These Pumpkin Peanut Butter Cookies are the most delicious blend of two of your favorite flavors into a cookie that is crisp on the outside and nice and buttery on the inside.
We are wrapping up summer right quick my friends! And I must tell you that I am kind of giddy about it. Don’t get me wrong, I love summer, but there is something so refreshing about fall. Pumpkin spice, apple, crisp evenings, crunchy leaves . . . and my kids going back to school might have a tiny bit to do with it.
I just made these last night. The pumpkin and cinnamon are subtle and balanced and these are so moist and chewy! Lots of smiles and compliments so far!
Adding Pumpkin to Cookies
Can I tell you a fun little secret? You can put a pumpkin spin on almost all of your favorite cookie recipes. If it calls for two eggs, you just replace those with one egg yolk and 1/2 a cup of pure pumpkin puree. Genius, no?
From there, I like to add a little cinnamon to enhance the pumpkin flavor. You could even add in some nutmeg too! It works perfectly in these peanut butter cookies.
How to Make Pumpkin Peanut Butter Cookies
Cream the Butter and Peanut Butter
Beat the two together until you get a smooth consistency.
Thoroughly Beat the Sugar
Add in the white and brown sugar. The white sugar will sweeten the cookies and help them spread, while the brown sugar will keep things deliciously chewy. Beat for three to six minutes or until the batter is light and fluffy.
Add in the Pumpkin and Egg
Blend in the pumpkin, egg, and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth.
Whisk Together and Add Dry Ingredients
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. dd all of the flour mixture at once and start the mixture on low. When there is no flying flour, turn it up to high until fully combined.
Bake the Cookies
Scoop the cookies into balls and place them on a prepared baking sheet. Use a fork to make the cross-hatches. Bake for 12 minutes, or until the edges start to turn golden brown.
Tips to Make These Pumpkin Peanut Butter Cookies Turn Out Perfect
These tips are pretty standard for all my cookies, but I think they bear repeating.
- Use room temperature butter. This means that you can dent the butter with your finger but you can’t push it all the way through. It will actually still be cold to the touch. (This goes for your peanut butter too! Room temperature!)
- Properly beating the sugar into the batter will create pockets of air that will allow the cookies to puff up in the oven. It will also stretch your batter and make for more cookies. This batter yields 40 cookies for me.
- Don’t pack your flour. See my tips below for measuring flour.
- Your egg yolk should also be room temperature. Put the whole egg in a small bowl of lukewarm water while you are prepping the other ingredients.
- Use a cookie scoop to get uniform cookies so they cook evenly.
- Don’t put your cookies on the baking sheet until you are ready to put them in the oven. This prevents any premature cooking.
Storing and Freezing Pumpkin Cookies
Keep these cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to one week. These cookies also freeze well. Once they have cooled, transfer them to a freezer-safe bag or container and store in the freezer for up to three months.
Freezing Cookie Dough
You can also freeze cookie dough so that you can enjoy a cookie or two fresh out of the oven. Roll the dough into balls and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Put in the freezer for an hour to flash freeze the dough balls, then transfer them to a freezer-safe bag or container and store them in the freezer for up to three months.
You can remove just one or two dough balls to bake, or make the whole batch when ready to enjoy. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 13-14 minutes, or until the edges start to turn golden brown.
If you make these amazing pumpkin peanut butter cookies or any of my other delicious dessert recipes, please leave me a comment and let me know! I love hearing from you!
Pumpkin Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour see note 1 (360 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (202.5 grams)
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature (169.5 grams)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (198 grams)
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed (213 grams)
- 1 egg yolk room temperature
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (113.5 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon. Set aside.3 cups all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter and peanut butter until smooth.3/4 cup creamy peanut butter, 12 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat until the batter is light and fluffy, between 3 to 6 minutes.1 cup light brown sugar, 1 cup granulated sugar
- Add in the pumpkin, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Beat until just combined.1 egg yolk, 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Add in the flour mixture and beat on low until it is integrated, turning up the mixer and beating until just fully combined.
- Using a cookie scoop, create 1-inch balls. Place on cookie sheet, approximately 2 inches apart. Use a fork push down one way and then turn the fork pushing down the other way making a hatch mark pattern.
- Bake for 12 minutes, rotating halfway through. The edges of the cookies should be golden brown.
Notes
- If you don’t have a kitchen scale, to measure your flour correctly you will want to scoop the flour into a dry measuring cup using a spoon and then level it off. Â See the full tutorial on that here: How to Measure Flour.
Robert Park says
I just made these last night. The pumpkin and cinnamon are subtle and balanced and these are so moist and chewy! Lots of smiles and compliments so far!
I’m so glad that you enjoyed them!
Jacklyn Williams says
What if I only put 8tbsp of butter in it?
This recipe has only been tested as written. With less butter I suspect they will not work.
Polyna says
I made these just now, followed recipe as written, but made the dough into a thick log, which I rolled up in parchment paper, chilled, sliced, and spread a peanut-butter-pumpkin filling (4 oz each peanut butter and pumpkin plus 2 oz brown sugar) between two slices, then stuck Reese’s Pieces on top before baking. My version took a lot less than 12 minute for the edges to brown, so I pulled them out a lot sooner. The result is DELICIOUS, not too sweet, and for sure a healthier choice than straight-up peanut butter cookies. Can’t wait to share them later!! Thank you!
Polyna says
It’s me again! I am trying to come up with some new cookies for giving this Christmas and I made this recipe again except for substituting walnut butter (made by blending walnuts into creamy paste in the food processor) for the peanut butter and WOW! I’m thinking of trying a hazelnut butter version too. What’s more Christmassy than hazelnuts?!! (I did, as last time, make the dough into a log, chilled, sliced, and put a filling of walnut butter, pumpkin, and brown sugar equal parts between two slices before baking and a walnut half pressed on top.) Again, thank you! I can’t wait for everyone to try these!
I’m so glad to hear about this twist on this recipe, sounds delicious!