Pumpkin Sugar Cookies (Perfect for Fall and Halloween 🎃)
I couldn't write an entire cookbook about decorated cookies without including recipes for seasonal flavors of dough. These pumpkin sugar cookies are buttery, crisp, full of warm spices, and they're ideal for decorating with royal icing or buttercream. These are not the soft, pillowy sugar cookies you buy at the store, but the classic roll-out kind that hold their shape beautifully and bake up golden and crisp. This easy recipe is perfect for Halloween parties and fall bake sales, and they make a sweet homemade gift.
🍂 Why You’ll Love These Festive Fall Treats
- The dough holds its shape!: Don't you just hate it when you bake your cookie dough cut-outs and they morph into something completely different?? Me, too. This dough is ideal for keeping seasonal shapes looking like they're supposed to.
- Perfect pumpkin flavor: Not too little....not too much. The pumpkin flavor is cozy, subtle, and never overpowering.
- Make-ahead friendly: This dough chills and freezes beautifully.
- Decorate your way: Your choice! Use my easy royal icing recipe for polished details or a variety of buttercream flavors for a softer, whimsical look.
Julie's Pro Tip
💡 My favorite fall cookie cutters are pumpkins, leaves, ghosts, and candy corn pieces (see Ideas & Inspiration to Decorate Pumpkin Spice Cookies, below), but use any shapes that make you smile!
🍁 Baking Tips for the Best Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
- Don’t skip the chilling step: This is key for crisp edges and cookies that hold their shape after baking.
- Roll dough evenly: This helps for uniform baking--cookies with uneven widths can burn on some areas while underbaking on others.
- Re-roll scraps gently: Overworking dough can result in tough cookies.
- If using royal icing, outline first and then flood for a smooth finish: New to decorating using royal icing? Well, you're in luck! I have a full tutorial on this site to help get you started 🤓
Ingredients and Special Equipment
Please check the recipe card at the bottom of this post for specific quantities.
Ingredients Needed For Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
- All-purpose flour: For gluten-free cookies, substitute an equal amount of your favorite gluten-free flour blend.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness in the cookie dough and icing.
- Ground spices: Brings a quintessential warm, cozy fall flavor to the cookies.
Substitute pumpkin pie spice if that is what you have on hand. - Unsalted butter: For a rich, buttery texture. Make sure your butter is softened so that it fully incorporates into your dough.
- Granulated sugar and brown sugar: Both add sweetness. Granulated sugar adds crunch. Brown sugar brings some caramelized depth.
- Pumpkin purée: Adds pumpkin flavor and a orangish-gold color to the dough. Use plain pumpkin purée, not pumpkin pie filling! The filling has added sugar and spices that can throw off the balance.
- Egg : Adds richness and helps to bind the dough.
- Orange zest: Another staple of holiday baking that complements warm spices.
- Vanilla extract: Enhances overall flavor. Use pure vanilla extract if you can!
Recommended Special Equipment
- Stand mixer or hand mixer: Sugar cookies dough is a thicker dough, so I always recommend using an electric mixer instead of mixing by hand.
- Rolling pin: I love this tapered version for easy handling.
- Parchment paper: So helpful for even baking and easy cleanup!
- MIcroplane grater: One of my favorite kitchen tools to add a little zest to recipes.
- Cookie sheets / baking sheets: These extra large ones are great for fitting more cookies per batch.
- Cookie cutters: See "Ideas & Inspiration to Decorate Pumpkin Spice Cookies", below, for a few of my favorites!
Step By Step Photos and Instructions
Make the Cookie Dough
Step 1: In a large bowl, whisk dry ingredients (flour, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice.
Step 2: In the bowl of your stand mixer (or using a hand mixer), cream butter with both sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, pumpkin puree, orange zest, and vanilla until well blended.
Step 3: On low speed, slowly mix in dry ingredients until thoroughly blended.
Step 4: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into four pieces. Flatten each piece into a disk and then tightly wrap in plastic. Chill dough at least 2 hours, or until firm.
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Shape and Bake your Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Step 5: Preheat your oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Unwrap one piece of chilled dough. On a floured surface, roll out dough as evenly as possible to a thickness of about ¼ inch.
Step 6: Using cookie cutters, cut out shapes and carefully transfer them to your prepared baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart. Reroll scraps as necessary.
Step 7: Bake cookies for 12-18 minutes (depending on their size), until cookies are set and lightly browned around their edges. Cool cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes and then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.
Step 8: Decorate cooled cookies with royal icing or your favorite flavor of buttercream.
Ideas & Inspiration to Decorate Pumpkin Sugar Cookies💡👩🏼🍳
- Classic pumpkins: Orange royal icing with green stems, vines, and leaves.
- Spooky shapes: Ghosts, bats, or candy corn.
- Fall leaves: Bright colors gold luster dust accents.
- Kid-friendly fun: Spread with buttercream and add plenty of sprinkles.
Make-Ahead and Storage Tips
- Cookie dough: Refrigerate you prepared dough for up to 3 days (wrapped in plastic) or freeze it for up to 2 months. Thaw the dough overnight in your refrigerator.
- Undecorated baked cookies: Keep cookies at room temperature for up to one week in an airtight container, or freeze them for up to 3 months.
- Decorated cookies: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
- If you stack your decorated cookies in a container, place a sheet of parchment between each layer to protect the designs.
FAQs and Troubleshooting your Pumpkin Spice Cookies
No. Pumpkin pie filling contains added sugar and spices that can make the dough too soft. Stick with pure pumpkin purée.
This usually happens if you skip the important chill step. If your butter isn’t too warm when you start baking, the cookies won't hold their shape.
Royal icing will give you a smooth, cleaner, more professional look. Buttercream is better for softer, piped designs or a rustic touch.
More Of My Delicious Variations on the Classic Sugar Cookie:
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Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- 2-3 baking sheets lined with parchment paper (see Notes)
- wire racks
- Cookie cutters of choice (see post for suggestions)
Ingredients
- 4⅛ cups all-purpose flour (4 cups plus 2 tbsp)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- 1¼ cups unsalted butter, room temperature (2½ sticks)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 teaspoon grated orange zest
- ¾ cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 recipe Royal Icing for Decorating Cookies (optional)
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Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using a hand mixer, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar at medium speed until light, about 3 minutes.
- Beat in the egg, orange zest, pumpkin puree, and vanilla until well combined, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the bowl, mixing until combined.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into four equal pieces. Shape each piece into a flat disk. Wrap each disk tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until cold and firm (or for up to 3 days.)
- Preheat your oven to 350℉. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
- On a floured work surface, roll out one disk of dough to a thickness of about ¼ inch. Using cookie cutters, cut out shapes and carefully transfer them to your prepared baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart. Reroll scraps as necessary.
- Bake cookies in the center of your oven for 12-18 minutes (depending on their size), until cookies are set and lightly browned around their edges. If you want to bake more than one sheet at a time, place your oven racks in the upper and lower thirds positions and switch the positions of the sheets halfway through the baking process.
- Let the cookies cool on the sheets for about 10 minutes, then carefully transfer them to wire racks to cool completely. Repeat Steps 7 & 8 with the remaining disks of dough.
- Decorate cookies with Royal Icing or spread them with a simple buttercream (like White Chocolate Buttercream), or enjoy them as they are!
Notes
- If you have pumpkin pie spice on hand, you can use 1 tablespoon instead of my suggested spice blend. It won't taste exactly the same, but it will be close!
- This dough tends to be a little stickier than by Classic Vanilla Orange Sugar Cookie dough, so you will likely need a little extra flour when rolling it out.
- Depending on the size of your cookie cutter, this recipe should yield anywhere from 24-40 cookies.
- I like to bake my sugar cookies on baking sheets lined with parchment paper for even baking and browning. Greased baking sheets can cause cookies to burn easily, so keep an eye on your cookies while they bake.
