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5 from 8 votes

Brown Butter Pumpkin Cookies

Soft pumpkin cookies made with brown butter and lots of spices for the perfect Fall cookie!
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Chilling Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Cookies
Servings: 32 cookies
Calories: 144kcal

Ingredients

Cookie Dough:

  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick, 113 g) unsalted butter
  • 1 3/4 cups (239 grams) bread flour
  • 1 cup (136 grams) all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 cup (118 mL) vegetable oil
  • 1/3 cup (79 mL) pumpkin puree
  • 3/4 cup (158 g) brown sugar (light or dark) packed
  • 3/4 cup (144 g) granulated sugar
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs room temperature

Cookie Coating:

  • 1/4 cup (48 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Instructions

  • Brown the butter. Put butter in a medium, heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat and melt. Once melted, crank up the heat to medium high.  Stir until small golden bits start to settle on the bottom of the pan and it smells nutty and caramel-y.  This should take around 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat before the bits turn dark brown and pour the butter into a large, heat-safe bowl to cool to room temperature.
  • Combine dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the bread flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
  • Combine wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together cooled browned butter, oil, pumpkin, brown sugar granulated sugar, vanilla and eggs whisking well with each addition until thoroughly blended.
  • Combine wet and dry ingredients. Pour the flour mixture into butter mixture. Stir until almost blended but don't overmix. Cover and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes or until firm. 
  • Prep oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and line several baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Make cinnamon sugar coating. To make the cookie coating, in a small shallow bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar and cinnamon.
  • Scoop and roll cookies. Once the dough is chilled, gently scoop and roll 1 1/2 tablespoons (21 grams) of the dough between your palms into a ball. Give the dough ball a generous coating of the sugar spice mixture and set on the baking sheet, leaving 2 inches (5 cm) of space between.  Chill the remaining cookie dough.
  • Bake cookies. Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for 10 to 11 minutes. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then move to a rack to finish cooling. Continue with the rest of the cookie dough.

Notes

  • Storage: Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days at room temperature.
  • Make ahead: You can chill the cookie dough up to 48 hours ahead of time. Keep it covered. Then scoop and bake when you need to (you may need to let the cookie dough soften before you try scooping).
  • Freezing: To freeze unbaked cookies, scoop and place on a baking sheet. Then freeze solid and place into a sealable bag and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, you can bake them frozen, but add on a few minutes of baking time. You can also freeze baked cookies and keep for 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
  • Flour: Be sure to measure your flour correctly. Too much flour will result in a dense cookie. And we want soft cookies. You want to make sure to scoop the flour with a spoon and level with a flat edge. You can read a full tutorial on measuring flour here.
  • Pumpkin: Make sure to use pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie mix which has added sugar and spices already.

Nutrition

Calories: 144kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 140mg | Potassium: 30mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 502IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg