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Iced Pumpkin Cookies

Iced pumpkin cookies with a soft, cake-like crumb and a thick maple cream cheese icing. Baked at 350°F, then fully cooled before you spread the creamy frosting and finish with cinnamon and sprinkles.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 32 minutes
Servings: 30 cookies
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 210
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For cookies
  • 2.5 cup flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 0.5 cup butter
  • 1.5 cup sugar
  • 1 cup pumpkin
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
For icing
  • 4 oz cream cheese softened
  • 0.25 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 2 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 0.5 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp milk
  • 1 orange food coloring optional
  • 1 cinnamon for decorating
  • 1 sprinkles for decorating

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Bake the pumpkin cookies
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats (keep the oven at temperature before baking).
  2. Beat the butter and sugar until smooth, then mix in the pumpkin, egg, and vanilla until the batter looks cohesive.
  3. Fold in the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt) until no dry streaks remain.
  4. Drop 2-tablespoon rounds onto the lined baking sheets, spacing them apart.
  5. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are set around the edges but still look soft in the centers (use a visual cue of slightly puffed tops).
  6. Cool the cookies completely on the baking sheets or a rack before icing so the frosting won’t melt.
Make and ice
  1. Beat the cream cheese and softened unsalted butter until smooth and lump-free.
  2. Beat in powdered sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon until thick and spreadable.
  3. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until the icing flows in a thick layer, then add orange food coloring if using for a deeper orange tint.
  4. Spread a generous layer of icing over each cooled cookie, using a smooth top as the visual cue.
  5. Decorate with cinnamon and sprinkles while the icing is fresh so they adhere.

Notes

For the smoothest icing, start with fully softened cream cheese and butter, and only thin with milk until it spreads like thick pudding. Store cookies airtight in the refrigerator up to 4 days; the icing may firm up but stays tasty. Freeze baked (un-iced) cookies up to 2 months, thaw overnight in the fridge, then ice fresh. For a gluten-free option, use a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour blend in place of the flour and bake times may vary slightly.