These (pumpkin-less!) pumpkin spice cookies have all the warm, cozy flavors of fall–no pumpkin needed! They are soft and chewy, sugar-coated cookies similar to snickerdoodles. Recipe includes a how-to video!

Perfect Fall Cookies: Pumpkin Spice Cookies

With their crackly, sparkly tops, subtly crisp edges, and richly spiced, melt-in-your mouth-soft centers, these pumpkin spice cookies are my favorite desserts of the season. Possibly the best part? There’s no fussing with actual pumpkin (which usually requires blotting, as we do in my pumpkin oatmeal cookies, because it can make cookies so cakey).

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• No pumpkin needed! When I first developed these, I wanted a fall spiced cookie that didn’t use actual pumpkin. I specifically wanted a spice heavy cookie that would satisfy your craving even if you don’t have any pumpkin on hand. Ta-da!
• Easy and flavorful. There’s a little bit of chilling required, but it’s worth it so the flavor can fully develop.
• The BEST texture: if you like soft and chewy cookies, you’ll love this recipe. I have a few easy tricks for achieving this texture and making it last long after the cookies have cooled.
• Perfect for fall! Save this recipe for when the days start to get chilly and dark and you don’t mind spending some time all cozied up in your kitchen. And if you need even more fall baking inspiration after this recipe, check out my fall baking email series!

Ingredients

Simple basics, let’s go over what you’ll need.

• Pumpkin spice. Also known as pumpkin pie spice. This is a blend of spices used in pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice lattes, and many more pumpkin recipes. If you don’t have some on hand, you might be able to make your own; just follow my homemade pumpkin spice recipe.
• Brown sugar. You could do all light brown sugar, but I personally like to do a blend of half light brown and half dark brown sugar. I don’t recommend all dark brown; it can be a bit overpowering and make the cookies too soft (yes, that’s actually possible!).
• Egg + egg yolk. An extra egg yolk creates a tender dough and contributes to that soft and chewy texture that stays soft and chewy for days.
• Cream of tartar. A common ingredient in snickerdoodle cookies, this adds a slight tangy flavor and prevents the cookies from being too sweet. I talk a little more about this in the FAQ section below.
• Butter. I recommend using unsalted butter and adding salt separately. If you only have salted butter, you can use that and omit the salt in the recipe. I have a whole post dedicated to how and when to use salted vs. unsalted butter, if you’re interested in the “why” behind my recommendation.

This is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

SAM’S TIP: Firmly packing your brown sugar is a good idea even if you are using a scale to weigh it. This step helps break up any hard lumps in the sugar so they don’t end up in your cookies.

How to Make Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Cream together the butter, sugar, and pumpkin spice until evenly mixed and smooth. Adding the pumpkin spice during this step (as opposed to with the dry ingredients) allows us to really extract its flavor.

Add the remaining wet ingredients and stir again to combine, then set your bowl aside while you whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

Gradually add the dry ingredients (I do this in 3-4 parts) until incorporated. Make sure to scrape your bowl periodically during this process so you don’t end up with pockets of flour.

Cover and chill the dough for at least half an hour (and up to 3 days). This step lets the flavors develop and makes for the best results.

Time to bake. Scoop and roll 1 ½ tablespoon balls of dough through cinnamon sugar before placing on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake until the edges are set, about 10 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the cookies cool completely on the sheet before removing.

SAM’S TIP: To keep your cookies soft and chewy, it’s so important to slightly underbake them and let them finish baking on the baking sheet. If you fully bake them in the oven, they’ll be dry and crumbly.

Frequently Asked Questions

I originally published this recipe back in 2016. Nearly 9 years later I updated the photos, added a tutorial video, and made a few small tweaks — blending the pumpkin spice with the butter and simplifying the chilling steps, but the recipe remains nearly the same otherwise!