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Pumpkin Pie Cookies

Pumpkin pie cookies with buttery pastry crust cups and a silky pumpkin custard filling. Pre-baked shells are filled and baked just until set for a slice-like texture in cookie form.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 27 minutes
Chill time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 27 minutes
Servings: 24 cookies
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 135
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For pastry cookie cups
  • 2 cup all-purpose flour Measure by spooning into the cup and leveling.
  • 0.25 cup powdered sugar
  • 0.25 tsp salt
  • 0.75 cup unsalted butter Keep cold; cube before cutting in.
  • 3 tbsp ice water Add 3–4 tbsp as needed to form dough.
For pumpkin pie filling
  • 0.75 cup pumpkin puree Use plain canned pumpkin puree.
  • 0.5 cup sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 egg yolk Use only yolk.
  • 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 0.5 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.25 tsp salt
Topping
  • 1 whipped cream Use store-bought or homemade; spoon or pipe.

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 mini muffin tin

Method
 

Make the pastry cookie cups
  1. Combine all-purpose flour, powdered sugar, and salt, then cut in cold unsalted butter until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
  2. Add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing just until the dough holds together when pressed.
  3. Form the dough into a disk, wrap, and chill for 30 minutes so it firms up for rolling.
  4. Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness, then cut into 3-inch circles.
  5. Grease a mini muffin tin and press the circles into the cups, keeping the edges even.
Bake and fill
  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F, then pre-bake the pastry cups for 10 minutes until they look lightly set.
  2. Whisk pumpkin puree, sweetened condensed milk, egg yolk, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt until smooth.
  3. Spoon the filling into the pre-baked cups, filling each nearly to the top.
  4. Bake at 375°F for 12–14 minutes, until the filling is just set with a slight jiggle in the center.
Finish
  1. Cool completely in the muffin tin so the custard finishes setting without cracking.
  2. Top each cookie with whipped cream and finish with a pinch of pumpkin pie spice before serving.

Notes

For neat cups, press the dough firmly into the mini muffin tin corners and avoid overfilling so the custard doesn’t overflow. Store cookies airtight in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Freeze un-topped cookies (cool completely first) up to 2 months; thaw overnight in the fridge and add whipped cream after thawing. For a dairy-light option, use sweetened condensed milk made with reduced-fat ingredients and full-fat whipped cream or coconut whipped topping.