Old-Fashioned Pumpkin Sugar Cookies Recipe (2024)

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These old-fashioned pumpkin sugar cookies are easy to bake and taste like pumpkin pie in a cookie, except in my opinion, they're better than pumpkin pie. Say what? Yep, I said it.

Truthfully, I'm not such a big traditional pumpkin pie fan, but no bake pumpkin cream pie, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin roll, pumpkin applesauce muffins with maple glaze, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bread, now we're a talking my language.

I like a soft cookie, but I did not want a pumpkin cake or pumpkin muffin top masquerading as a cookie. So three different cookie variations later, you have these melt in your mouth old-fashioned pumpkin sugar cookies. Can I get an amen?

As far as cookies though, these actually use a full cup less sugar than chocolate chip cookies, but you'll never miss it.

Want more old-fashioned from scratch cooking? The answer is yes, always, yes, then check out over 100+ recipes in my new book Hand Made:the Modern Guide to Made-from-Scratch Living, including the 3 bonus videos, coupons, and more here!

How to Make Old-Fashioned Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

First off, you need some pumpkin. Now, being a homesteader I make sure and plant sugar pie pumpkins in our garden because they produce a sweeter pumpkin flesh for baking.

Thankfully, we grow enough pumpkin I don't have to purchase store bought pumpkin pie filling or pumpkin puree, but if you can't get your hands on some pumpkins to cook, you may use pumpkin puree.

There's just something extra special about using the crops you grow to then produce your meals and recipes. Even after all these years, I still get an immense feeling of gratitude and satisfaction when I prepare a recipe with the bounty of our own land and homestead. It's something I hope every person gets to experience.

This is my favorite way to make homemade pumpkin puree the easy way

If you're starting from a real pumpkin homesteader style, then chop that baby in half, scoop out the seeds to roast and snack on later, and place each half of the pumpkin cut side down in a 9×13 baking pan with an inch of water and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until pumpkin is soft and fully cooked.

Allow to cool, then scrape out the inside of the cooked pumpkin. You are now ready to make your pumpkin cookies.

Old-Fashioned Pumpkin Sugar Cookie Recipe

(recipe shared from Hand Made: the Modern Guide to Made-from-Scratch Living)

Melt the butter and the add the coconut oil to the melted butter. The heat from the melted butter will soften up the coconut oil. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the melted butter, coconut oil, brown and white sugar, and molasses. Then add in and combine the cooked pumpkin.

Dump in all your dry ingredients and mix until combined. Cover and allow dough to chill in the fridge for at least an hour or even overnight. Trust me on this part. Chilled dough makes better flavored and textured cookies. Something magical happens upon chilling and all the flavors mingle together.

You have two options after your dough has chilled. For a puffier pumpkin sugar cookie, place some sugar in a bowl and roll a good sized tablespoon of dough (use an ice cream scoop to easily create uniformed cookies, this one cleans the scoop for you, making the process faster and a ted bit less messy) into a ball and then roll it around in the sugar until it's fully coated. Place 2 inches apart on an cookie sheet and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, just until cookie has set. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes before removing from sheet.

For a flatter, but still perfectly soft pumpkin sugar cookie, take a heaping tablespoon of dough and plop it on your cookie sheet. With your fingers, flatten it out into the desired size of your cookie. The cookie will only slightly spread out and up about a 1/4 of an inch thick. Sprinkle a light dusting of sugar on top of each cookie.Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, just until cookie has set. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes before removing from sheet.

Other delicious Pumpkin Recipes:

• 8 Ways to Preserve Pumpkin
• How to Make a Pumpkin Roll From Scratch
• Pumpkin Applesauce Cake
• Pumpkin Applesauce Muffins Recipe with Maple Glaze
• No Bake Pumpkin Cream Pie