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Pumpkin Crinkle Cookies – the perfect fall bite!
Soft and sweet, with plenty of pumpkin flavor and pumpkin pie spice, these easy to make cookies are terrific!
These deliciously easy, no-mixer required Pumpkin Crinkle Cookies have been years in the making and I’m thrilled to finally share it with you.
I believe I’m over-the-top hooked on pumpkin this year, or at least my obsession seems worse than most years! There are so many wonderful ways to use this amazing squash, both sweet and savory, and I can’t seem to get enough.
Ingredients needed for Pumpkin Crinkle Cookies:
For the cookie dough:
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder – make sure your baking powder and soda are still active using our simple test
- baking soda
- salt
- pumpkin pie spice – make your own by combining 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon allspice and 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- light brown sugar – firmly packed when measuring
- granulated sugar
- eggs
- pumpkin puree – not pie filling!
- vanilla
- unsalted butter – it’s okay to substitute salted butter but omit half the additional salt listed above
For rolling the dough balls:
- granulated sugar
- powdered sugar
How to make Pumpkin Crinkle Cookies:
- First combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice.
- Next, whisk together the sugars, eggs, pumpkin and vanilla until smooth. Add the melted butter and whisk until blended.
- Add the dry ingredients and fold together until combined.
- Scoop small balls of dough and drop directly into a bowl of granulated sugar. Spoon some of the sugar over the dough balls to coat.
- Transfer the sugar coated dough ball to a bowl with powdered sugar. Gently coat the cookie dough ball.
- Place on a COLD parchment lined baking sheet and repeat with the dough balls at least 2-inches apart. Bake!
This recipe produces a very soft cookie dough.
The cookie dough is very soft and at first you may not think they will form into a ball. However, once covered in sugar the dough will hold a ball shape or at least a sturdy mound.
PRO TIP: Make sure you are forming small cookies and read through all the instructions before starting.
Because the cookie dough has a nice soft texture I find it best to make these into a small, two-bite sized cookies. We use a small cookie scoop only 1 1/2-inches wide. The small cookies consistently achieve perfect-puffiness with the beautiful eye-catching signature cracks. The cookies hold together beautifully, and keep well at room temperature for 3-4 days.
Can you freeze Pumpkin Crinkle Cookies?
While these cookies are best eaten within a few days of being made, you can freeze leftovers for up to 2 months. Layer the cookies between sheets of wax paper or parchment and freeze in an airtight container. Once thawed, the texture might be a little more soft and the sugar coating not as pretty, but they’re still good to eat.
We’ve always been fans of the more famous cousin, Chocolate Crinkle Cookies.
With a soft brownie-like texture and plenty of chocolate flavor, Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are one of my favorite treats. This pumpkin spiced version doesn’t disappoint, either. The pumpkin pie spice delivers the warm fall flavors we all love, while the pumpkin puree gives them an amazing cake-like texture.
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Pumpkin Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar for rolling
- 1 cup powdered sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Melt the butter and set aside to cool.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar, eggs, pumpkin and vanilla until smooth. Add the butter and whisk until combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour mixture just until no dry ingredients remain visible. Set the cookie dough aside for 10 minutes.
- While the dough is resting, place the ⅔ cup granulated sugar in a shallow bowl. Place the powdered sugar in a separate shallow bowl.
- Using a small cookie scoop, drop 1 heaping scoop (about 1 tablespoon) of cookie dough directly into the bowl with the granulated sugar. The dough is super soft so it won't be like other sturdy cookie dough balls. Scoop some of the granulated sugar over the dough and gently push it around the bowl until covered. Place the sugared dough ball in the palm of your hand. Form your hand into a cup and gently roll the dough around until it forms a ball. Place the ball of cookie dough in the powdered sugar and roll to coat. Place the dough balls on the parchment lined baking sheets, at least 2-inches apart. Work quickly to roll all the dough balls - there should be about 12 cookies on each pan. Once you have one pan filled, go ahead and bake and keep rolling and forming more cookies. Work as quickly as you can to get them all ready to go.
- Bake for 14 minutes or until the cookies are puffy, and cracks have formed. The cookies will still be soft and look a little raw in-between the cracks. Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe Notes
- Read all the directions before starting this recipe. The dough is very soft but should form a small ball/mound once rolled in the sugar.
- I use a small cookie scoop - size 60 (1 1/2 inches wide)
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Recipe makes approximately 36-40 cookies
- If you feel the cookie dough will not hold a soft mounded shape, add a few tablespoons of flour but no more than 1/4 cup additional flour. The dough is supposed to be soft. Handle it gently as it doesn't roll up like typical cookie dough.
Nutrition
I love my little, inexpensive cookie scoop like the one pictured here. Click on the photo for more information:
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Still loving all these pumpkin recipes? Our Maple Pumpkin Butter is another one of those easy, delicious recipes I’m craving every morning stirred in oatmeal or slathered on an English muffin. Actually, we’re featuring all our Pumpkin Recipes this month, so don’t miss a one!
And, I don’t know about you, but I can eat ice cream all year long. This lovely No Churn Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream from The View from Great Island, is utterly fantastic and so easy to make too. It’s a must make recipe for sure! To feed a crowd, this Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Butterscotch Frosting from Recipe Girl looks like a real winner. Isn’t it amazing what can come out of a simple can of pumpkin puree?!
Originally published October 2017, updated October 2020
Julie G
Tender cake-like cookie, spices with a warm scent and taste and overall easy to make. What more could you ask for! I was well-prepared after reading all your instructions and tips carefully. I prepped most of the ingredients earlier in the day so when it came time to bake I mixed them up and was ready to go.
Dropping the cookie with the scoop into the sugar, moving them around with a fork to cover completely made them easy to roll. Popped then in the powdered sugar and used another fork to move them around and right onto the tray. They baked perfectly for 14 minutes, cooled on the tray before moving them to the cooling rack.
They puffed and ended up looking just like your photos.
We loved these cookies and I can’t even describe the aroma that filled our house as they baked! Just delicious. *****
Tricia Buice
So glad you enjoyed these cookies Julie. They make me want to keep canned pumpkin in the pantry year-round! Thanks so much for trying them and for the feedback 🙂
Kes
Made this recipe today. Thanks for sharing. I’m wondering, what’s the texture of these cookies is meant to be?
They’re delicious, with very cakelike texture. I feel I may have missed something.
Tricia Buice
Thanks for the feedback Kes. The cookies are more cake-like than thin and chewy. Sounds like they were fine.
Stephanie
Just made these, and they are beautiful!
Smaller is better!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Stephanie! So glad you enjoyed the cookies 🙂 Have a wonderful holiday season.