The Best Pumpkin Cookies You’ll Ever Eat

That’s a loaded title…I know. But ask any of my friends and they will tell you, “If it has pumpkin, Melissa will eat it.” So it’s no surprise that I’ve already gone through an embarrassing amount of pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice this season. But it has all been worth it because I have finally hit the jackpot when it comes to pumpkin cookies! These have been adapted from one of my new favorite bloggers, Lauren’s Latest, who shares my love for all things pumpkin and pretty food pics – hers are gorgeous. A forewarning, the art of these coming out perfect is in the timing so pay attention and you won’t be disappointed!

– complete recipe at bottom –

First of all, for the love of all things pumpkin, let your eggs and butter sit out for at least 30-45 mins before you start! Yes, I am totally serious and yes, it does make a difference. If you’ve ever thrown your cold eggs into your batter and wondered why it’s looking a little clumpy and weird, it’s because you didn’t let those eggs get to room temperature. I literally have yelled (or as I like to say, spoke sternly) at my husband before for putting my eggs back in the fridge…he is now trained 😉 So, if you want your cookies to turn out like these ones, commit to it and leave those butter and eggs in a safe room temperature place!

Now, on with the pumpkin show. There’s a couple of things I think are important to note that I believe add to the pumpkin perfection here. One would be consistency in the dough size. This is the first recipe that I’ve ever actually used a dough scooper (not sure the technical term so that’s what I call it). This is a godsend! If you’ve never used it before and always do the spoon and two fingers juggling act like I used to, use your 40% off Michaels coupon or whatever you have and get yourself one of these!

Look at these perfect little cookie dough mounds! It’s also perfect for creating bakery like muffins I’m told (aka – what The Food Network says).

The other thing, the timing is CRUCIAL…don’t be scared…I’ll help you through it. Here’s the shortcut: oven 8 mins (that’s what it was for mine but you’re looking for the bottoms to just start turning brown), make glaze while in oven, rest 3 mins ON cookie sheet, move to cooling rack and IMMEDIATELY top with glaze.

And don’t be shy with that glaze yall! Seriously. You know those butter cookies from the supermarket that have like 1″ of icing and they always do holiday colors with them? The ones you can never have just one of but always regret eating two because they are SO RICH? These are like those…but these are better obviously because of the pumpkin and not an inch of frosting…which means you can eat more. 🙂

So those are my secrets! Look at those perfectly moist and yet fluffy things. Don’t worry, I didn’t leave it with just one bite 😉 Get the full recipe and instructions at the bottom!

Oh and as far as eating them. Whether it’s right after you glaze or after they dry it’s your choice. My personal favorite is in the morning with coffee. That just makes for a perfect day right there.

I even shared one or two…lucky girl 🙂

—– find some of my other fall inspirations here or baking deliciousness here —–

Ingredients

•  1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs, room temp
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup veggie or canola oil
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 can pumpkin puree (I know, I know but just put some foil over the can or put the rest in tupperware because you’ll want to make another batch later this week…or maybe tomorrow)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 4 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

THE GLAZE:

• 2-2.5 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1.5-2 tbsp water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set cooling racks out on counter with parchment paper underneath (this will catch the glaze that runs off).
2. Cream butter and sugar together in electric mixer on medium until smooth.
3. With mixer still on medium, add in oil until blended.
4. In two parts, add in powdered sugar. Unless you want an awesome powder explosion show for the kiddos that is 🙂 And very important, turn the mixer off, lift upper arm and scrape the sides of the bowl, mixing one last time to make sure you get it all in there!
5. Bring in that pumpkin and eggs (one at a time) and top off with vanilla.
6. In a separate, large measuring cup (or bowl if you don’t have one), combine the flour, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice goodness. I just used a fork to kind of fluff mix it…very technical.
7. Very slowly, with your mixer on medium speed, add the flour in. Just bits at a time, scraping the sides as you go, until fully mixed.
8. Using your handy dough scooper thing (or the spoon and fingers method if you don’t have one yet) dole out 12 large tablespoon size balls per cookie sheet (I ended up with about 3 dozen).
9. Bake for 8-10 mins *Keep an eye on them! Every oven is different so I give a range but you’re looking for the bottoms to just start to turn brown*
10. While these are baking, make the glaze by combining powdered sugar, pumpkin pie spice and water. Begin with smaller measurements, continuously stirring. You’ll want an almost nail polish thickness. If too thick, add more water. If too thin, add more sugar. *Keep an eye on the cookies and time!*
11. When ready, remove cookies and let them sit ON THE COOKIE SHEET for 3 mins.
12. After 3 mins, immediately move them to your cooling racks and pour that glaze goodness right on top.
13. Eat immediately, or let completely cool for that glaze to soak in and harden to the perfect texture. YUM!!