Indulge in the cozy flavors of fall with these tender, melt-in-your-mouth pumpkin cookies, topped with a sweet, buttery maple glaze that adds the perfect touch of warmth and richness.
Tender and Flavorful Pumpkin Cookies with Maple Glaze: The Perfect Fall Treat
Family Tradition
For as long as I can remember, there hasn’t been a fall that goes by without my mom or sister or me whipping up a batch of these Pumpkin Cookies with Maple Glaze. They are a family fall staple at my house. As kids, we requested them every year and easily devoured them within a day. I have always loved helping my mom in the kitchen. I distinctly remember studying how she made certain things, like the glaze for these cookies. (The trick is spreading the glaze as soon as it’s cooked or it will get too thick and hard). And the smell! Oh, how I remember and love the smell of these spiced pumpkin cookies baking in the oven. It just wouldn’t feel like fall without a batch of these cookies.
Why You’ll Love These Pumpkin Cookies
These pumpkin cookies are the ultimate fall treat. They’re:
- Soft and Chewy: Thanks to the pumpkin puree, each bite is moist and tender, melting in your mouth.
- Bursting with Fall Spices: Pumpkin spice give these cookies a warm, cozy flavor.
- Topped with Maple Glaze: The maple syrup glaze adds a sweet, rich finish that perfectly complements the spiced pumpkin flavor.
- Easy to Make: No complicated steps or special equipment—just a few ingredients and simple techniques that even beginners can master.
Pumpkin Cookies
These cookies are so simple to whip up and you’ll most likely have everything you need already in your pantry, especially this time of year with all the pumpkin treats you’re making.
Once you beat the sugars and butter together for a couple of minutes, it’s just a matter of adding an egg, vanilla pumpkin, and then the dry ingredients. So simple, in fact, these cookies are the perfect baked good for your kids to help with.
Maple Glaze
The glaze for these cookies is a game-changer. It’s so delicious! The maple flavoring from the dark brown sugar is the perfect complement to the pumpkin spice cookies.
As I mentioned above, the one trick to this glaze is making sure you spread it on the cookies immediately. If you wait too long to add the glaze to the cookies, it gets too thick and too difficult to spread around on the soft cookies.
I’m so excited for you to try these simple and delicious cookies. I hope you and your family love them as much as we do!
Pumpkin Cookies with Maple Glaze
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup (110 g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar,
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1 cup (225 g) pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon (4.2 g) vanilla extract
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (255 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon (1.4 g)salt
- 2 teaspoons (5.28 g) pumpkin pie spice
For the Glaze
- 3 tablespoons (42.37 g) butter
- 1/2 cup (110 g) dark brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup (60 g) milk
- 1 1/2 cups (187.5 g) powdered sugar sifted
Instructions
For the Cookies
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the baking sticks and sugars until light and fluffy.
- Add the pumpkin, egg and vanilla. Mix until incorporated.
- On low speed, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and pumpkin spice.
- Using a cookie scoop about 1.5 inches big, drop cookie dough about 2 to 3 inches apart on the baking sheet.
- Bake for about 12 minutes, until the edges are golden brown.
- Let cool for about 30 minutes before adding glaze.
For the Glaze
- Heat the butter and brown sugar in medium saucepan until bubbly. Cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Will be a little thick. Stir in the milk. Blend in the powdered sugar until the mixture is smooth.
- Pour the glaze by the spoonful over each cookie.
I made these cookies today. I had to modify them and make them dairy free. My glaze looked more like a caramel sauce And didn’t harden like yours seems to be.. I’m wondering what I did wrong ? Is it because it’s dairy free? Did I not cook the glaze long enough? Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you!
Hi, yes, it could be that yours was dairy free and that you didn’t cook it long enough.
These look incredible, and I’m looking forward to giving them a try! I’m just wondering, where is the maple in the recipe? I might be overlooking something. You mentioned maple flavoring in the dark brown sugar, but I thought brown sugar was just granulated sugar with added molasses. Are you using a special type of dark brown sugar?
There’s no actual maple flavoring (though you could add some, if you wanted to). The dark brown sugar creates a maple flavoring as it gets cooked.
Okay, I see. Thank you for the response, and thanks for sharing the recipe!
What are country crock baking sticks is it butter iv never heard of them being soft? Butter u have to set out so it will soften?
They’re just already softened butter sticks but you can use butter too.
Can I make these ahead and store?
Yes!
I can’t find the Country Crock baking sticks in my grocery stores. What would be a good substitution?
Hello, would this maple glaze work for your pumpkin bundt cake, or does it solidify too much? Thank you!
Sure!!
Cant wait to try these! Here I was looking for a better pumpkin cookie recipe and thought of you immediately. VOILA!! Just curious if substituting chocolate chips instead of the maple glaze would have the same delicious outcome?
Why not??
Made yesterday. Mind blown! Take all other pumpkin cookie recipes you’ve ever known and throw them out. These are delicious clouds of fall happiness! SO GOOD!
Thank you so so much!
I agree! I had a go to pumpkin cookie recipe until I tried this one! omg! This is it!