Pillowy soft Iced Pumpkin Cookies made healthier with whole wheat flour and zero butter or refined sugar all drizzled with a delicious maple cream cheese icing! These cake-like pumpkin cookies make the perfect fall treat to enjoy this season.
It honestly does not get any better than these delicious fluffy iced pumpkin cookies! Pillowy, soft and so cake-like, these little fall treats are full so much pumpkin flavor made with healthier ingredients and zero butter or refined sugar. I grew up making these all the time as a kid and they always remind me of October. Now I’m about to share that joy with my daughter and she definitely gave two thumbs on these pumpkin cookies!
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- These cookies are light, fluffy and SO delicious drizzled with a maple cream cheese icing!
- Made healthier with whole wheat flour and zero butter or refined sugar.
- The maple cream cheese icing tastes incredible with all these fall flavors.
- Perfect fall treat to enjoy this season!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- whole wheat flour – I used whole wheat pastry flour as it has all the nutritional benefits of whole grain flour while helping to make these cookies light and fluffy. I highly recommend using this, but if you don’t have any on hand you could use regular whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour or gluten-free 1 to 1 baking flour.
- all-purpose flour – when mixed with the whole wheat flour, this helps make the cookies even softer and fluffier. I tested these cookies several times using only whole wheat flour and I just couldn’t get them as soft as I wanted and found this flour combination was just perfect!
- baking powder + baking soda – acts as leavening agents to help give these cookies their height.
- pumpkin – I used canned pumpkin purée in these cookies, just make sure you use 100% pure pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling as that is loaded with tons of sugar.
- egg – helps to bind all the ingredients together.
- maple syrup – lightly sweetens these bars without using any refined sugar, you could also use honey or other natural sweetener.
- cane sugar – these cookies also need some granulated sugar to help them spread out and sweeten them even more. You could also use brown sugar or white sugar.
- coconut oil – this is a great option to replace the butter in these cookies.
- vanilla extract – boost of flavor.
- spices – I used a combination of pumpkin pie spice, ground cinnamon and salt.
- maple cream cheese icing – combination of cream cheese, maple syrup, vanilla and milk to thin out the icing to get that perfect drizzle!
Baking Tools Needed
- Sheet pans – you’ll need two baking sheets to bake these cookies and I really love this half sheet size (great for sheet pan recipes too!)
- Baking mats – I love using these baking mats as they make baking cookies super easy and convenient without needing to oil or grease the pan, the cookies come right off! They are super easy to clean too.
- Medium cookie scoop – this is a 2 tablespoon sized cookie scoop you’ll need to ensure all the cookies are the same size and bake evenly.
- Pastry bag – this is not a necessity, but definitely makes drizzling the icing on the cookies so much easier. You could also use a ziplock baggy as well.
- Mixing bowls – you’ll need two mixing bowls to separately mix the dry ingredients from the wet ingredients before combining everything to make the donut batter.
How to Make Iced Pumpkin Cookies
- Mix ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin spice, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, pumpkin, maple syrup cane sugar, melted coconut oil and vanilla, stirring until well-combined. Pour the wet ingredients in with the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.
- Bake the cookies. Using a medium cookie scoop, drop 1-inch cookie dough balls onto a prepared baking sheet lined with parchment paper or baking mat (you should get about 25 cookies) and bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for 11 to 13 minutes. Let the pumpkin cookies sit for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet then remove from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack.
- Make maple cream cheese icing. While the cookies are cooling, microwave the cream cheese in a heat-safe bowl for about 30 seconds to soften. No need for an electric mixer! Simply whisk in a tablespoon maple syrup, teaspoon vanilla extract and a tablespoon of milk until the cream cheese icing is smooth. Feel free to add more milk a teaspoon at a time until you get the desired consistency.
- Drizzle icing on cookies. Cut a small slit at the tip of a plastic baggy or pastry bag and pour in the frosting mixture. Slowly drizzle the cream cheese icing over top all of the cookies and let them sit for a few minutes to allow the icing to set. The cream cheese frosting will stay soft so keep that in mind when storing these cookies as you may not want to stack them.
Tips for Making Iced Pumpkin Cookies
- Make sure to use 100% pure pumpkin purée and NOT pumpkin pie filling as that is loaded with tons of sugar and extra spices.
- If you don’t have any pumpkin pie spice, feel free to substitute 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice with 1/2 tsp cinnamon + 1/4 tsp each of ginger and allspice + 1/8 tsp each of ground cloves and nutmeg.
- Use a cookie scoop to drop the dough onto the baking sheet as the dough is pretty sticky and this also ensures the cookies will all be the same size and will bake evenly.
- If your cream cheese icing is too thin, feel free to mix in a tablespoon or 2 of powdered sugar to thicken it up.
Prepping and Storage
To Store: These iced pumpkin cookies are best enjoyed the same day as the pumpkin makes them very soft, but they will last in a sealed, airtight container at room temperature for about 2 days or you can keep them longer by storing them in the fridge for up to 1 week. Just keep in mind the cookies will soften more each day. The cream cheese icing will stay soft so you may want to store them in a single layer and not stack them.
To Freeze: These cookies also freeze really well too and will last in the freezer for about 2 months. Let them thaw out in the fridge overnight and warm up in the microwave for about 10 seconds.
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More Pumpkin Recipes You’ll Love
- Healthier Pumpkin Bars
- Pumpkin Zucchini Bread
- Pumpkin Spice Donuts
- Chocolate Pumpkin Granola Bars
- Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins
- Pumpkin Spice Mug Cake
Hope you all enjoy these Soft Iced Pumpkin Cookies and if you love this as much as we do, please leave me ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using the hashtag #eatyourselfskinny! I love seeing all your delicious recreations!
Soft Iced Pumpkin Cookies
Pillowy soft Iced Pumpkin Cookies made healthier with whole wheat flour and zero butter or refined sugar all drizzled with a delicious maple cream cheese icing! These cake-like pumpkin cookies make the perfect fall treat to enjoy this season.
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup pumpkin purée
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup cane sugar, or other granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For the maple cream cheese icing:
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, pumpkin, cane sugar, maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla, stirring until well-combined. Pour the wet ingredients in with the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.
- Using a medium cookie scoop, drop 1-inch cookie dough balls onto a prepared baking sheet (you should get about 25 cookies) and bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for 11 to 13 minutes. Let the pumpkin cookies sit for 5 minutes then remove from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack.
- While the cookies are cooling, microwave the cream cheese in a heat-safe bowl for about 30 seconds to soften. Mix in the maple syrup, vanilla and milk until the cream cheese icing is smooth. Feel free to add more milk a teaspoon at a time until you get the desired consistency.
- Cut a small slit at the tip of a plastic baggy or pastry bag and pour in the icing. Slowly drizzle the cream cheese icing over top all of the cookies, serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 93kcal | Carbohydrates: 14.1g | Protein: 1.4g | Fat: 3.7g | Saturated Fat: 2.6g | Sodium: 87.8mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6.8g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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These were delicious! Light , fluffy and the perfect fall winter cookie. Will make again!