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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. This cookie recipe is made with dark brown sugar, pumpkin butter, molasses (this makes them chewy), cinnamon, and the real secret โ candied ginger pieces. Theyโre 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.
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Happy gosh darn Friday! Wow, what a week! It is very much fall here. In fact, weโre 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 Iโm happy to be sharing this very cozy, very delicious pumpkin cookie recipe today. My first cozy cookies of the season actually. And you all, these pumpkin ginger cookies are totally not your average pumpkin cookies.
These are so special with a unique blend of warming fall spices and pumpkiny flavor. And theyโre 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 Iโve 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
Start with your wet ingredients. Using an electric mixer, 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 chewy texture.
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
Using a cookie scoop, roll the dough into decently-sized balls. This is a sticky dough, but if youโre having trouble, add a couple of tablespoons of additional flour.
Then bake and cool on a wire rack, thatโs literally it.
Step 3: make the icing
This icing is my favorite. Itโs made with just a handful of ingredients and I love the nutty brown butter flavor and creaminess. Itโs 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 Iโm 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 theyโre full of actual pumpkin flavor and real ginger!
Looking for other fall recipes? Here are a few ideas:ย
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, donโt 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
Ingredientsย
- 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
Instructionsย
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350ยฐ F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.ย 2.ย 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.ย 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.ย
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Why doesn’t your metric option state measurements in grams. 3/4 cup converted to metric should not be .75 cup. Thank you.
Hi Karen,
I am so sorry you are having issues with the metric conversion. For which ingredient are you seeing this? Please let me know how I can further help!
Hello,
Not a super big Candied ginger fan can I use just ground ginger in this cookie?
Thanks,
Hi Sandy,
Sure, I don’t see why not! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
To substitute the candied/crystalized ginger with ground ginger what would the conversion be (amount of ground ginger)? TIA
Hi Alison,
I would do 1 teaspoon. Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Hello,
I made these cookies previously and they were a huge hit! I am planning to do them again for a party. However there is an individual who is non-dairy. I plan to use nondairy butter. Yet I am trying to decide the best non dairy milk substitute to use for the icing as I feel that really completes the cookie. I would love to know if you have any recommendations on helping to make this recipe non-dairy!
Thank you!
Hey Kevin,
So glad to hear you have enjoyed these cookies in the past! I think oat milk or almond milk would both work nicely for you! I hope this helps! xx
These turned out really nice and full of fall vibes. Just what my taste buds wanted as we step into fall ๐๐. I used the Trader Joeโs pumpkin butter; same amount as the recipe called for. Iโm sure your recipe for it is better but I just didnโt have time to make it!
Hey Jay,
Happy Thursday:) Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Thanks for your comment! Xx
Can I bake these and freeze them without the icing? Then ice them when they thaw? I need to make 10 dozen for a wedding.
Hey Diney,
Totally, that will work well for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xT