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Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

Pumpkin sugar cookies with a tender cut-out cookie base and bright orange cream cheese frosting. You’ll chill the dough for clean shapes, bake until just set at the edges, then frost and decorate with cinnamon-sugar style flair.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
chilling 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 37 minutes
Servings: 24 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 170
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

cookie dough
  • 3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 0.5 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp baking soda
  • 1.5 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.25 tsp salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 0.25 cup pumpkin puree (blotted very dry) Use pumpkin puree blotted very dry so the dough stays workable.
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
cream cheese frosting
  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • 0.25 cup butter
  • 3 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 orange food coloring

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Make the pumpkin cookie dough
  1. Beat the softened unsalted butter and granulated sugar until combined. Mix in the blotted pumpkin puree, then beat in the egg and vanilla.
  2. Fold in the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt until the dough comes together.
  3. Divide the dough and refrigerate for 1 hour, covered, until firm.
Bake the cookies
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a sheet pan. Roll the chilled dough to 1/4 inch and cut into circles or pumpkin shapes.
  2. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are just set. Transfer to a rack and cool completely.
Frost and decorate
  1. Beat the cream cheese frosting ingredients (cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla) with orange food coloring until smooth and spreadable.
  2. Frost the cooled cookies and decorate as desired.

Notes

For the cleanest cut-out shapes, chill the dough until firm and roll it on a lightly floured surface only as needed. Store cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 5 days; freeze undecorated cookies up to 2 months and thaw before frosting. For a lighter option, use reduced-fat cream cheese and reduce butter slightly, keeping the frosting consistency by adding a little extra powdered sugar if needed.