Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting (The World's Best!)

Pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting are always a hit, especially around Halloween and Thanksgiving. And when they're soft, moist, and topped with a sweet cream cheese frosting? Well, they're impossible to resist! After getting this easy recipe from a friend, I have made them over 100 times for family and friends. As far as the spices go, less is more; this is not a full-on pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, or pumpkin cake. Sprinkle frosted cookies with chopped walnuts or pecans if desired.

• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 40 mins
• Calories: 152 Calories

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¾ cup white sugar
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two baking sheets.

Step 2

Make cookies: Whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, and ginger together in a bowl.

Step 3

Beat butter, both sugars, egg, and vanilla with an electric mixer in a separate large bowl until smooth. Beat in pumpkin puree. Gradually stir dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture until combined; batter will be moist.

Step 4

Drop teaspoonfuls of batter about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets.

Step 5

Bake in the preheated oven until cookies are lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes, switching racks halfway through.

Step 6

Remove from the oven and let cool on the sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and cool completely, about 25 minutes.

Step 7

While the cookies are cooling, make frosting: Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in a bowl with an electric mixer until soft and creamy. Beat in powdered sugar, about 1/2 cup at a time, until frosting is smooth and spreadable.

Step 8

Spread frosting over cooled cookies.