Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cookies

Name: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 14 min
Total time: 24 min
Ingredients: 1 cup butter ((2 sticks - softened and cut into pats)); 8 ounces cream cheese ((1 package)); .75 cup sugar ((white sugar)); .75 cup pumpkin puree; 1 large egg; 2.25 cups spelt flour ((or all purpose white flour)); 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1 teaspoon cinnamon ((ground)); .50 teaspoon cloves ((ground)); .25 teaspoon nutmeg ((ground)); .50 teaspoon salt; 3.4 ounces vanilla pudding mix ((1 package)); .50 cup white chocolate chips

Last updated on October 15, 2020. Originally posted on November 11, 2019 By Elaine 34 Comments

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This pumpkin cream cheese cookies recipe is one of Christopher’s favorites. They are soft, succulent and the spices enhance the pumpkin flavor, making them the quintessential fall cookie.

Close up of a plate of two pumpkin cookies, one plain and one dipped in white chocolate

I have said before that I’m known for two things; my cocktails and my cookies. When I make cookies as either gifts or for my holiday cookie tray, these pumpkin cream cheese cookies, as well as my pistachio cookies and ginger molasses cookies get eaten up first.

Whether they are plain or dipped in white chocolate, people can’t seem to get enough of them.

I like to believe the reason people get excited when they see me arrive at holiday parties is because of my sparkling personality. But I’m okay if it’s mostly because of the cookies I bring. 🙂

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Helpful tips

Do not over mix the dough. Mix until just combined.
Use organic whenever you can. It tastes better and it’s not much more expensive than non-organic.
Take butter out to soften at least an hour before you start the recipe.
As everyone’s oven is different, your timing might be different from mine. My cookies take 14 minutes. Set the timer for 13 minutes and add additional minutes until done.

Ingredients and substitutions

Cream Cheese – I use organic. You can see the color is richer than regular cream cheese and it tastes divine.
Butter – I always use real butter because I don’t trust the ingredients in margarine.
Sugar – I use white sugar in these cookies but cane sugar or brown sugar works well also.
Egg – I like to use organic free-range large eggs.
Pumpkin puree – Make sure you read the ingredients on the can. Pumpkin should be the only ingredient listed. Do not use a can of pumpkin pie mix.
Flour – I use sprouted spelt flour because I love the texture, but all-purpose white flour is absolutely fine. If I do use white flour, I use organic and unbleached.
Pudding mix – Vanilla flavored. If they had pumpkin pudding mix, I would have used that, but they didn’t. Vanilla is a nice addition.
Cinnamon – I use ceylon cinnamon because I enjoy the taste.
Cloves – One of the most distinctive smelling spices out there. I love cloves in cookies.
Nutmeg – I use organic. It’s worth the price increase because a little goes a long way and it will last a long time.
Baking powder – An ingredient that helps baked goods rise.
Salt – Helps with the flavor and the rising of the cookie.

How to make pumpkin cream cheese cookies

Pre-step

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Get your stand mixer, cookie sheets and medium cookie scoop.

Step one

Gather the ingredients – cream cheese, butter, egg, canned pumpkin and vanilla pudding mix.

Cream cheese, butter, egg, pumpkin and vanilla pudding on a table

Step two

Place cream cheese, sugar and butter in mixer. I usually cut the butter in pats to help it mix easier. (A)

Butter and cream cheese in a mixer and then mixed together

Step three

Using the medium setting, mix until just combined. (B)

Step four

Add pumpkin and egg and mix them until just combined.

Step five

Add cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. I include this photo to show that it’s okay not to have the batter totally mixed. Don’t worry, in the next step you add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until combined.

Butter, sugar and pumpkin mixed with the spices on top in a metal mixing bowl

Step six

Gather the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, salt and vanilla pudding mix.

Spelt flour, baking powder, salt and the package of pudding mix for the cookies

Step seven

Add flour, salt and pudding mix and mix until combined. Remember not to over mix the batter. I transferred the batter to a glass bowl so you could see it better. It is a fairly wet batter.

A glass bowl filled with pumpkin cookie dough with a cookie sheet and scoop behind it

Step eight

Fill a cookie scoop with batter and place on cookie sheet. The cookies will spread somewhat so only put 12 balls on each cookie sheet.

Balls of pumpkin cookie dough on a cookie sheet

Step nine

Bake for 14 minutes. Cookies should be slightly brown around edges and slightly soft to the touch.

Pumpkin cookies fresh out of the oven still on the cookie sheet

Step ten

Let the cookies cool on the sheet for 5 minutes before removing them to a wire rack.

Step eleven

This next step is optional. I like to dip some of the pumpkin cream cheese cookies in white chocolate. Christopher likes his plain so I only dip a handful of cookies into the chocolate.

Place ½ cup of white chocolate chips in a small sauce pan and melt on low heat. It takes around 5 minutes.

Dip as many cookies as you like in the melted chocolate and place each one on a piece of parchment paper to harden.

Parchment paper filled with pumpkin cookies, some dipped in white chocolate

I had to take a bite.

One of the cookies with a bite taken out of it and on a plate with a whole one behind it

Yum.

Overhead view of the big plate of cookies with small pumpkins and a small plate with cookies on it as well

I hope you enjoyed this pumpkin cream cheese cookies. They are perfect for your holiday tray.

More Cookies that I love

And as always, may all your dishes be delish!

If you’ve tried this recipe, I’d love the know what you thought about it in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more of my delicious food and delightful cocktails!