Wondering how to make pumpkin cookies? This homemade pumpkin recipe will become your go-to when you need ideas for Halloween treats, Thanksgiving recipes or fall desserts. Making pumpkin cookies with your kids is also a great way to spend time together and keep them entertained during the upcoming holidays … and good way to get them involved in baking and have fun cooking with kids!
How To Make Pumpkin Cookies (Old-Fashioned Homemade Way!)
Once you make this pumpkin cookies recipe, you’ll never need those Pillsbury pumpkin cookies from the grocery store again! This is a dessert that’s not too sweet and, as an added bonus, they’re a pretty easy pumpkin recipe to make!
How To Make Old-Fashioned Soft Pumpkin Cookies (Cake-like and Chewy)
Ingredients for Pumpkin Cookies:
- Shortening
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Can pumpkin
- Vanilla
- Flour
- Spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin pie spice
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Salt
YOU’LL ALSO NEED: Best Cream Cheese Frosting for Pumpkin Cookies
(see full cookie recipe below)
Whatever you do, double the recipe because you’ll definitely want some for yourself later if you’re making them for a party.
(And, they freeze well, too!)
If you like your pumpkin cookies soft and chewy, these will definitely become your new favorite, especially if you have some leftover Libby’s canned pumpkin and are asking, “What can I make with pumpkin?”
(Think of them as pumpkin pie cookies!)
How do you make pumpkin cookies?
Pumpkin cookies are made with a traditional cookie dough batter including flour, sugar, shortening, and eggs. Then, add in canned pumpkin and spices for a soft, chewy pumpkin cookie recipe. They can be iced with cream cheese icing or left plain.
GREAT WITH THIS RECIPE BAKING WITH KIDS:
FREE Life Cycle Of Pumpkin Worksheet Printable
Grab our free lifecycle of a pumpkin printable pack, complete with pumpkin life cycle pictures and pumpkin life cycle coloring page! It’s a good growing pumpkins diagram pack to study life cycle of pumpkin for preschool and up!
CLICK HERE To Get Your Free Pumpkin Life Cycle Printable!
Before we get to the recipe for pumpkin cookies (and our book pairing with this recipe), let’s answer some common questions on how to make homemade pumpkin cookies:
Pumpkin Cookie Recipes: Pumpkin Cookies Icing
These are pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting. This icing for pumpkin cookies makes them just sweet enough, so kids and adults alike love them.
Although the frosting for pumpkin cookies is yummy, we also make a huge batch without the icing because they’re really good that way, too (and make for more healthy pumpkin cookies).
ALSO CHECK OUT THESE APPLE RECIPES & PUMPKIN RECIPES:
Easy Apple Fries Recipe (Baked and Air Fryer!)
Snickers Salad with Apples
Easy Apple Salad with Pear and Cranberry
How To Dry Apple Slices For Healthy Snacks and Nature Crafts
EASY Recipe For Apple Butter
4 Yummy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Recipe Ideas
Is Pumpkin A Fruit? Learning About Pumpkins and Pumpkin Recipes
How To Store Pumpkin Cookies
Store pumpkin cookies in a single layer in an airtight container for up to three days. If you are icing this recipe pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting, store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to three days.
Can You Freeze Pumpkin Cookies?
Soft, bakery-style pumpkin cookies (or chewy pumpkin cookies) freeze well. If you want to freeze cookies, place the uniced cookies in layers, with wax paper in between, in freezer bags. The plain pumpkin cookies can be frozen for up to six weeks or longer.
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies
There are many different versions of cookie recipes with pumpkin. Pumpkin spice cookies are also really good if you add chocolate chips. Just add 1/2-1 cups of chocolate chips into the batter and stir right before putting them on the cookie sheet. (You can also add oatmeal and make them pumpkin oatmeal cookies!)
(Chocolate chip pumpkin spice cookies are really good, too!)
ALSO CHECK OUT: Ideas for Pumpkin Recipes and Pumpkin Activities for Kids
Ok!
Here’s how to make pumpkin cookies from scratch…
How To Make Pumpkin Spice Cookies
If you like your pumpkin cookies soft, this will quickly become one of your favorite pumpkin cookies recipes!
These are pumpkin cookies iced with yummy homemade cream cheese frosting.
These are good pumpkin cookies with raisins or nuts or chocolate chips, too! (This is definitely one of those cookie recipes that you can play around with and try different ways!)
Make some pumpkin cookies with icing, but leave some without the cream cheese frosting. They’re good plain, too!
Homemade Chewy Pumpkin Cookies
This is one of my favorite recipes for pumpkin cookies! These pumpkin cookies are equally as good iced or without the icing. Be sure to try them without the cream cheese icing to see if you want to leave some that way.
(SEE NOTES FOR COOKIE FROSTING RECIPE)
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Shortening
- 3 Cups Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 30 ounce can pumpkin, (like Libby's Pumpkin)
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
- 5 Cups Flour, sifted
- 2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
- 2 Teaspoons Nutmeg
- 2 Teaspoons Baking soda
- 2 Teaspoons Baking powder
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mix together shortening and sugar. Add eggs and mix until combined.
- Add canned pumpkin and mix until combined.
- To the canned pumpkin mixture, mix in vanilla and sifted flour. Then, add cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix until just combined.
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Spoon rounded spoonfuls onto a baking sheet.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes. Cool completely if before icing. (see icing recipe on site)
- Store iced cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Notes
*If you want pumpkin cookies with chocolate chips, just add 1/2 cup - 1 cup chocolate chips to the batter and stir before baking.
FOR THE CREAM CHEESE ICING RECIPE FOR PUMPKIN COOKIES, CHECK OUT: Best Cream Cheese Frosting for Pumpkin Cookies
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
48Serving Size:
1 cookieAmount Per Serving: Calories: 142Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 120mgCarbohydrates: 24gFiber: 1gSugar: 13gProtein: 2g
Nutrition information is estimated. Changes to the recipe and use of different brands may cause changes to the nutritional information to vary slightly from the ones provided here.
Soft Iced Pumpkin Cookies Recipe paired with It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown Children’s Book
We paired our pumpkin cookies up with one of our favorite stories: It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
.
No matter how old we get, Peanuts still seems to be a favorite for all of us (the books and the movies).
You remember It’s The Great Pumpkin, right?
Everyone loves watching to see if Linus will be visited by The Great Pumpkin this year, but my favorite part is when they all go trick-or-treating and Charlie Brown keeps getting a rock.
(I know, warped, what can I say?)
At any rate, while your pumpkin cookies are baking, watch It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown full movie or pull out your favorite Halloween or Thanksgiving book and spend some family time reading while you wait.
(ALSO CHECK OUT: Best Preschool Halloween Books and Theme Food Crafts Ideas To Go With Them)
Then, you’ll have some hot and fresh cookies to eat after!
Enjoy!
Listed Book Age Range: 4 years and up
YOUR KIDS MIGHT ALSO HAVE FUN WITH: Halloween Sleepover Activities
We hope you have fun learning how to make pumpkin cookies with your kids!
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