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Iced Pumpkin Cookies

Iced pumpkin cookies with a soft, pillowy cake-like crumb and a thick maple cream cheese icing. Bake the pumpkin cookie rounds until just set, cool completely, then ice and decorate for a bakery-style finish.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 32 minutes
Servings: 30 cookies
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 185
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 start with 1 tbsp and add more as needed for spreadable texture
  • 1 orange food coloring (optional)
  • 1 cinnamon for decorating
  • 1 sprinkles for decorating

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Bake the pumpkin cookies
  1. Preheat oven to 350F and line baking sheets.
  2. Beat butter and sugar until light, then add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla and mix until smooth.
  3. Fold in flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt until just combined.
  4. Drop 2-tablespoon rounds onto the lined baking sheets.
  5. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies look set around the edges.
  6. Cool completely before frosting.
Make the maple cream cheese icing and decorate
  1. Beat cream cheese and softened unsalted butter until smooth.
  2. Beat in powdered sugar, then mix in maple syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon until the icing is thick and creamy.
  3. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until the icing spreads easily.
  4. Add orange food coloring if using, then mix just to reach the desired color.
  5. Spread a generous layer of icing over each cooled cookie.
  6. Decorate with cinnamon and sprinkles, then let the icing set briefly before serving.

Notes

Pro tip: cool the cookies completely—warm cookies will melt the icing and thin it out. Store iced cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 4 days; freeze un-iced cookies up to 2 months (ice after thawing) for best texture. For a dairy-light option, use lactose-free cream cheese and lactose-free butter; the icing still whips smoothly when softened.