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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.Â
These did not turn out at all. And in a good baker, the measuremenrs just seemed off. Another HBH baking fail. Will stick to her savory recipes only.
Hey Chris! I’m really sorry about that! Is there anything I can to do help improve these baking recipes? I appreciate the feedback! xT
Did mine turn out more poofy then super flat? Yes. Are they still soft, full of flavor and delicious? ALSO YES. I loved that these were a bit different then the typical pumpkin cookie flavor wise. They were fast to make but seem fancy with the icing. A hit in my opinion!
I make a lot of your recipes and for the most part they are easy to follow and delicious! But there have been quite a few of the cookie recipes that have done the same thing…they come out cakey and don’t spread instead of think and chewy. I am a professional baker and can tweek and adjust usually based on my experience but I am just curious why so many people have the same experience with them coming out poofy and soft instead of thin and chewy. Is there something you’re doing differently that is not specified in the recipe? I and so many would really appreciate a helpful response to this problem because they look so great when you made them. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to so many.
Thank you Caitlin!! xT
These cookies were delicious! I did make adjustments after reading comments about high altitude. Since I’m at a lower altitude, I had to add at least 8 more TB flour. (I lost track). Just added until it looked similar to your dough in photo. Most importantly, I increased oven temperature 20 degrees and baked for no more than 8 min. Probably 7. Chewy and delicious! The little bit of candied ginger in a bite was so good!
Thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Have a great fall season! 🙂 xT
Great fall cookie recipe!! I might decrease the molasses to 1 Tbsp. The pumpkin butter flavor was delish and the star in this recipe!! I was concerned about the icing setting up too fast so I neglected to taste it first- the sugar had not dissolved totally-a bit crystallized – my bad. Also using a 1 “ melon scoop was the perfect size. My recipe yielded 27 cookies not 18.
Thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Have a great fall season! 🙂 xT
Made these yesterday and they turned out perfect! They were flat, super soft, and the ginger added a lovely twist. I had to run a quick errand between mixing and baking so they sat in the fridge for about 30 min. I chopped the ginger up so you couldn’t actually see the chunks once baked and added about 3TBSP. Shared with my neighbors who also loved them and are asking for another batch.
I made homemade pumpkin butter by combining your recipe with another and I can’t wait to eat the rest of the pumpkin butter throughout the month. Thank you for always sharing the best recipes!
Thank you so so much Danielle! So glad to hear you enjoyed these cookies! xT
I just finished making theses, and my, these are wonderful! Mine baked up just fine. Of course, they didn’t spread out as much as the pictures show, but i find that is often the case with many cookie recipes i make. I don’t really mind. Instead of candied ginger, i substituted powdered ginger, as i didn’t have candied ginger. Works great! I also just whipped up some pumpkin butter by mixing pumpkin with ginger, clove, and cinnamon, along with some maple syrup. So yummy! To get an even bake on my cookies i used the convection bake setting on my oven. They all came out really nicely!
Thank you so so much Calli!! Love to hear you enjoyed these flavors! xT
These were unfortunately one of the worst cookies I’ve ever made. Uneven bake, strange texture, and ginger was so overpowering and near impossible to chew. The measurements seemed way off; I should have trusted my instincts and adjusted or abandoned altogether. This one definitely hasn’t been tested and it shows. Not sure who would actually be able to eat these.
Waste of expensive ingredients in this economy.
I hope someone else sees this and doesn’t make these as a result. Stick with tried-and-true baking recipes like America’s Test Kitchen or King Arthur’s Flour!
Ugh mine came out poofy as well. I think I’m going to have to give up trying to bake with T’s recipes.
Hey Wendy! I’m so sorry about that! Is there anything I can do to help? xT
I mean, I’m not sure. I followed the recipe exactly and they were poofy and had a weird texture. What do you suggest?
I followed the recipe exactly and mine were also poofy and soft, not chewy at all. I’m so disappointed.
Did not come out well, I think you adjust your ingredients for your altitude in Colorado because often your baking recipes don’t work for me. Also biting into a chunk of candied ginger is not appetizing- I chopped them up.
Hey Lucy! Thank you for the feedback! xT
Help!
Mine came out poofy and soft…not flat and chewy
What would be a substitute for pumpkin butter? We don’t have it in Australia
So delicious but mine came out very round and puffy, not gently flat. What’s the difference?
Figured it out. Need to scoop flour next time.
This happens with all of T’s cookie recipes. I’ve tried seriously dozens and I’ve never had one come out as pictured or described. I imagine it’s because she cooks in CO at altitude and most of us are at sea level. People have asked before if they should amend recipes based on her altitude level and she says no…so there you have it.
I’ve found the same to be true with any baking recipe I try to do of hers. I quit trying any of her baking recipes because of it. Absolutely adjustments need to be made at the altitude she lives. Frustrating that she denies this whenever asked….it’s science!
What is pumpkin butter? Can we use pumpkin puree instead?
Pumpkin butter is pumpkin purée that’s heavily spiced (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves) and sweetened.
Wonderful! Thanks so much 😊
These sound so delicious! What flour would you recommend for gluten free version?
My granddaughter has celiac and I make all baked goodies with GF Jules flour which you can order on Amazon or on the GF Jules website. You cannot tell the difference.
Hi there! I would recommend Bob’s Red Mill GF Flour! xT