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The Sweetest Way to Celebrate the Season
Pumpkin spice cookies taste bakery worthy without the fuss. A soft-center and crisp-edge is achieved using simple pantry ingredients and without any special tools or skills needed.
Their warm spice and buttery sweetness make them perfect for holiday parties as well as a cozy fall or winter afternoon.
Customize this recipe for the occasion or your craving! Add in chocolate chips, nuts, or drizzle on a glaze, these cookies are a great base for all kinds of creative add-ins.
Freeze the dough, or baked cookies, for delish cookies anytime your craving strikes!
Your Cozy Cookie Lineup
Base: Butter and sugars give these cookies their soft, chewy middle and light crisp edges.
Flavor: Pumpkin spice and vanilla add cozy warmth, sweetness, and delicious aroma.
Structure: Flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar help the cookies rise, hold their shape, and stay tender with a slight chew.
Binder: One egg keeps everything together and adds moisture.
Spiced Sugar Coating: Rolling the dough in spiced sugar gives each cookie a sweet, crunchy shell that smells incredible. Rolling them again after baking is optional, but it adds extra sparkle and sweetness.
Cookie Creativity
Make them your own with fun mix-ins and toppings like white or semi-sweet chocolate chips, chopped walnuts or pecans, toffee bits, or try a drizzle of maple, chocolate, or vanilla glaze.
Add a drop of maple extract or a pinch of molasses to the dough for a rich, fall inspired flavor twist. Try a pinch of ground ginger, nutmeg, or allspice in the spiced sugar coating for an even more festive cookie!
Sprinkle some flaky sea salt on top of freshly baked cookies to balance the sweetness and make the spices pop.
Turn them into sandwich cookies with cream cheese or vanilla ice cream filling.
Crumble cookies and serve over ice cream, or layered to make a pumpkin spice cookie parfait!
How To Make Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Combine the butter, sugars, pumpkin spice, egg, and vanilla. Beat until fluffy.
Mix in flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar until just blended.
Using a cookie scoop for even portions, roll into balls. Chill 15 minutes.
Roll in spiced sugar, then bake. (As directed in recipe below)
Cool on baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
The Nook’s Cookie Know-How
Use room temperature butter for the perfect balance of a soft, chewy center and slightly crisp edges. Melted butter can make cookies spread too much.
A cookie scoop is a great tool for even sized cookies so they bake evenly.
Chill the dough for at least 15 minutes if you want cookies that hold their shape. For cookies that spread more, chill for less time or skip chilling.
Be sure to let cookies rest for 2–3 minutes on the baking sheet before moving to a wire rack. This helps cookies hold their shape and prevents breakage.
If cookies are not perfectly round, immediately after removing from oven, use a spoon and gently push the edges towards the center.
Do not crowd the pan, give cookies enough room to spread without touching each other.
Keeping Cookies Cozy
Store your cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Toss a slice of bread, or apple slice, in the cookie container to absorb moisture and help cookies stay soft longer.
Freeze the dough for later. Set dough balls on a parchment lined tray to freeze, then store in a freezer bag. Roll in spiced sugar and bake straight from frozen whenever the craving hits.
