Frosted Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

My kids love frosted cookies and I love pumpkin. During the fall, I stock up in pumpkin puree, especially when I see it on sale. These pumpkin cookies were the trial and error test of using up the last of the canned pumpkin in August!

Throughout the year, and especially during the Fall holiday season, I try and incorporate pumpkin into everything I can get my hands on. I’ve been known to also hoard a dozen bags of cranberries in my garage freezer… because they are hard to get during the year and I love cranberry sauce over a roasted turkey in May.

We all love the flavor it brings paired with a little cinnamon…. yum!  Usually it ends up being pumpkin pancakes and pumpkin cookies that are made the most!

Just this week I taught Alex how to use a cookie dough scoop (as shown below) and the thought he was the master chef! He was super excited to see that all the cookies were coming out to be about the same size!

He also learned the phrase “the proof is in the pudding” somewhere… and when the cookies came out he was static that the cookies were indeed “the same size!” So of course, the easy frosting recipe also allowed him to frost the cookies himself by carefully spreading it with a knife.

These pumpkin cookies along with my Pumpkin Swirl Brownies and Yummy Healthy Fudgy Chocolate Brownies are perfect for bake sales that are going on at your school or in your community…and make a wonderful teacher gift as well. Did I mention that they are perfect with a nice mug of chai?

We don’t always indulge in baked goods but rest assured that I have all the ingredients I need on hand. Sadly, since my awesome neighbors moved back to Texas my freezer is FULL of cookie dough and muffin batter zip lock bags; they used to be the lucky recipients of my recipe testing shenanigans.  Please come back to visit Anne!

These pumpkin cookies are also the perfect lunch box treat for kids of all ages (it also includes my husband). The baked in cranberries bring these cookies to a whole new level of fall goodies. Don’t believe me? You’ll have to try them and find out!

What I love about these cookies is that they have all the fall flavors in one or two bites. You can also freeze the scooped dough on a cookie sheet and transfer to a freezer bag after they’ve frozen. I practically have a full freezer of baked goods waiting to be baked and enjoyed again.

Iced Pumpkin Cookies

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

• Author: Laura Fuentes
• Yield: approx 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons softened butter, divided
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour or,
• 2 1/4 cups white whole wheat (pastry) flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat 1/2 cup softened butter on high for about 30 seconds, then add sugar until fluffy. Add in the egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and pumpkin. Mix to combine.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet. Once combined, fold in the cranberries and walnuts.
4. Drop tablespoon-sized dough, 2 inches apart, onto lined baking sheets.
5. Bake 10-12 minutes, or until edges begin to brown. Place on a cookie rack and cool.
6. While cookies are cooling, make the frosting. Beat cream cheese with a mixer until smooth. Gradually add in powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until a thick frosting-like texture is achieved. Frost cookies with a round knife.

Notes

Cranberries and nuts are optional but highly recommended!