Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Caramel Frosting

One of my favorite cookies growing up that my mom made were her Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Caramel Frosting.  She did pumpkin spice before pumpkin spice was cool. These cookies are like little pumpkin clouds covered in caramel frosting. I couldn’t get enough of them when I was a kid! Do not wait around for pumpkin season to make these delicious pumpkin cookies.

Why I love these cookies

Pumpkin Spice Cookies are like a comforting bite of Fall in a cookie.  They just melt in your mouth, and that salty, creamy caramel frosting makes it really hard to stop at just one, or two, or three. A few years back my mom, my sister, my moms recipe box, and I went on a girls weekend together. My mom lives in Florida, and we only get to see her once or twice a year. So we took measures into our own hands as a way to curb our astronomical phone bills, resulting from our recipe inquiries. Email isn’t the fastest way to communicate while trying to figure out your mommas cookin. We needed real time guidance. So anyway….I purchased the products for us each to make our own family recipe scrapbook while we where away together. Unfortunately, this is all the further I got.  A few finished pages and the rest is just loose pictures and my moms recipe cards tucked away in the unfinished book.  Sorry mom, if you are wondering where your Dream Bar, Date Nut Bread, and Pumpkin Cookie recipe cards are, I am the guilty one.  So much for being all organized and getting my moms recipes recorded!  I try, I really do try to be organized and such, but then life comes and whisks me away and that’s all I think I need to say, cause we got some cookies to bake!

Gather these ingredients

 

How to make Pumpkin Spice Cookies

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Add shortening and sugar to mixing bowl whisk on high until light and fluffy, taking time to scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple times.

Add 1 cup pumpkin and 1 egg to the shortening and sugar mixture. Blend until combined.

*Spinkle one teaspoon of baking soda over pumpkin mixture and mix well. I realize this seems weird, that’s why I put an asterisk to bring it to your attention that it’s not a typo.

This mixture may look a little weird the pumpkin causes the shortening to break and look curdled, have no fear it will all come together.

Measure all purpose flour into a measuring cup add in salt and warm spices, mix them into the flour with your measuring spoon. Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Scrape down sides and bottom of the bowl a couple times. Do not over mix. Mix until batter is smooth and just combined.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies are a cakey cookie, so the dough is slightly looser than say chocolate chip cookie dough, no worries.

Use a small tablespoon sized cookie scoop and scoop cookie dough onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Place in a preheated oven and bake for 10-12 minutes.

Cookies should be just browning around the bottom, and when you gently press into the top it should feel firm, not squishy at all. Remove from oven let rest for a few minutes on baking sheet then remove to a wire rack for cooling.

How to make the caramel frosting for pumpkin spice cookies

This smooth caramel frosting is next level, and it’s the perfect way to top off these little pumpkiny beauties!

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. When butter is melted add brown sugar and salt and whisk until the butter and sugar have become one. There should not be any sugar crystals, mixture should be smooth. Cook until butter and sugar just start to bowl and then remove from stove top.

 Whisk in vanilla and milk. Continue to whisk to help cool down the caramel mixture. When caramel is cool enough to poke your finger in and take a taste it’s time to at confectioner’s sugar.

Add 1 heaping cup of powdered sugar to caramel and whisk until smooth. This frosting will be between a frosting and an icing in consistency.

I like to put a piece of parchment paper under a wire rack and spoon the frosting over pumpkin spice cookies, just in case any frosting decides to sneak off the sides.

FAQs

• Can I substitute butter for the shortening in the cookie dough? I wish I could say yes. No. I have tried it and they do not have the same fluffy texture as they do when shortening is used. So I guess technically you can but I wouldn’t if you want the perfect pillowing pumpkin spice cookie experience.
• What if I don’t want to buy all those different spices, can I use pumpkin pie spice? Yes you may I say! Use 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice.
• I love pumpkin spice, but I’m not a fan of caramel is there another frosting you would suggest? Yes there is! You could make the frosting that I use for this cake. You may have some leftover but this cream cheese frosting is divine. If you don’t like cream cheese frosting well then I think a simple butter cream frosting would work. I don’t have one on my site unfortunately but I’m sure you could google it and find a good one.
• What if I want to make these cookies larger than the suggested 1 tablespoon scoop? Yes, I say yes. I have used a large 1/4 cup scoop before, you will want to adjust the baking time to more like 12-15 minutes. Check them as I suggested above; they should be slightly brown around the edges and when you give them a gently press on top with your finger they should feel firm not squishy.

If you try these pumpkin spice cookies with caramel frosting, I’d love to hear what you think! Please take a moment to rate the recipe in the recipe card below—your feedback helps other readers and helps my recipes reach more kitchens. If you enjoyed them, share a photo on social media and tag me, or send the recipe to a friend who loves cozy fall baking as much as we do. From my cookie jar to yours with love, Sheila