Fall is my favorite time of the year, and mainly because I love everything pumpkin: pumpkin coffee, pumpkin donuts, pumpkin candles… you name it, I want it! I just learned how to make pumpkin cookies and they are everything! These cookies are more like a spice cake but wrapped up in a cookie. (Technically, you can call them pumpkin spice cookies! —You could also use this cookie recipe if you are looking for a sugar cookie dough.) They are both so easy to make!
How To Make Pumpkin Cookies
Ingredients:
2 cups unsalted sweet cream butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp all-spice
5 cups flour + 1 extra cup to roll the dough on
1 tsp salt
Directions:
Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set the cookie sheet to the side.
Using a stand mixer, cream the butter and 2 sugars together on medium-low speed. To this, add the pumpkin purée and eggs while slowly mixing until combined. Add the vanilla extract and mix together.
In a large bowl, mix the 5 cups of flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, all-spice and salt until well combined.
Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the stand mixer containing the wet ingredients.
Scoop dough out onto a floured surface and knead in 1/2 cup of the reserved flour.
Roll the dough out to 1/8 inch in thickness, using the reserved flour as needed. Cut out pumpkin shapes and place onto the cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.
Bake the cookies for about 8-10 minutes, until lightly brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before icing.
Icing ingredients:
4 egg whites
1/2 tsp cream of tarter
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 1/2 cup powder sugar
Orange and green gel food coloring
2 disposable piping bags fitted with a number 2 tip
2 squeeze bottles
Royal Icing Directions:
Using the standing mixer, combine the egg whites, cream of tarter, vanilla and powder sugar and mix until combined and stiff peaks form.
Split the icing into 2 bowls. Add a few drops of orange food coloring into one of the two bowls. Add a few drops of gree into the other. Mix the icing until the colors are blended and you have the desired shades.
Scoop about 1/4 cup of icing into their own bags. This will be for outlining.
Add 2-4 tsp of water into the remaining icing bowls and mix until combined. This will be for filling in (or flooding) the design. Pour these icings into squeeze bottles.
Outline the pumpkin cookies using the bags, as shown in the sample image.
Fill in the two outer spots with the thinned orange icing and allow to dry for two hours before filling in the center.
Using the green icing, pipe on the stem and fill in with the green icing. Pipe on vines onto the pumpkins and allow to dry for at least an hour before enjoying.
