You know what time it is. Another season, another iteration of the best cookies ever! This time, it’s pumpkin and cinnamon, with a Halloween flair for those so inclined. Looking back on the original post, it’s crazy that Molly made these cookies for the first time TEN YEARS ago, and she used fall sprinkles! Time, frankly, flies too fast for my tastes. But at least these cookies are to my tastes.

Pumpkin cookies with cinnamon frosting is the name of the game. And it’s a game I’m very good at. I substituted pumpkin puree for the eggs in the original recipe, and of course loaded up on pumpkin pie spices and cinnamon. They aren’t totally the same texture as the originals (almost as if the fat of the eggs adds to the decadence?! Shocking.), and they didn’t spread as much. But that just means they’re a reasonable size, and they’ve still got a nice chewiness to them!

I used Halloween sprinkles for these, even though the Halloween vibes seem to be escaping me entirely this year. It’s not like I’ve ever been a huge Halloween person, but usually there’s some feeling of “spooky season.” Last year, I was still working with people who really enjoyed Halloween, and I went to Universal’s Horror Nights haunted mazes in September already, so I got some early doses of all things spooky. But this year, I have hardly watched a scary movie! So these sprinkles are doing some heavy lifting. You could have them without the sprinkles (see below), but I want some Halloween spirit!!!

Having something as classic as a pumpkin cinnamon cookie in the fall is a great reminder of the fact that some things just do not need to be messed with. Pumpkin is delicious. Cinnamon is delicious. The spices in pumpkin pie spice are a classic for a reason. Why try to mess with perfection? I say, just keep putting perfection in different forms!!

I’m going to go for a last minute surge of Halloween vibes this week, leading up to Halloween. So stay tuned for the results of that! In the meantime, here’s the recipe for some very solid pumpkin cinnamon cookies!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Cookies

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Author: Audrey
Array: Array
Total Time: 0 hours

Ingredients

For the pumpkin cookies:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tbsp glucose
½ cup pumpkin puree
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cups milk powder
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, if desired

For the cinnamon frosting:

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 to 4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1⁄8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons heavy cream

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Instructions

Make the sugar cookies:

Combine the butter, sugar and glucose in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high for 2-3 minutes.Scrape down the sides, add in the pumpkin and vanilla and beat for 7-8 minutes.
Reduce mixer speed to low and add in the flour, milk powder, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Mix just until the dough comes together – no longer than 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Using a 2 3/4 oz. ice cream scoop (1/3 cup measure) portion out the dough onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet – you should get 15-20 large balls of dough. Pat the tops of the cookie balls flat – wrap the sheet pan tightly in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour or up to 1 week. Do not bake the cookies from room temp – they will not bake properly!
Heat the oven to 350°F. Arrange the chilled dough at least 4 inches apart on the baking sheet, and press down on them a little bit, as they won’t spread during baking. Bake for 18-23 minutes. The cookies should look lightly browned on the edges (golden brown on the bottom). If they haven’t reached that color yet, leave them in a for an extra minute or two. Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pans before frosting.

Make the frosting:

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until soft, about 1 minute.
Add 2 cups of the confectioners’ sugar, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon. Beat on low speed until the sugar is well incorporated.
Add another 2 cups sugar and the cream. Add remaining 2 cups of sugar as needed to thicken the frosting. Beat on medium speed until the frosting is smooth and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
Frost cookies generously. Fill a bowl with sprinkles. Place cookies frosting side down into bowl of sprinkles and press firmly to coat.