Recently while discussing all things pumpkin with my friend Shawn, he shared that one of his favorite treats are soft, frosted pumpkin cookies that he had all the time as a kid.
I didn’t really get more details than that (we ran into each other at the vet’s office, and pumpkin conversation was quickly overtaken by conversation covering the statuses of his cat and my cat.)
I wasn’t quite sure if he meant a cookie shaped by a cookie cutter into a pumpkin, or perhaps one of those elaborately decorated seasonal cookies sometimes found at bakeries or by the checkout at Panera Bread.
I decided to interpret ‘pumpkin cookie’ to mean a thick, soft cookie in a puffy, rounded, standard cookie shape. The cookie includes pumpkin purée and pumpkin spice. And a thin, sugary-cinnamon glaze on top.
I’ll have to share these with Shawn soon to find out if these cookies hit the mark!
(And to see how his cat is doing.)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups solid pumpkin
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 3-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
- 1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1-1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
- 4 tablespoons milk
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the sugar, brown sugar and butter for about 3 minutes.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time until thoroughly mixed in. Add in the vanilla extract and combine. Add in the pumpkin and thoroughly combine with the other wet ingredients.
In a separate, large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, 3 teaspoons of the cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, salt and baking powder.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture in two or three additions until everything is just combined.
Drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet using a 1-1/2 tablespoon scoop, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
Bake the cookies for 18 minutes until they are baked all the way through. Remove the cookies to a cooling rack to cool thoroughly.
In a small bowl whisk together the confectioner's sugar and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Stir in the milk until it creates a slightly thick glaze. Spread the top of each cookie with the frosting and place on a cooling rack until the frosting sets. Serve, or store the cookies in a sealed contained for up to three days.
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