kept in the fridge for 3-5 days before baking. Cover the bowl well with plastic wrap.
- Frozen dough: you can form the balls, place them on a cookie sheet and freeze them until rock solid. Bake directly from the freezer.
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Pumpkin Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¼ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree, use canned fresh pumpkin or make homemade pumpkin puree, NOT pumpkin pie filling
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup powdered sugar, to roll the cookies
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream ¼ cup unsalted butter together with ¼ cup light brown sugar and ½ cup white sugar for 2 minutes.
- Add 1 egg and beat until well incorporated. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and ¾ cup pumpkin puree and mix. It might look curdled and that is fine.
- Add the sifted dry ingredients (1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice and ¼ teaspoon salt) to the wet ingredients in 2 parts, stirring until just combined. Don't skimp on the spices, or the cookies will not have that deep flavor we love. You can use up to 2 teaspoons. Avoid overmixing. You can sift them before or have the ingredients measured and sift them directly over the butter mixture (my choice).
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Scoop out walnut-sized portions of the chilled dough and roll them into balls. The dough might still be somewhat soft and sometimes the balls will be slightly irregular. That is fine.
- Roll each ball in 1 cup powdered sugar, coating it generously, and place on the prepared baking sheets, leaving 1 inch or more between them. Don't shake them to remove excess sugar; they must be thickly coated.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are set, but the centers are still soft.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes on a cooling rack before transferring them to the wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Room temperature: store the cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to a week.
Freezing: for longer storage, freeze the cookies in a single layer and then transfer them to a freezer bag. Thaw frozen cookies at room temperature before serving.
Cookie dough: it can be kept in the fridge for 3-5 days before baking. Cover the bowl well with plastic wrap.
Frozen dough: you can form the balls, place them on a cookie sheet and freeze them until rock solid. Bake directly from the freezer.
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