These Brown Butter Pumpkin Spice Cookies are heaven sent and seriously AMAZING. Soft and chewy brown butter cookies with a warm hint of pumpkin spice for a delightful fall cookie you’re going to LOVE.
I have been counting down the days until fall!
I recently looked up the official date of fall online and it’s something like 30 days or so away (September 22, according to Google). But I tend to go by when the weather changes more so than the actual date on the calendar, you know? Because that same “fall” timeframe also says fall finishes on December 21. As in, four days before Christmas. You mean to tell me four days before Christmas is actually FALL? I think that is FALSE. But what do I know, I’m not a farmers almanac or whatever.
But because I am a food blogger and we need to plan ahead (hello, our business is all about being prepared and planning recipes ahead of said holidays/seasons!), I am already in the midst of my fall baking and have been enjoying every cozy minute. Pumpkin, apples, chai, cinnamon spice – it’s all so aromatic and cozy and perfect. And these cookies are seriously at the TOP of the list of favorites now.
Pumpkin spice is such a hard flavor for me because I find people are usually disappointed by pumpkin treats. They’re so used to having artificial pumpkin flavoring that when they try something with actual pumpkin, they don’t find it to be “pumpkin-y” enough. That’s because actual, real, pure pumpkin tastes like… nothing. You get that “pumpkin” flavor from the spices you add to it. Your pumpkin spice latte isn’t actually how pumpkin tastes. So if you’re expecting these to be over-the-top, in-your-face, artificially pumpkin-y, you’ll be disappointed.
But, if you want a delicious, soft and chewy cookie with a delightful hint of pumpkin spice and a scrumptious punch of brown butter, you’re going to love these cookies.
Cooking with Pumpkin
Oftentimes, when baking with pumpkin, your baked goods end up super cakey. Why’s that? Pumpkin is SUPER moist and brings tons of moisture to your baked goods. This is excellent for things like cakes and quick breads which rely on that cakey, moist texture, but can be detrimental to things like cookies and bars when you want something more dense or chewy. Pumpkin is also an egg-replacer in many vegan recipes, and eggs also bring moisture to recipes, so because of this, I have omitted eggs from this recipe. Don’t be alarmed! These cookies are still plenty moist, but they definitely have that signature chewy cookie texture as opposed to a cakey one!
Soft and chewy, sweetly spiced and super cozy, you’re going to flip for these Brown Butter Pumpkin Spice Cookies!
Brown Butter Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Ingredients
- 8 Tbsp (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup pumpkin puree (100% pure pumpkin, NOT pumpkin pie filling)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1½ Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- First, brown your butter. Add your unsalted stick of butter to a small saucepan and turn to medium low heat. Allow the butter to melt, then pay attention because things happen quite fast after it melts. Eventually your butter will start to bubble, pop, or foam/fizz at which point you need to swirl the pan or manually stir the butter until you can see little brown flecks forming on the bottom of the pan. Cook, swirling or stirring constantly, until the brown flecks multiply and darken in color to an amber shade. Do not step away as this happens VERY fast and can burn quickly. If it burns, you have to start over. Once nutty smelling and amber colored, remove from the heat and let cool for about 5 minutes.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the brown butter (be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan for ALL those browned bits - that's the liquid gold and flavor central right there!), and both sugars and beat with the paddle attachment for about 1 minute. Add in the vanilla, maple syrup and pumpkin and beat until combined. Lastly, add in the cornstarch, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and flour and mix until combined.
- Refrigerate to chill for at LEAST 30 minutes, up to 1 day, before baking. This helps prevent too much spreading and also allows the flavors to meld.
- Preheat oven to 350° degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners. Drop rounded Tablespoonfuls of dough using a cookie dough scoop 2" apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through the baking time to ensure even cooking. Cookies may appear slightly underdone; this is normal and they will continue to finish cooking on the baking sheets as they cool. Do not over bake them.
- Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for about 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Notes
These cookies are absolutely delicious and I know you’ll think so, too!
Have a super sweet day!
xo, Hayley
Vanessa says
These cookies are going to be a new fall staple! Super easy to make, directions are simple to follow, and they taste just as amazing as the pictures look. Can’t wait to make again!
John Hersh says
My wife is a fan of anything pumpkin spice. She loved the cookies, but requested cream cheese frosting for the cookies.
Stephanie says
Just fantastic in every way. Excellent consistency when baked and that brown butter gives them a great rich flavor. Thanks for this!!