Easy Pumpkin Spice Cake Cookies (No Icing!)
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These soft Pumpkin Spice Cake Cookies are the perfect way to celebrate fall and welcome the warmth of the holidays. They are amazingly tender and are bursting with fragrant pumpkin spice flavor. This convenient recipe is made with common ingredients you likely already have on-hand at home. It is an easy autumn cookie recipe the whole family will love!
Why You’ll Love These Pumpkin Spice Cake Cookies
These moist, fluffy cookies are like mini pumpkin cakes. They are full of rich pumpkin flavor and warm autumn spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. A sprinkling of cinnamon sugar makes them sparkle and gives them an extra touch of spiced sweetness.
This cookie recipe follows the usual formula of first mixing the wet ingredients, then mixing the dry ingredients, then combining them to make the dough. In this recipe, the cookie dough does not need to be chilled prior to baking. This is especially helpful if you’re baking with kids or if you’re short on time. With no chilling required, these pumpkin cookies can be made from start to finish in just 30 minutes.
After making the batter, I recommend using an ice cream scoop to place the cookie dough onto your baking sheets. I find it to be the fastest and easiest way to portion the dough and have uniform cookies. I also like to flatten the unbaked cookies a bit with my fingers, because they don’t spread very much while they are baking.
These pumpkin spice cookies are best enjoyed fresh and warm out of the oven, or on the same day. I find they get a little soft when stored, so try to enjoy them as soon as you can. However, this recipe is always such a huge hit with my family and friends, I usually don’t have to worry about storing very many leftover cookies anyway. 😉
Are Pumpkin Spice Cake Cookies Good For You?
It depends on the recipe. I wouldn’t consider these pumpkin spice cookies to be super healthy, because they contain a good amount of white flour, white and brown sugar, and butter. But, they are homemade, so you know exactly what’s inside the dough. That makes them better than store-bought cookies, which can contain a lot of preservatives and unnecessary additives.
Additionally, I’ve said before that pleasure and health go hand in hand. Healthy eating can definitely include consuming a reasonable amount of sweets and desserts. This is one of those recipes for times when you feel like treating yourself and indulging. Frequency and amount (as in, the number of cookies you eat) are important concepts to keep in mind. So with that said, enjoy recipes like this one in moderation.
More Fall Cookie Recipes
Looking for more fall baking inspiration? Here are some of my favorite autumn cookie recipes:
If you make this Pumpkin Spice Cake Cookies recipe, let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating ★ below, because I love hearing from you! ♡
Easy Pumpkin Spice Cake Cookies (No Icing!)

Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the cinnamon sugar topping:
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the butter with the granulated sugar and brown sugar until blended.
- Beat in the pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix together with a large spoon or rubber spatula until combined.
- Drop the dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets. Slightly flatten each one as the cookies will not spread very much in the oven.
- To make the cinnamon sugar topping, combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the cookies.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until puffed and lightly browned around the edges. Allow cookies to slightly cool before serving.
Nutrition
Notes
This post was originally published on September 15, 2016. It has been updated to reflect new information and helpful content.
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Yummy! These looks so fluffy and moist. My kids would love these babies!
They are so good! I brought them to a party a couple weeks ago and they were such a hit! Both you and your kids will love them!
I’m adding these to my list of pumpkin recipes to make this fall! They look so good.
Yay! You are going to love them! My friends call them my “Pumpkin Cake Cookies” because they are so soft and fluffy lol.
These pumpkin cookies are so soft, like doughnuts! Everyone loved them, I can’t wait to eat them again.
Thanks Alisha!! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe. 🙂