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Soft Pumpkin Spice Ginger Cookies with Brown Butter Icing. A cross between a delicious soft and chewy ginger cookie and a yummy pumpkin spice cookie with the autumn addition of sweet, spiced pumpkin butter. These cookies are made with dark brown sugar, pumpkin butter, molasses (this makes them chewy), cinnamon, and the real secret – candied ginger pieces. They’re generously glazed with a sweet, thick, and creamy brown butter icing. Each cookie melts in your mouth. These are the perfect cookies to bake, share, and gift from now through the holidays.
Happy gosh darn Friday! Wow, what a week! It is very much fall here. In fact, we’re pretty much past our fall, as many of our leaves have fallen from their branches. It even snowed most of the day yesterday. We have chilly temps and snow on the ground.
Yes, cozy season has arrived! And I’m happy to be sharing these very cozy, very delicious pumpkin cookies today. My first cozy cookies of the season actually. And you all, these pumpkin cookies are totally not your average pumpkin cookies.
These are so special with a unique blend of warming fall spices and pumpkiny flavor. And they’re just perfectly baked to be extra chewy.
When I set out to make these, I really wanted to achieve a pumpkin cookie that was chewy all around, soft, and not cakey. I also wanted a lot of ginger and spice.
I thought back to the pumpkin cookies I created long ago. And then forward to the crystallized candied ginger I’ve been loving so much. The sweet ginger pieces add a nice chewiness when mixed with the yummy pumpkin butter. Together they make for the BEST pumpkin cookies.
Here are the details
Step 1: make the cookie dough
Beat the butter with dark brown sugar and vanilla. Then add an egg, pumpkin butter, and molasses. The molasses really gives this cookie a great amount of chewiness.
Next, add the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix in the candied ginger pieces I told you about above.
Now, let the dough rest for 10 minutes. This will help the cookies bake perfectly and will make the dough a bit easier to roll too.
Step 2: roll and bake the cookies
Roll the dough into decently-sized balls. This is a sticky dough, but if you’re having trouble, add a couple of tablespoons of additional flour.
Then bake, that’s literally it.
Step 3: make the icing
This icing is my favorite. It’s made with just a handful of ingredients and I love the nutty brown butter flavor and creaminess. It’s what makes these cookies really melt in your mouth.
The ingredients: butter, milk, sugar, a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
Brown the butter on the stove. Then add everything to the brown butter and thin it out with some milk. Ice each cookie quickly, the frosting does set up pretty quickly.
This combo of pumpkin, molasses, ginger, cinnamon, and brown butter is unexpected, but I’m finding that everyone LOVES it. The result is a perfectly chewy, pumpkiny, gingery, molasses cookie with rich notes of ginger, cinnamon, pumpkin, and vanilla.
These cookies smell incredible, like the warming scents of fall.
Easy to make, no chilling, and they take less than a half hour to make, love that! Plus they’re full of actual pumpkin flavor and real ginger!
Looking for other fall recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Pumpkin Butter Cinnamon Roll Bread
Cream Cheese Swirled Cinnamon Pumpkin Butter Bread
6 Ingredient Spiced Pumpkin Butter
Chai Pumpkin Cake with Maple Browned Butter Frosting
Pumpkin Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cinnamon Swirl Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Butter Bread
Fluffy Pumpkin Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Chewy Frosted Cinnamon Swirl Snickerdoodles
Soft Gingerbread Latte Cookies with Brown Butter Icing
Lastly, if you make these Soft Pumpkin Spice Ginger Cookies with Brown Butter Icing be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Chewy Pumpkin Spice Ginger Cookies with Brown Butter Icing
Servings: 18 cookies
Calories Per Serving: 171 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) salted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup light or dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup pumpkin butter
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2-4 tablespoons candied/crystallized ginger pieces
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Brown Butter Icing
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2-4 tablespoons warm milk
- cinnamon/nutmeg, for dusting
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 2. In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the egg, mixing to combine. Next, add the pumpkin butter and molasses and mix to combine. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, beating until combined. 3. Fold in the candied ginger pieces. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes at room temperature.4. Roll the dough into tablespoon-size balls (if the dough is too sticky add 2-4 additional tablespoons flour). Place on the prepared baking sheet, spacing the cookies 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cookies are just starting to set around the edges, the centers should be doughy. Tap the pan 2-3 times on the counter to set the cookies. Let cool on the pan.5. Meanwhile, make the icing. Add the butter to a pot set over medium heat. Allow the butter to brown lightly until it smells toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Whisk in the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons milk, and a pinch of salt. Immediately spread the icing over the cookies, it will set quickly. Sprinkle with nutmeg or cinnamon, if desired. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
I’m a cookie lover from way back, and this cookie is exceptional♥️
Hi Steve! Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas! xT
what on earth is pumpkin butter and what could i use as an alternative
Oh my gosh! I think these were the best thing I’ve ever made! So delicious! Autumn in your mouth! So grateful for all of your recipes! You make me a better cook! 😊
Hey Stephanie,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear that it turned out well for you:)
Love the flavors in these! I also found they came out a bit cakey on my first try; I tweaked the recipe to 2c flour, 1 tsp baking soda, which made it a little better. They’re still a little more cakey than chewy for me, but they’re so delicious I don’t care. Besides, it’s fun to play around with the recipe. Going to keep experimenting!
Hey Sabrina,
Happy Sunday!!🍂 Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and your review, so glad it was enjoyed:) xx
Just made these and they are delicious! It was hard to wait long enough to allow the icing to set so that I could try one!
Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try! Hope you’re having a great Halloween weekend! 🙂 xT
OMG!!! These cookies are amazing! I made them for the first time last week when we were having friends over and they were a massive hit! Just made a second batch…. My kids can’t leave them alone!
Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try! Hope you’re having a great Halloween weekend! 🙂 xT
Hey Tieghan! Do you think I can make the batter and keep it in the fridge overnight to bake the next day?
Hi Pauline! That should be fine! 🙂 xT
I just pulled these out of the oven, and they are FAB!!!!!! I added a pinch of cloves!! They are yummy! I didn’t add icing, bc of my blood sugar!!! Still, just perfect!!!!!
Thanks so so much for trying out the recipe, I really hope you loved it! xT
I just made these and they’re SO good! I subbed apple butter for the pumpkin since I’m not a fan of pumpkin, but all the flavors are amazing!!
Thank you Erin! xT
A friend made these as dessert for a dinner last night and they were amazing. She did leave out the candied ginger but I didn’t miss it at all. I came here to find the recipe so I can spread the joy and make them for the teachers at my sons school. Another A+ recipe.
Thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed this recipe! xT
These are perfect fall cookies. Wow…my kids loved them as well!!! 5 stars all way!!
Five Stars all the way!!
Thank you so much for trying out the recipe! Have an awesome weekend! xT
These would be great if they were chewy. Unfortunately, they’re just not. We test-baked 3 and then tweaked the recipe to get them chewier, but they were still cakey. Flavors are decent enough, though I’d turn up the spice a little next time.
Hey there, thank you for letting me know! I appreciate it! xT
Hi Tieghan. I want to make these but where do I find candied ginger? Thanks!
Hi! She often references Trader Joe’s ingredients.I’m just guessing, but that’s probably where she gets hers. I don’t have a TJ in my area so I have found it at WalMart in the fall and winter and, here in the upper Midwest, at Fleet Farm. I am sure you could find it on Amazon as well. It’s also dead easy to make at home if you have about an hour, a lb of fresh ginger, 5 C of water and a lb of sugar. There are recipes on line to make it yourself and it beats store bought by a mile! (If you make it at home, use the edge of a spoon turned bowl-side down to peel the ginger skin. It works so much better than using a peeler.)
Delicious!! A cookie packed with flavor! And make your kitchen have the lovely smell of fall spices as you bake them!
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try! I appreciate you leaving a comment! 🙂 xT
Is there an ingredient I can use instead of molasses if I don’t have that?
Hi Elizabeth! I haven’t ever tried this recipe without the molasses before so I can’t say for sure!
I had the same results. Compared to some of the other cookie recipes I love from this site it either needs an extra egg or less baking soda. Thoughts?
Made these for a dessert, substituted a 1:1 gluten free flour blend, they came out perfect! Absolutely delicious