Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
Soft and chewy pumpkin cookies made with oats, pumpkin puree, warm spices, pecans, and raisins, then finished with a simple cream cheese frosting.
Servings: 36 cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ⅓ cups quick or old-fashioned oats
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup 2 sticks butter, softened
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional add ins
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- ½ cup raisins
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup butter softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- Milk or half-and-half as needed to thin
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease them.
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- Cream the butter and sugars. In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and creamy.
- Add the wet ingredients. Beat in the pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla until well combined.
- Combine the dough. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing just until combined.
- Add the pecans and raisins. Gently fold them into the cookie dough.
- Scoop the cookies. Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving space between each cookie.
- Bake for 12–15 minutes, or until the cookies are set and lightly golden around the edges. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat the softened cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy.
- Add the vanilla and powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
- Add a small amount of milk or half-and-half, a little at a time, until the frosting reaches your desired consistency.
- Once the cookies have cooled completely, spread or pipe the frosting over the tops.
- For an easy piping method, spoon the frosting into a sandwich bag, snip a small hole in one corner, and pipe the frosting onto the cookies.
Notes
- Nuts: Walnuts can be substituted for the pecans.
- You can use up to ¾ cup chopped nuts and ¾ cup raisins in the cookie dough.
- This recipe makes 3 batches of 12 cookies, for a total of 36 cookies.
- For a potluck or gathering, make all three batches a little different. One batch can be left plain, one can have pecans and raisins, and the third can have pecans and raisins with an additional pecan pressed into the top of each cookie before baking.
- If making the cookies in different variations, divide the dough into three equal portions before adding the desired mix-ins.
