This is an easy and oh-so-delicious recipe that includes some of the most wonderful flavors of fall… pumpkin, cinnamon and maple. I made these last weekend for a pot-luck and received tons of rave reviews! These are soft, cake-like cookies.
Pumpkin Cookies with Maple Icing
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (use slightly less if fresh ground)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
15 oz can of pumpkin (1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup raisins (optional, but delicious)
~Directions~
1. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until fully blended and slightly fluffy. Mix in eggs and beat. Add pumpkin, raisins and vanilla and continue to mix until well blended.
3. Add flour mixture, and mix until combined.
4. Chill batter in fridge at least 15 minutes (this will help the cookies from spreading too much while baking).
5. Scoop batter onto parchment lined, Silpat lined or lightly greased cookie sheets using a cookie scoop, or a large spoon.
6. Bake cookies in a preheated oven at 375*F for about 12 minutes. Cool a few moments on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack. Frost cookies with Maple icing (below) while still slightly warm.
Maple Icing
4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter (salted or unsalted)
2 cups confectioners sugar
2 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon maple extract
~Directions~
While the cookies are baking, melt butter in a small sauce pan or in the microwave. Mix melted butter with powdered sugar in a large bowl, using a whisk until well combined. Add milk, and extracts. Whisk until smooth. Use a small knife or the back of a spoon to spread icing on top of cookies. If you frost the cookies while they are still just slightly warm, the icing will dry with a nice smooth finish.
*Note- If you don’t have maple extract on hand, but want to makes these cookies with just the vanilla flavoring, they will still be good. But the maple is really the secret ingredient in this, it adds such a wonderful flavor!
These cookies will keep quite well for at least 3 days, stored in an airtight container.
How to Make Pumpkin Cookies with Maple Icing
Pumpkin Cookies with Maple Icing
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cookies with Maple Icing
- 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg use slightly less if fresh ground
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter 1 1/2 sticks, slightly softened
- 2 cups packed light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 15 oz pumpkin 1 can, 1 1/2 cups
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup raisins optional, but delicious
Maple Icing
- 4 tablespoons butter 1/2 stick, salted or unsalted
- 2 cups confectioners sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon maple extract
Instructions
Pumpkin Cookies with Maple Icing
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in a medium bowl and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until fully blended and slightly fluffy. Mix in eggs and beat. Add pumpkin, raisins and vanilla and continue to mix until well blended.
- Add flour mixture, and mix until combined.
- Chill batter in fridge at least 15 minutes (this will help the cookies from spreading too much while baking).
- Scoop batter onto parchment lined, Silpat lined or lightly greased cookie sheets using a cookie scoop, or a large spoon.
- Bake cookies in a preheated oven at 375*F for about 12 minutes. Cool a few moments on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack. Frost cookies with Maple icing (below) while still slightly warm.
Maple Icing
- While the cookies are baking, melt butter in a small sauce pan or in the microwave.
- Mix melted butter with powdered sugar in a large bowl, using a whisk until well combined.
- Add milk, and extracts. Whisk until smooth.
- Use a small knife or the back of a spoon to spread icing on top of cookies.
- If you frost the cookies while they are still just slightly warm, the icing will dry with a nice smooth finish.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe Source– Final recipe by Glory Albin. Inspiration from several different recipes, but most resembles a recipe from Martha Stewart (Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Icing).
Make these this season… then make a pot of coffee and invite me over.
Happy Baking!
Courtney says
Probably a dumb question but I’m new to baking… could I add gel food coloring to this maple icing? I want to use this flavor of icing for my cutout cookies, just orange and brown for pumpkin shaped cookies or does this icing stay soft and not recommended for decorating?
Ashley says
I traded out the raisins for chocolate chips and did the old school powdered sugar butter and milk for the frosting! I don’t care for maple :/ these are my all time favorite cookies! Next time I’m adding oatmeal to them as well 😉
Kim says
Looks so yummy! a must try 🙂 🙂
Paula @ Paula's Plate says
Hi Gloria! Do you know if these cookies freeze well? I hope to make some tomorrow, but freeze half of the batch. Thanks!
Anonymous says
Gloria i could cry! my maple icing looks awful, it looks nothing like yours its really grainy, i have beat it to death and then made my fiance beat it too, we cant get the grainyness to go away, i thought i needed more milk but not its just runny and grainy so when it dries on the cookies you can see the speckles of powdered sugar
Karen - Trilogy Edibles says
These look amazing, I'll be featuring them tomorrow on my blog http://www.trilogyedibles.com for great pumpkin recipes from around the web!