Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies

These Pumpkin Cheesecake cookies are to DIE FOR!!  They are warm, full of fall spices, and have a decadent cream cheese icing on top. 

Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies

If you love easy-to-make but rich and decadent desserts then this pumpkin cheesecake cookie is the perfect recipe for you!  They are warm and comforting and a perfect fall staple. 

The icing is simple and has the signature cheesecake tang and is the perfect complement to the pumpkin pie spice flavor.  

What makes this cookie so special?  Well, it’s super easy to make!  There aren’t any complicated baking techniques or special equipment needed.  They use simple ingredients that you probably have on hand, and simple tools, like a bowl, and a scoop! Plus, I typically DO NOT like pumpkin spice-flavored things.  My husband is obsessed with all things fall and fall flavors but I ate TWO of these cookies!  They were so good I had to have more than one.  

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Easy To Make

So about these cookies!  As with most recipes at Loaves and Dishes, they are super easy to make.  The only special ingredient that you may not have in your pantry already is purred pumpkin.  You want to make sure that you get just pumpkin and NOT pumpkin pie filling but I will talk more about that in the tips and tricks section.  

The thing that sets these pumpkin cookies apart is the delicious cream cheese icing that we put on top at the end!  It takes the pumpkin pie flavor up a notch.  These cookies are sure to be a hit!  

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Ingredients to Make Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies

These are all the ingredients you will need to make pumpkin cheesecake cookies!

Wet Ingredients

• Melted Butter – cookie recipes all use different forms of butter.  For this recipe, we are going to melt the butter rather than creaming it with sugar.  When you melt butter some of the water content evaporates leaving behind just the fats which make a richer texture and flavor! 
• Packed Dark Brown Sugar – I used dark brown sugar in this recipe because I really wanted the deep rich molasses flavor.  Brown sugar is just regular white sugar that has molasses mixed in.  So light brown sugar has less molasses, and dark brown sugar has more.
• Pumpkin Puree – This is important for making the recipe….well…pumpkin.  You want to make sure that you are using just pumpkin puree and NOT pumpkin pie filling.  Pumpkin pie filling has more sugar and spices in it and you wont be able to control how much sugar is in your cookies.  
• Vanilla Extract – I personally like to use imitation vanilla.  It’s cheaper than real and because it’s imitation, it has more of the chemical compound that makes vanilla taste like vanilla.  You can use real vanilla, or vanilla bean paste if you want!  I just like to save real vanilla for special recipes and occasions since it’s pricey. 
• Egg – Just a binder!  And you only need one.  It’s best if it is at room temperature.

Dry Ingredients

• Flour – We are using all-purpose flour for this recipe! 
• Baking Powder – Baking powder is great for making cookies and cakes light and fluffy!  It only requires liquid to activate and it’s a pretty typical ingredient for cookies 
• Baking Soda – You may be thinking, why would I add baking powder and baking soda?  Well, it helps the cookies rise more versus spreading and it will help enhance the soft texture of the cookies 
• Salt – adding just a little bit of salt will help balance and enhance the sweetness of the cookies.  Adding just a little salt to your sweet recipes will take them from average to amazing!  
• Pumpkin Pie Spice – pumpkin pie spice is a blend of 4 spices.  Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.  Its an amazing and warm spice and adding it to these cookies is what makes the signature pumpkin pie taste that people love in the fall.  

The Icing

• Cream Cheese – Cream Cheese is what makes up the bulk of the cheesecake flavor.  There are only a few times where I will recommend this but.. I would buy the name-brand cream cheese.  The store brands have a higher water content and could potentially make your icing a bit looser than you intended.  Your cream cheese must be at room temperature.  Otherwise, it will be almost impossible to mix. 
• Powdered Sugar – we are using powdered sugar here because of its ability to blend with icings seamlessly.  If you were to use regular granulated sugar is would take several hours for it to dissolve without adding heat.  So powdered sugar is the way to go with icings. 
• Pumpkin Puree – Adding pumpkin puree to the icing will give it a slight orange color which is the only benefit to adding it to the icing.  There isn’t enough pumpkin to give it any kind of flavor.  The flavor will come from adding more pumpkin pie spice and vanilla extract. 
• Pumpkin Pie Spice – As I stated above pumpkin pie spice is what is responsible for the classic pumpkin flavor that people love! 
• Vanilla Extract – The vanilla extract will help amp up the cream cheese flavor!

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How to Make Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies

1. Mix together your wet ingredients -This includes melted butter, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, and egg.  The sugar is almost always included in the wet ingredients because it attracts and easily dissolves in water or liquid.  You want to mix this together until it is completely combined, with no lumps or bumps!
2. Mix together the dry ingredients – This includes the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.  We mix wet and dry ingredients separately because we don’t want to overwork the gluten in the flour.  Once the flour gets wet gluten will start to activate and overmixing can cause tough and dry baked goods.  
3. Mix the Wet and Dry ingredients – Mix everything in a large bowl until everything is combined and there are no flour lumps or pockets of flour left over.  It should be a thick consistency and will likely be hard to mix if you are mixing by hand.
4. Portion the cookies – Using a two oz scooper (or roughly portion them into the same size balls.  A little larger than a golf ball.  You want them to be about the same size so that they finish cooking at the same time.  If one dough ball is the size of a baseball and the other is the size of a golf ball, one will be completely raw in the middle and the other overcooked.  
5. After portioning – put them in the freezer to chill for about 2 hours.  Trust me, do not skip this step.  This gives the flour plenty of time to absorb all the liquid and it will help keep the cookies from spreading too much when baking. 
6. Make the Icing – in a bowl, mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla extract.  You want to make sure that your cream cheese is at room temperature otherwise it will be very hard to mix.  I would recommend using a hand mixer if you have one!  You want to mix until everything is completely combined.  
7. Bake the Cookies – Once the cookies have rested in the freezer it’s time to bake them!  Put them in a 350-degree oven for 11-13 minutes and you will have amazing pumpkin cookies that are almost ready for icing! Make sure you let the cookies cool for 10-15 minutes before you put on the icing.  
8. Ice the Cookies – Once the cookies have cooled down they are ready to be iced.  I put about 2 teaspoons of icing on each cookie but that part is up to you!  You can add as little or as much icing as you would like.  Measure with your heart! 

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Good to Keep in the Freezer

These cookies are perfect to make, portion, and then keep (uncooked) in the freezer for whenever you want a little sweet treat!  You can take out one or two and put them in the oven and you have fresh delicious pumpkin cookies!  They will keep in the freezer for 1-3 months in an airtight container.  Baked and left on the counter in an airtight container these cookies will keep around 5 days.  

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Frequently asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions  

1. Can these cookies be frozen?

• Yes!  You can portion the cookies, and freeze them for up to 3 months!  You can pop one or two cookies in the oven at a time for amazing cookies all fall! 

2. How long will they last in the freezer?

• These cookies will last 1-3 months in the freezer

3. How long will these cookies last on the counter?

• They will last about 1 week in a sealed container on the counter. 

4. Do I have to add the icing to the top?

• Nope!  You can leave the icing off, but then they will just be pumpkin cookies rather than pumpkin cheesecake cookies but they will still be delicious?