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This delicious and deceptively simple pumpkin spice cookie recipe offers just the right balance of pumpkin spice and real pumpkin. They’re soft, chewy, moist and delicious and offer all the best flavors of the season.

Linda Amendt shared this recipe for pumpkin spice cookies with us from her book 400 Sensational Cookies. We love them not only because this recipe is a unique twist on a pumpkin spice cookie but also because the recipe calls for seven different aphrodisiac ingredients. So make them as a Holiday season treat or a seductive snack to serve your lover. These cookies are great for any occasion from October through the Holidays.

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Why you’ll love these pumpkin cookies

Now, we love all of Linda’s trusted recipes. (After all, Linda is one of the most prolific winners at county and state fair baking competitions. Without question, she understands successful home baking better than almost anyone.) But we’re featuring this pumpkin spice cookies recipe because they offer something truly different for the Holiday season.

Unlike the pumpkin crinkle cookies you often see this time of year, these are drop cookies, (like chocolate chip cookies), which means they have a hint of crispness on the edges with soft, chewy centers. They are, in my opinion, made irresistible by an icing drizzle caressing the top of each cookie.

How to make a soft and chewy pumpkin spiced cookie

Making these easy, spiced pumpkin cookies is a two-step process. First, you make and bake the cookie dough. Then you make the icing while the cookies are cooling and ice the cooled cookies. Making the cookie dough from scratch can be broken down into simple steps. Remember to preheat your oven to 350 before you start.

Step 1: Combine the dry ingredients, including the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.

Step 2: Using an electric mixer, cream the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Don’t stop when the mixture is combined, you’ll want to go for about 3 minutes. This is the secret to getting some lightness in the cookie batter. (If you need to purchase a stand mixer, this is the mixer I highly recommend. It is the one I use in my own kitchen.)

Step 3: Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture. Make sure you crack each egg into a separate bowl before adding it to the butter and sugar. This way, if you get a bad egg, it won’t spoil the whole batter. Be sure to mix each egg into the cookie dough before adding the next egg.

Step 4: Add the vanilla and mix it in before adding the pumpkin. It’s important to scrape the pumpkin down from the sides of the mixing bowl as you go. (Use canned pumpkin puree, not freshly pureed pumpkin for this cookie recipe. Also, don’t use pumpkin pie filling – it is not the same thing as pumpkin puree.)

Step 5: Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet mixture. Continue to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Once the mixture is combined, fold in the pecans by hand, not with the mixer.

Step 6: You’re going to drop the cookies onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Each cookie should use approximately one tablespoon of dough and the cookies should be spaced two inches apart. The best tool for measuring and dropping the cookies is a cookie scoop. This handy tool helps ensure a uniform size and good-looking cookies.

Check the cookies after 12 minutes (or sooner if you know your oven runs hot). They may need to bake for as much as 15 minutes. But keep an eye on them to prevent burning.

When the cookies come out of the oven, note that you’re going to keep them on the parchment for the first five minutes of cooling then transfer them directly onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Icing and storing

Do not try icing your cookies until they have completely cooled. Then you’re simply going to drizzle the icing over the cookies. (Linda drizzles the icing from a fork but you can use a spoon if you find this easier.)

Wait until the icing has hardened before storing the cookies. Once the icing is set, the cookies can be stacked in airtight containers with layers of wax paper between them. These cookies freeze very well. But if you plan to freeze the cookies, do not ice them. Freeze them uniced and add the icing after they’ve thawed.

Why these cookies are great for date night

For starters, these pumpkin and spice cookies call for a healthy dose of pumpkin. This gourd isn’t on your list of date night foods? You might be shocked to learn that a pumpkin is an aphrodisiac. But it’s loaded with the kind of nutrients that make your sexual system hum.

Then there are the spices. Cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger are called warming spices because they warm the body enough to make you feel like ripping off your clothes. (Ok, that’s not exactly the reason they’re referred to as the warming spices. But they do a great job of naturally warming the body.)

Worth noting is that these, as with many of the cookie recipes we feature, contain one of the world’s most popular aphrodisiacs, vanilla. And don’t forget that, like many of our favorite baked goods, this pumpkin cookie recipe calls for the ultimate symbol of fertility, eggs.

Add in a dash of nuts–excellent for testosterone production–and you have a pumpkin spice cookie recipe not only for sweet goodness but for something that has the potential to make your baking take on a very sensual meaning.

Check out all of our cookie recipes

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Print Recipe

These cookies are loaded with the flavor of pumpkin and just the right amount of spice.

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Dish Type cookie

Cooking Style Baking

Seasonal autumn, Christmas, Holiday season, Thanksgiving

Ingredient pumpkin

Author Linda Amendt

Equipment

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 can solid pack pumpkin* 15 oz
1 cup chopped pecans
for the icing:
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons half-and-half cream or milk
1/2 tsp maple flavoring

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda and salt until well combined. Set aside.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Beat in vanilla.
Add pumpkin and stir until well combined. Scrape down sides of bowl.
On low speed or using a wooden spoon, gradually add flour mixture, beating just until blended. By hand, fold in pecans.
Using a cookie scoop or spoons, drop tablespoonfuls of dough about 2 inches apart on cookie sheets lined with parchment.
Bake one sheet at a time in preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges start to turn lightly golden.
Immediately slide parchment paper onto a wire cooling rack. Cool cookies for 5 minutes, then transfer from parchment paper to cooling rack and cool completely.
In a small bowl, combine confectioner’s sugar, 1 tablespoon of the cream and maple flavoring.
Using a small whisk or a fork, blend until icing is smooth and thin enough to drizzle from a fork. Add more cream as needed to achieve the right consistency.
Drizzle icing over cooled cookies.

Notes

*Use only canned pumpkin puree. Do not substitute with fresh, pureed pumpkin or canned pumpkin pie filling.

For storing and freezing: Let icing set before storing cookies between layers of wax paper in a tightly sealed container. If cookies will be frozen, do not ice them. Completely defrost the cookies before drizzling icing over them. (Flavors can blend during storage, so store cookies with strong flavors in separate containers.)

Love the cookies? Get the book!

This cookie recipe was originally published in 2019 and most recently updated in October 2022.

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Author
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Amy Reiley

An award-winning author of five aphrodisiac cookbooks with an MA in Gastronomy, Amy Reiley has spent the past 18 years studying the history and science behind aphrodisiac foods. She speaks on aphrodisiacs globally and has brought her knowledge of aphrodisiac foods to national television shows including The Today Show and CBS Early Show. Amy is also a freelance food, wine and health writer and wine competition judge. Her work has appeared in publications ranging from Variety to The Daily Meal. She is a former wine editor for Gayot.com and wine & spirits editor of Las Vegas magazine. Most importantly, Amy is a mother to 2 human children and 1 standard poodle.

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