Soft Pumpkin Cookies With Brown Butter Icing

Soft Pumpkin Cookies With Brown Butter Icing

The Spruce / Cara Cormack

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 16 mins
Total: 31 mins
Servings: 48 servings

These cookies are sure to become a family favorite. The delicious soft pumpkin cookies are topped with a wonderful brown butter icing. Spread or drizzle the icing on the cookies. Or add some extra powdered sugar to the icing mixture and use it as a filling between two cookies. 

It takes just a few minutes to brown the butter for the icing, and it's well worth that bit of time. Feel free to use plain melted butter if you're short on time.

Ingredients

  • For the Cookies:
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 8 tablespoons (4 ounces) butter, softened
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • For the Glaze:
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons hot water
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Steps to Make It

Make the Cookies:

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Soft Pumpkin Cookies ingredients

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  2. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease cookie sheets or line them with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

    parchment paper on top of a baking pan

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Stir to blend.

    flour, soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a bowl

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  4. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the brown and granulated sugars with the 8 tablespoons of softened butter until light.

    brown and granulated sugar beat together with butter

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  5. Beat in the pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla extract.

    pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla extract beat together

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  6. With the mixer on low, incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet. Increase mixer speed to medium-low and beat just until smooth and well blended.

    dry and wet pumpkin cookie dough ingredients beat together

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  7. Drop the cookie dough by rounded tablespoon or cookie scoop onto the prepared baking sheets.

    pumpkin cookie dough balls on a baking sheet

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  8. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown. Cool the cookies slightly and then remove them to racks to cool completely.

    pumpkin cookies on a cooling rack

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

Make the Glaze:

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Brown Butter Icing ingredients

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  2. Melt the 4 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the milk solids at the bottom of the pan are golden brown. Remove the butter from the heat as soon as you see a light to medium brown color.

    butter in a pot

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  3. Sift the confectioners' sugar into the browned butter and add the 3/4 teaspoon of vanilla.

    butter, brown sugar, confectioners' sugar and vanilla in a pot

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  4. While constantly stirring, add hot water until the desired consistency is reached for drizzling or spreading.

    add water to the glaze ingredients in the pot

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

  5. Once the cookies have cooled, drizzle with brown butter glaze. Cookies will keep in an air tight container for up to one week.

    Soft Pumpkin Cookies With Brown Butter Icing

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

Tips

  • When browning the butter, it is best to use a light colored pot in order to easily monitor the milk solids as they brown. A pot which is enamel or metal rather than a dark non-stick pot will work best.
  • For more guidance, refer to How to Brown Butter
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
107 Calories
4g Fat
16g Carbs
1g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 48
Amount per serving
Calories 107
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 4g 5%
Saturated Fat 2g 11%
Cholesterol 26mg 9%
Sodium 141mg 6%
Total Carbohydrate 16g 6%
Dietary Fiber 1g 2%
Protein 1g
Calcium 27mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)