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Pumpkin Sugar Cookies With Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin sugar cookies with cream cheese frosting—tender 1/4-inch cut-out cookies with pumpkin pie spice, baked until just set. Finished with a thick cinnamon cream cheese swirl and a cinnamon sugar dusting.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
chilling 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 42 minutes
Servings: 24 cookies
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 270
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For cookies
  • 3 cup flour
  • 0.5 tsp baking powder
  • 0.25 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 0.25 cup pumpkin blotted dry
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
For cream cheese frosting
  • 8 oz cream cheese softened
  • 0.25 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 3 cup powdered sugar
  • 1.5 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 1 cinnamon sugar for finishing

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Make and chill cookie dough
  1. Preheat the oven to 350F while you mix the cookie dough ingredients together until combined.
  2. Blot the pumpkin dry, then mix it into the dough along with the egg and vanilla.
  3. Chill the dough for 1 hour so it firms up for easier rolling.
Roll, cut, and bake
  1. Roll the chilled dough to 1/4-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface.
  2. Cut into circles or pumpkin shapes.
  3. Bake on a sheet pan for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are just set.
  4. Cool the cookies completely before frosting.
Make frosting and finish
  1. Beat the softened cream cheese and softened butter until smooth.
  2. Beat in powdered sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla until creamy.
  3. Mix in milk 1 tablespoon at a time as needed to reach a pipeable or spreadable consistency.
  4. Pipe or spread the frosting generously onto each cooled cookie.
  5. Dust the frosted cookies with cinnamon sugar for finishing.

Notes

Pro tip: For the best hold on cut-out shapes, chill the dough fully before rolling, and keep bake time to 10–12 minutes so the centers stay tender. Store cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days; freeze unfrosted cookies up to 2 months (thaw and frost after). For a dairy-light swap, use lactose-free cream cheese and lactose-free butter if desired—texture should remain similar.