Description
Irresistible pumpkin cookies with brown butter icing deliver autumn’s warmest embrace, blending spiced richness with creamy sweetness. Comfort flows through each delicate bite, inviting you to savor seasonal magic in a single, perfectly crafted cookie.
Ingredients
Scale
Pumpkin Cookies
Main Ingredients:
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
Sugars:
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
Butter and Flavoring Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Brown Butter Icing
Main Ingredients:
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Instructions
- Cream softened butter, white sugar, and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until smooth and fluffy.
- Incorporate pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla extract into the butter mixture, blending thoroughly.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and pumpkin pie spice in a separate bowl.
- Gently fold dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture, mixing until just combined to prevent overmixing.
- Drop spoonfuls of dough onto ungreased cookie sheets, using the back of a spoon to slightly flatten each cookie.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and bake cookies for 10-12 minutes until edges turn golden brown.
- Transfer cookies to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
- For brown butter icing, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until it turns deep golden brown and releases a nutty fragrance, approximately 10 minutes.
- Remove browned butter from heat and let cool for 2-3 minutes.
- Place powdered sugar in a mixing bowl, then pour cooled brown butter over it.
- Add milk and vanilla, whisking vigorously until the icing becomes smooth and glossy.
- Adjust icing consistency by adding more milk or powdered sugar if needed.
- Once cookies are completely cool, spread a tablespoon of icing on each cookie.
- Allow icing to set before serving.
Notes
- Brown the butter slowly and carefully to develop a rich, nutty flavor without burning, which can make the icing bitter and unusable.
- Use room temperature ingredients to ensure smooth mixing and even texture in both cookie dough and icing.
- For gluten-free option, substitute all-purpose flour with a reliable gluten-free flour blend that contains xanthan gum for better structure.
- Chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes before baking to prevent excessive spreading and maintain a perfect rounded shape.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 22-25 minutes
- Category: Snacks, Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 24
- Calories: 228 kcal
- Sugar: 25 g
- Sodium: 110 mg
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 36 g
- Fiber: 1.5 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 27 mg