My house really is like a pumpkin recipe factory. I love the stuff! Not only is it great in baked goods, but it adds a nice texture and fiber boost to main dishes as well. It’s always funny to me when people say they or someone they know doesn’t like the taste of pumpkin because really, pumpkin doesn’t taste like anything. I mean obviously it tastes like something, but usually what people mean is they don’t like the taste of pumpkin pie spice. But you can even use pumpkin as a substitute in baking for oil and eggs, and the recipe doesn’t end up tasting like “pumpkin”.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, there are so many uses for pumpkin, including ways in which don’t taste like pumpkin, that there’s pretty much something for everyone.
These cookies, however, are 100% stereotypical pumpkin flavor. Delicious, pumpkin-spiced flavor in soft cookie form. I used to always make these with a regular cream cheese icing, but decided this time to give the frosting a bit of flair. As I was making them for my husband and brother-in-law for their guys night and they both love caramel, it seemed like caramel would be the perfect add-in. I remembered making Dulce de Leche caramel using the “stick the can in water in the slow cooker and cook for 8 hours” method before and it worked great. However, I didn’t have 8 hours this time. Instead, I looked around for recipes for how to use the same unopened can in water method but on the stove instead. I found it, did it, and sadly wasted 3 hours of my life. When I opened the can, all I was left with was some slightly darker condensed milk that tasted nothing like caramel/Dulce de Leche (I honestly am not entirely sure what the difference between those 2 are, but I do know that Dulce de Leche does not taste the same as traditional caramel sauce, so I’ll be making sure to refer to what I used as Dulce de Leche for accuracy purposes, not to sound all fancy schmancy). Now time was really short and I may have been panicking a bit (I definitely was). There was no way I could cook it again that same way, so the only other option was the from scratch method. It actually was much simpler than I thought it would be, just a bit time consuming. Though compared to both of the methods for cooking it in the can, it was actually faster. And since you can see it as it cooks, it’s much easier to make sure it’s right in the end.
So that’s what ended up happening, and the result was pretty epic. These cookies are like pumpkin/caramel/maple crack and we ate way more than we probably should have. It was absolutely worth it though. I hope you all enjoy them too.
Soft Pumpkin Cookies w/Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For Cookies:
- 2+1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening (like Crisco)
- 1+1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 whole, large egg
- 1 (15oz) can plain pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
- 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
For Frosting:
- 1 (8oz) brick plain cream cheese (cold - do NOT soften)
- 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter (softened to room temperature)
- 1/2 cup caramel sauce room temperature/thick, NOT WARM/LIQUIDY (see recipe for my homemade caramel here and see Recipe Note section at bottom for alternatives)
- 1 cup powdered/confectioners sugar
Instructions
For Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.
- Beat the vegetable shortening and sugar together in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until well combined, then add in the eggs and beat again, stopping once to scrape down the sides of the bowl, until thoroughly combined.
- Add in the pumpkin and vanilla and mix, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl, until thoroughly combined. *Note: Mixture will look grainy. This is fine and it will all look normal once you add in the dry ingredients.*
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients slowly, mixing on the lowest speed, until everything is completely combined (you may need to scrape down the sides/bottom of the bowl. Make sure all shortening/sugar is thoroughly mixed into the dough).
- Drop by large spoonfuls (I use an Oxo Good Grips medium-sized cookie scoop) ~1" apart on baking sheets and bake for ~12 minutes. Try to avoid over-baking these, as you want them to be nice and soft, not dried out. They continue to cook as they cool, so it's important to try and remove them promptly when they're done.
- Allow cookies to sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire cooling racks and allow them to cool completely before frosting them (if you don't, you will have a mess because the frosting will melt). While the cookies are cooling, make the frosting.
For Frosting:
- Beat the butter and cream cheese using an electric hand mixer until light and creamy, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add in the caramel sauce and beat until thoroughly combined.
Note: The caramel must be room temperature or even slightly chilled, so it doesn't make the frosting runny. Just don't chill to long, or you won't be able to scoop it into the measuring cup! - Add in the powdered/confectioners' sugar and beat on low speed until everything is thoroughly combined.
Note: To end up with a nice thick cream cheese frosting, it's important to avoid mixing on higher speeds or for too long.
For Decorating/Storing:
- Frost the cookies. If you're feeling fancy, drizzle some caramel sauce over the top of each cookie or sprinkle with some cinnamon and/or nutmeg (just be careful not to go too crazy with nutmeg, as a little goes a long way!).
- Store cookies in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. If you're going to stack them, use a layer of parchment paper between them; but I don't recommend stacking them if you've drizzled caramel on top.
Notes
- Prep time and total time varies depending on whether you're making your caramel sauce or not.
- You can use store-bought caramel instead of the homemade caramel if you don't have time or don't want to try homemade. Just make sure to get one that is as thick as possible, otherwise the frosting might not be as thick and might not cooperate as well when frosting the cookies.
- You could also use just a regular cream cheese frosting instead, if you want. I've had these with both (plain cream cheese frosting and caramel cream cheese frosting). They're delicious with both, but if you are at all able, I would highly recommend the caramel because it really sends these cookies over the top.
- If you're going to make my homemade caramel sauce recipe to use in the frosting, it makes more than you need for the recipe (makes ~1 cup) but you can use the rest to drizzle over the cookies if you want or just eat it as is!