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These pumpkin pie spice cookies have all the warm flavors I love in a fall cookie, without actually needing pumpkin in the dough.
They’re soft and buttery with plenty of pumpkin pie spice, and rolling them in spiced sugar before baking gives the outside a sweet, lightly crisp finish.
Browning the butter takes a few extra minutes, but it gives these delicious cookies a deeper, almost caramel-like flavor that goes so well with the cinnamon and spices.
The butter just needs some time to cool before mixing up the dough, and after that the cookies bake in only about six minutes.
If you’re looking for more pumpkin recipes for fall pumpkin season, try pumpkin butterscotch muffins, pumpkin bars, and skillet pumpkin cobbler.
Why You’ll Love This Pumpkin Pie Spice Cookies Recipe
- Full of fall flavor: Pumpkin pie spice and brown butter make these cookies especially good for fall season baking.
- Soft with crisp edges: The centers stay soft while the spiced sugar coating adds a little crunch to these chewy cookies.
- No pumpkin required: You get that familiar pumpkin spice flavor without opening a can of pumpkin.
Ingredients
Find the full list of ingredients, amounts, and instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Butter – Browning the butter gives the cookies a rich, nutty flavor that makes them a little more special than an ordinary sugar cookie.
- Granulated and brown sugar – Granulated sugar sweetens the dough and makes the spiced coating, while brown sugar adds moisture and a deeper flavor to this sweet treat.
- Eggs – Help hold the dough together and give the cookies a soft texture.
- All-purpose flour – Provides the structure for the cookie dough.
- Pumpkin pie spice – Used in both the dough and the sugar coating for plenty of warm fall spice.
How to Make Pumpkin Pie Spice Cookies
Here are the step-by-step instructions for making these chewy pumpkin cookies:
Step 1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
Step 2. Once the butter has completely melted, reduce the heat to medium. Continue cooking for about 8 minutes, stirring frequently and scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. The butter should turn a deep golden-brown color and smell rich and nutty.
Step 3. Pour the browned butter into a bowl and refrigerate for about 45 minutes. You want it to cool and thicken to a creamy consistency without becoming completely hard.
Step 4. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Scrape the cooled browned butter into a large bowl. Add eggs, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract.
Step 5. Beat with an electric mixer for about 2 minutes, or until the mixture is smooth and fluffy.
Step 6. Add all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.
Step 7. Mix dry ingredients until well combined.
Step 8. In a small bowl, combine the remaining sugar and pumpkin pie spice.
Step 9. Scoop the cookie dough into 1-tablespoon portions and roll each portion into a ball. Roll the cookie dough balls in the pumpkin spice sugar until evenly coated.
Step 10. Arrange the cookies evenly on a cookie sheet, leaving some room between them. About 15 cookies should fit on a standard baking sheet.
Step 11. Bake cookies for 6–7 minutes, or until the bottoms are lightly browned. Be careful not to overbake them if you want the centers to stay soft.
Step 12. Transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack and allow them to cool completely.
Tips for the Best Pumpkin Spice Cookies
- Watch the butter closely while browning it. It can go from perfectly browned to burned fairly quickly. Stir frequently and remove it from the heat once it has a deep golden-brown color and a nutty aroma.
- The browned butter also needs enough time in the refrigerator to thicken before you make the dough. It should have a soft, creamy consistency rather than being liquid or completely solid.
- Since these chewy pumpkin spice cookies only bake for a few minutes, keep a close eye on the first batch. The bottoms should be lightly browned, but the cookies may still look fairly soft when you remove them from the oven.
- For evenly sized cookies, use a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the dough before rolling it into balls.
What Is Pumpkin Pie Spice?
Pumpkin pie spice is a blend of warm spices typically used in pumpkin pie and other fall desserts. Most blends contain cinnamon along with spices such as ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice.
You can use a store-bought pumpkin pie spice blend or make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice.
Storage
- Store cooled pumpkin pie spice cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Make sure the cookies have cooled completely before putting them into the container so condensation doesn’t cause them to become too soft.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. There is no pumpkin puree in this recipe. Pumpkin pie spice gives the cookies their warm fall flavor.
Brown butter develops a rich, nutty, slightly caramelized flavor that pairs especially well with pumpkin pie spice and brown sugar.
Watch for the milk solids at the bottom of the pan to turn golden brown and for the butter to develop a noticeably nutty aroma. Keep stirring so the browned bits don’t burn.
Freshly browned butter is completely liquid. Chilling it until it reaches a creamy consistency gives it the right texture for mixing into the cookie dough.
Yes, but larger cookies will need additional baking time. Watch the edges and bottoms rather than relying strictly on the baking time in the recipe.
More Pumpkin Desserts
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Baked Pumpkin Donuts
- No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Cups
- Slow Cooker Pumpkin Butter
If you make these pumpkin pie spice cookies and enjoy them, please leave a comment with a 5-star recipe rating and let me know! Thank you so much!
Pumpkin Pie Spice Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, 2 sticks
- 2 medium eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cup granulated white sugar, divided
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan on the stovetop over medium/high heat.
- Once the butter is fully melted, reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking the butter for about 8 minutes, stirring frequently to scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. The butter should be a deep brown color and have a rich, caramel-like smell.
- Pour the browned butter into a bowl and place it in the refrigerator for about 45 minutes to cool and solidify slightly. You don’t want the butter to be hardened fully, but it shouldn’t be a liquid anymore – almost a “creamy” consistency.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Take the browned butter out of the refrigerator and scrape it into a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs, brown sugar, ¾ cup white sugar, and vanilla to the bowl with the butter.
- Beat the mixture with an electric mixer for a couple minutes until it is very smooth and fluffy.
- Add the flour, baking soda, salt, and 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice to the mixing bowl and mix until very well combined.
- Add the remaining ½ cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice to a separate small mixing bowl and stir to combine.
- Scoop out 1 tablespoon-size balls of dough and roll them in the sugar and spice mixture.
- Place the cookie balls, evenly spaced, on a baking sheet. I was able to fit 15 on a standard size baking sheet.
- Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 6-7 minutes until the bottoms are lightly browned.
- Transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Watch the butter closely while browning it. It can go from perfectly browned to burned fairly quickly. Stir frequently and remove it from the heat once it has a deep golden-brown color and a nutty aroma.
- The browned butter also needs enough time in the refrigerator to thicken before you make the dough. It should have a soft, creamy consistency rather than being liquid or completely solid.
- Since these chewy pumpkin spice cookies only bake for a few minutes, keep a close eye on the first batch. The bottoms should be lightly browned, but the cookies may still look fairly soft when you remove them from the oven.
- For evenly sized cookies, use a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the dough before rolling it into balls.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
