If you find yourself at the pumpkin patch, you may come in contact with the elusive great pumpkin, or even better, the great pumpkin cookie. Fall-apart tender with creamy pumpkin texture, these walk the line between cake and cookie.
Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Espresso Frosting
Makes about 16 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (220 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
- â…” cup (150 grams) unsalted butter, melted
- â…” cup (162 grams) canned pumpkin
- 1 large egg (50 grams), room temperature
- 1 teaspoon (4 grams) vanilla extract
- 2¼ cups (281 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons (4 grams) pumpkin pie spice
- 1½ teaspoons (3 grams) ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (3 grams) kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon (1 gram) instant espresso powder
- Espresso Frosting (recipe follows)
- Garnish: pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line 2 to 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, melted butter, pumpkin, egg, and vanilla.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder. Gradually add flour mixture to sugar mixture, stirring just until combined. Using a 3-tablespoon spring-loaded scoop, scoop dough into mounds (about 50 grams each), and place 2 inches apart on prepared pans.
- Bake, one batch at a time, for 7 minutes, and rotate pan. Place a 3½- to 4-inch round cutter around hot cookies, one at a time, and gently move cutter in a circular motion while contacting edges of cookie until desired shape is reached. Bake until edges are set and tops are just set, 3 to 5 minutes more. Remove from pan, and let cool completely on wire racks.
- Using a small offset spatula, spread Espresso Frosting on top of cooled cookies (about 18 grams each). (See PRO TIP.) Garnish with pie spice, if desired. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Notes
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Espresso Frosting
Makes about 1½ cups
Ingredients
- 1½ tablespoons (4 grams) instant espresso powder
- 1½ teaspoons (7.5 grams) water
- ¾ cup (170 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups (240 grams) confectioners’ sugar
- 1½ teaspoons (6 grams) vanilla extract
- â…› teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together espresso powder and 1½ teaspoons (7.5 grams) water until dissolved and well combined.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl. With mixer on low speed, gradually add confectioners’ sugar, beating until combined. Add espresso mixture, vanilla, and salt; beat at medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
This was a nice soft cookie. Of course, with that much butter in a recipe – how could one go wrong