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Browned Butter Pumpkin Pudding Cookies

Browned Butter Pumpkin Pudding Cookies are thick, chewy, and golden with a butterscotch-brown hue from instant pudding mix and browned butter. The dough chills for 1 hour, then you bake in a hot oven until just set, finishing with flaky sea salt.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
brown butter chilling 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 37 minutes
Servings: 28 cookies
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 175
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Dry ingredients
  • 2.25 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 can (3.4 oz) instant butterscotch or vanilla pudding mix use dry mix
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.5 tsp salt
Wet ingredients
  • 1 cup unsalted butter browned and solidified
  • 0.75 cup brown sugar packed
  • 0.25 cup granulated sugar
  • 0.33 cup pumpkin puree blotted dry
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 flaky sea salt for topping

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 Cast iron skillet

Method
 

Brown butter and prep
  1. Brown the unsalted butter in a cast iron skillet, then pour it out and let it solidify before chilling. Refrigerate until solid, about 1 hour, until you can scoop it like dough.
  2. Preheat the oven to 375F and line baking sheets for baking. Set them aside while you mix the dough.
Mix the dough
  1. Blot the pumpkin puree dry, then whisk it into the mixture later to prevent spreading. Keep blotting until the puree looks less wet on the surface.
  2. In a bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, dry instant butterscotch or vanilla pudding mix, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt. Mix until the spices are evenly distributed.
  3. Beat the solidified browned butter with the brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth. Scrape the sides as needed so the sugars fully combine.
  4. Add the blotted pumpkin puree, then mix in the eggs and vanilla until the dough looks cohesive. Beat just until no egg streaks remain.
  5. Fold in the flour mixture until you no longer see dry streaks. The dough should be thick enough to hold its shape.
Bake
  1. Scoop 2-tablespoon rounds of dough onto the lined baking sheets, leaving space between cookies. Keep scoops uniform for even baking.
  2. Bake at 375F for 10-12 minutes until the edges look set and lightly golden. Sprinkle flaky sea salt immediately after baking while the cookies are still warm.

Notes

For clean scooping and thicker cookies, chill the dough in the solidified-brown-butter step as directed (about 1 hour) and don’t skip blotting the pumpkin puree dry—excess moisture can cause spreading. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 4 days. Freeze baked cookies up to 2 months. For a lighter option, you can use reduced-fat butter (similar texture won’t be as rich but still works).