Soft, Chewy pumpkin cookies made with brown butter, warm spices and finished with a delicious not too sweet maple icing. it’s Fall in a cookie!
These Soft pumpkin cookies are ultimate autumn treat. Perfect for serving at Thanksgiving dessert tables or enjoying with a cup of coffee or tea. They are a crowd-pleaser that tastes like a pumpkin pie in cookie form.
Listen to me when I tell you that you HAVE to make these cookies. not only do they look impressive, they are incredibly soft and moist on the inside. The warm rich brown butter, paired with pumpkin, and chocolate… ohhh and that not too sweet, maple icing.. seriously, you need to have these in your freezer!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Salted Butter. Butter is required for brown butter. You need to caramelize the milk solids. This process evaporates some of the water and creates a richer, nutty flavor. Margarine will not make brown butter.
- Light brown sugar. I used golden light brown sugar. You can also use dark brown sugar
- Pumpkin Butter. You can use pumpkin puree in place of the pumpkin butter. However, I wouldn’t recommend it. The pumpkin butter elevates the cookies to another level.
- Maple Syrup. use pure maple syrup. Pancake syrup will not work in this recipe.
- Egg. binds and provides structure.
- Vanilla extract. rounds out the flavor of the butter and sugar.
- All-purpose flour. Provides structural integrity.
- Pumpkin Pie spice. Cinnamon works well in place of pumpkin pie spice
- Baking Soda. leavening agent that gives cookies its chewy texture.
- chocolate chips. You can also use semisweet chocolate chunks instead of chocolate chips
- Powdered sugar. powdered sugar dissolves quickly at room temperature, creating a smooth, non-gritty texture for icing.
What is pumpkin Butter?
Pumpkin butter is made of pumpkin puree, spices, a sweetener, and a liquid. These ingredients are simmered together until they become thick and spreadable. It tastes like pumpkin pie filling.
The base of pumpkin butter is pure pumpkin puree. It can be fresh or store bought canned puree. The spices consist of warm spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, all spice, ginger. The sweetener can be brown sugar, white sugar or maple syrup. And the liquid that is added to simmer and meld the flavors together is water, or apple cider vinegar. It all depends on the pumpkin butter recipe you are making.
if you are in a pinch for time, you can certainly buy pumpkin butter from a grocery store. You can find it with the other spreads such as jam and peanut butter.
Tips for perfectly frosted cookies
If you’re new to icing cookies, it can seem intimidating. Rest assured, its an easy process that is well worth it on that special batch of cookies. I mean c’mon.. who wouldn’t love a little extra touch of sweetness on their cookies? It also adds extra razzle dazzle to make everyone say “wow, these are gorgeous!”
- First thing is first. Make sure your cookies are completely cooled before icing.
- Second thing is making sure your icing is the right consistency. The icing should be thick enough to keep its form, and thin enough to “pipe”
- Once your cookies have cooled and you made the icing, place the cookies fairly close together on parchment paper. Make sure it is on a flat surface.
- fill a piping bag with your icing. Cut a small hole at the bottom of your piping bag. Alternatively, fill and create a hole in one of the corners of a Ziploc bag.
- working quickly; squeeze the piping bag and move up and down the cookies creating lines of icing. Move in different directions to create lines in all directions.
- Let your cookies sit up to 1 hour at room temperature for your icing to fully set. (it shouldn’t take that, long but I like to give it more time be on the safe side)
Storage
To store soft frosted cookies, first ensure they are completely cool and dry. Then, place them in a single layer in an airtight container. Use parchment or wax paper to separate layers if stacking. Store at room temperature in a cool and dry place for up to 5 days. For longer storage, freeze them for up to three months. Avoid refrigerating them, as the moisture can make them soggy
Pumpkin Maple Cookies
Time 1 Hr
| Yield 24 cookies
Ingredients:
- 1 Cup salted butter
- 1 Cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup pumpkin butter
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- 2 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Maple Icing
- 1/2 cup salted butter
- 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In small skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. continue cooking until the butter begins to brown. about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large heatproof bowl and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
- To the brown butter, add the brown sugar, pumpkin butter, maple syrup, egg, and vanilla and stir until smooth. Add the flour, pumpkin pie spice, and baking soda and mix to combine. stir in the chocolate chips.
- Using 1 rounded tablespoon for each, roll the dough into balls. it might be sticky; if so, lightly flour your hands. arrange the balls on prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. gently press the dough down to slightly flatten.
- Bake the cookies for 8 minutes. Remove the baking sheets from the oven. Tap them firmly against the counter a few times to flatten the cookies. Return to the oven and bake until the cookies are just beginning to set on the edges. 2 – 3 minutes more. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets; they will continue to cook slightly.
- While the cookies cool, make the maple icing. In a small skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. continue to cook until the butter begins to brown and smell toasted. about 5 minutes. remove from heat and whisk in the powdered sugar, and maple syrup.
- The icing sets quickly so work fast and immediately spread it over the cookies. sprinkle with flaky salt if desired.
I hope you enjoyed these pumpkin maple cookies and enjoy making this recipe for years to come. If you’ve tried this recipe, we would love for you to write a review below! Thank you
Recipe source: Half Baked Harvest Quick & Cozy: A Cookbook
Prairie Sweets & Eats 