Pumpkin Coffee Cake Cookies
With Brown Butter Streusel & Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing
These pumpkin coffee cake cookies are soft, chewy, warmly spiced, and filled with a buttery brown sugar streusel. The cookie dough is made with brown butter, pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and a little nutmeg, then each cookie gets a cozy crumble center before baking.
Once cooled, they’re finished with a thin cinnamon cream cheese icing, which gives them that classic coffee cake moment. They’re soft, spiced, buttery, and so good chilled or at room temp.
Highlights Of This Recipe
Warm Fall Flavor Profile: Deep, nutty brown butter combined with pure pumpkin purée, warm cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and nutmeg.
Bakery-Style Texture: Super soft and chewy pumpkin dough contrasted with a buttery, crunchy brown sugar crumble center.
The Chill Factor: A crucial chill step ensures these cookies hold their structure and lock in that perfect soft bite.
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cookie Dough
230 g cake flour
1½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cardamom
½ tsp ginger
Dash of nutmeg
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
140 g brown butter, slightly cooled but still fluid
190 g brown sugar
30 g granulated sugar
135 g pure pumpkin purée, strained or moisture drawn out in cheesecloth
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
½ tbsp vanilla extract
Brown Butter Streusel
85 g all-purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
70 g brown sugar
Pinch of salt
50 g brown butter, warm and fluid
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing
55 g cream cheese, softened
105 g powdered sugar
60 g milk, plus more if needed
Tiny pinch of salt
Dash of cinnamon
Instructions
Make the Brown Butter Streusel
In a bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, brown sugar, and salt.
Pour in the warm brown butter.
Mix until a soft crumble forms.
Set aside until ready to use.
Make the Cookie Dough
In a bowl, whisk together the cake flour, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the slightly cooled brown butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth and lightly fluffy.
Add the egg, egg yolk, strained pumpkin purée, and vanilla.
Whisk until the mixture looks smooth, glossy, and slightly lightened.
Fold in the dry ingredients until a soft pumpkin cookie dough forms.
Scoop the dough into cookie dough balls.
Create a small well in the center of each cookie dough ball and fill with the brown butter streusel.
Chill the cookies in the fridge for at least 2–3 hours, or up to 24 hours.
Bake
Preheat oven to 350°F and line 1–2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Space the chilled cookie dough balls apart on the baking sheets.
Bake for 15–16 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers still look soft.
Remove from the oven and scoot the cookies while warm, if needed.
Let cool completely before icing.
Make the Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing
In a bowl, cream together the cream cheese, icing sugar, and salt until very smooth and creamy.
Add the milk and cinnamon.
Whisk until a thin but drizzle-able icing forms.
Add a little more milk if needed to loosen.
Finish
Drizzle the cooled cookies with cinnamon cream cheese icing.
Let the icing set slightly before serving.
Enjoy at room temperature or chilled.
FAQs About Pumpkin Coffee Cake Cookies
Why do I need to strain the pumpkin purée?
Straining the pumpkin is key here. Canned pumpkin holds a lot of excess liquid, which can turn cookie dough cakey and wet. Drawing out the moisture helps the cookies bake up soft, chewy, and dense instead.
Can I skip chilling the cookie dough?
No, chilling is essential! The dough needs time to solidify so the cookies don't spread too thin in the oven, and chilling allows the warm pumpkin spices to fully infuse into the dough.
How should I store these cookies?
Store them in an airtight container. Because of the cream cheese icing, they are best kept in the refrigerator. Serve them slightly chilled or let them sit at room temperature for a few minutes before eating.
Notes
Pumpkin Tip: Straining the pumpkin is key here. It keeps the dough from getting too wet and helps the cookies bake up chewy instead of cakey.
Serving Temperature: These are best once fully cooled, but I love chilling them for about an hour before eating. The pumpkin spice settles in, the streusel stays buttery, and the cream cheese icing gives them the dreamiest coffee cake finish.
If you loved the bakery-style results of this Pumpkin Coffee Cake Cookies recipe, you will find even more inspiration in my Fantastic Pastry Cookies ebook. This guide is curated specifically for the home baker who wants to master unique flavor combinations—like these soft, melt-in-your-mouth spiced pumpkin bases, crunchy brown sugar cinnamon streusel, and sweet vanilla bean glazes—right in their own kitchen. 🍂✨
Download the Fantastic Pastry Cookies Ebook Here
Disclaimer: Some links in this post are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase—thank you for supporting my baking projects!
Pumpkin Coffee Cake Cookies
These pumpkin coffee cake cookies are soft, chewy, warmly spiced, and filled with a buttery brown sugar streusel. The cookie dough is made with brown butter, pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and a little nutmeg, then each cookie gets a cozy crumble center before baking.
Once cooled, they’re finished with a thin cinnamon cream cheese icing, which gives them that classic coffee cake moment. They’re soft, spiced, buttery, and so good chilled or at room temp.
Ingredients
- 230 g cake flour
- 1½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp cardamom
- ½ tsp ginger
- Dash of nutmeg
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 140 g brown butter, slightly cooled but still fluid
- 190 g brown sugar
- 30 g granulated sugar
- 135 g pure pumpkin purée, strained or moisture drawn out in cheesecloth
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ tbsp vanilla extract
- 85 g all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 70 g brown sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 50 g brown butter, warm and fluid
- 55 g cream cheese, softened
- 105 g powdered sugar
- 60 g milk, plus more if needed
- Tiny pinch of salt
- Dash of cinnamon
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, brown sugar, and salt.
- Pour in the warm brown butter.
- Mix until a soft crumble forms.
- Set aside until ready to use.
- In a bowl, whisk together the cake flour, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the slightly cooled brown butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth and lightly fluffy.
- Add the egg, egg yolk, strained pumpkin purée, and vanilla.
- Whisk until the mixture looks smooth, glossy, and slightly lightened.
- Fold in the dry ingredients until a soft pumpkin cookie dough forms.
- Scoop the dough into cookie dough balls.
- Create a small well in the center of each cookie dough ball and fill with the brown butter streusel.
- Chill the cookies in the fridge for at least 2–3 hours, or up to 24 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line 1–2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Space the chilled cookie dough balls apart on the baking sheets.
- Bake for 15–16 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers still look soft.
- Remove from the oven and scoot the cookies while warm, if needed.
- Let cool completely before icing.
- In a bowl, cream together the cream cheese, icing sugar, and salt until very smooth and creamy.
- Add the milk and cinnamon.
- Whisk until a thin but drizzle-able icing forms.
- Add a little more milk if needed to loosen.
- Drizzle the cooled cookies with cinnamon cream cheese icing.
- Let the icing set slightly before serving.
- Enjoy at room temperature or chilled.
