Soft, bakery style cookies are infused with pumpkin and spice, then topped with a maple cinnamon buttercream.
I now know my solution now when I am feeling uninspired – I just need to hit up my notebooks!
I use spiral notebooks for recipe writing, lists, and sketching down recipe ideas when inspiration strikes. I will usually just have one notebook that I am using at a time, and I’ll use it until I run out of paper. A little while back, I was going through a notebook that was full, making sure I didn’t have any hidden recipes in it. And all of a sudden, I hit the jackpot. I came across a page that I had totally forgotten about, where I must have been brainstorming pumpkin recipes. Right there, I had a whole list of great recipe ideas!
Among them were these cookies. Now, these aren’t completely original. They are based on the popular Bakery-Style cookie recipe (aka Lofthouse) that you see all over the web. But I thought – why not replace the sour cream with pumpkin? And my Pumpkin Doughnuts with Maple-Cinnamon Glaze from last year were so popular, that I decided to go with that same flavor combination the frosting.
This was an experiment that went completely right. The cookies were soft and tender and had just the right amount of pumpkin flavor. And the maple cinnamon buttercream brought the perfect amount of spice. I would dare say that these are the perfect fall treat!!

Bakery-Style Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Maple Cinnamon Buttercream
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Prep Time: 15 minutes
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Cook Time: 7 minutes
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Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
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Yield: 5-6 dozen cookies
Description
Soft, bakery style cookies are infused with pumpkin and spice, then topped with a maple cinnamon buttercream.
Ingredients
Cookies
- 6 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
Frosting
- 1 cup butter, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon maple extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 6 tablespoons cream
- sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down sides as needed. Add in the vanilla and pumpkin and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and mix until combined.
- Divide the mixture into 2 and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners.
- Lightly flour a work surface. Roll the dough to 1/4-inch thickness. The dough will be a little sticky, so use flour as needed to avoid sticking. Use a 2 to 2-1/2 inch round cookie cutter to cut out circles and transfer to the prepared baking sheets. Bake the cookies until just set and still pale, about 7 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack or a piece of waxed paper to cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting: In a large bowl, beat the butter until soft and fluffy. Add in the maple extract. Add in the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time and beat until combined completely. Add in the cinnamon, salt and cream and beat until light and fluffy.
- Frost each cookie with the frosting and then top with sprinkles, if desired.
Lofthouse meets pumpkin. Love it! And glad you hit up that notebook and remembered these!
@Averie @ Averie Cooks, I know – I need to remember to flip through that notebook more often!!
Now this is my kind of experiment! LOVE! 🙂
@Colleen @ What’s Baking in the Barbershop?!, don’t you love it when experiments go right!?!
Wonderful cookies! I love them when they are soft…
Cheers,
Rosa
@Rosa, I love soft cookies as well!
What luck with finding that page! I would have been elated. 🙂
And good call with a pumpkin version of these! I haven’t had this style of cookie in so long. Would love to make them again!
@Erin @ Texanerin Baking, if you are a lofthouse cookie fan, and a pumpkin fan – you should definitely try these out!!
Replacing sour cream with pumpkin was a brilliant idea! The maple glaze sounds perfect as it pairs so well with pumpkin!
@baker street, I love maple, and think it goes perfectly with pumpkin. These were a favorite!!
Thank you, Deborah – these sound delicious! Instead of having to roll out and cut the dough, do you think it could be formed into a log, chilled and then sliced?
@Becky, it might work. The dough is pretty soft, so it might be hard to cut them into circles, so that would be my only worry. But it sure would make things easier! (I hate rolling out cookies!)
@Deborah,
Roll the dough in a log and chill. Use a string or piece of dental floss to slice.
I do that too! I write things downa nd then completley forget them! When I go back through my notes, I’m all, “I’m so smart!” 🙂
Love these cookies!!
@shelly (cookies and cups), isn’t it the best when you come back across those ideas? And I swear they sound better the second time around!!
Love how you made them in to a great fall cookie.
@Barbara @ Barbara Bakes, these are perfect for fall!
I keep a list of things in my phone, but of course autocorrect butcher them and I end up with completely inedible lists of crap.
Maybe I should try it your way? These cookies look like a win!
@Karly, I’ve tried keeping lists on my phone, but then I end up with a ton of lists that I forget about. Oh wait – I guess the same thing happens with my notebooks!! 🙂
Such a great idea! I love how soft and thick they look!
@Jessica@AKitchenAddiction, that’s my favorite part – I love a good, soft cookie!
Love these! The frosting is amazing! Such a perfect fall cookie! 🙂
@Jennifer | Mother Thyme, I’m a sucker for anything maple, so I totally loved it!
Love this idea!! I have to check out those donuts too!
@carrian, definitely check out the donuts – they are one of my favs!
I love how organized you are Deborah! And these cookies look to die for!
@kristy, haha – I’m really not that organized – although I do try!!
I made a similar soft ‘bakery style’ pumpkin cookie last year. They were a huge hit, but because I wanted a cutesy Halloweeine cookie I cut mine into pumpkin shapes and stuck with a simple buttercream tinted slightly orange. I absolutely love your idea of frosting these with Maple Cinnamon Buttercream, and will have to try that when I whip up a batch this year! A perfect way to up the fall flavor! Genius!
@Heather of Kitchen Concoctions, I thought of cutting mine into pumpkins, but I was too lazy!! I bet yours were super cute!
These are so festive! I love how adding a little fall spice can liven up a recipe!
@Cassie, one of the best parts of fall for me is the spice!
These are lovely!
@Jen @ Savory Simple, thanks – I really enjoyed them!
Love this recipe. I am a sucker for soft cookies. Yum!
@Heather | Farmgirl Gourmet, me too – soft cookies are my weakness!!
Oh man, I can practically taste these! I want!
@amanda @ fake ginger, just beware – you won’t be able to eat just one!! 🙂
these look awesome, i love the maple!
@teresa, thanks – I was so happy with the way they turned out!
I love your idea about keeping an inspiration notebook…definitely stealing it! 🙂 These cookies look deeee-lish!!
@Taylor, that notebook sure has saved me a time or two – you totally should start one!!
Oh girl…you really truly do know the way to my heart! Thank god for that notebook!
@Joanne, I love that cookies are the way to your heart! 🙂
These cookies look amazing!! Love!
@Laura (Tutti Dolci), thanks – I loved them, too!!
Your killing me. I would kill for one of these cookies. Seriously, pumpkin AND maple. Good Lord.
@Gwen @SimplyHealthyFamily, yes – pumpkin and maple are a match made in heaven!!
What a great idea to swap pumpkin for sour cream! I love the sprinkles 🙂
@Anna @ hiddenponies, I got lucky – I just happen to have those sprinkles on hand from last year (I think) and I couldn’t resist using them!!
I am the same way! That is my method for creating recipes. As soon as I have an idea I write it down and then play around with ingredient ratios later on.
Glad you found this recipe, I can not wait to make these!
@Christina @ The Beautiful Balance, It makes it easy to get creative that way, doesn’t it!?!
I’m so glad you found that page in your notebook because the combination of pumpkin, maple & cinnamon sounds fantastic!
@Cookin’ Canuck, me too – and I can’t wait to get to some of the other ideas I came across, too!!
So glad you found this because this looks AH-MAZING! And it’s so fitting for the holidays!
@Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious, I can’t get enough of pumpkin this time of year – I hope I can get in all of my pumpkin recipes!!
I love the Lofthouse, but adding pumpkin was brilliant! These sound wonderful- a perfect autumn treat. 🙂
@Betty, they definitely are perfect for autumn!!
These look so delicious. I wish I could be eating one right now.
@Renee, I actually wish I had some left so I could be eating one right now, too!!
I cannot wait to make these!!!!
Wow. These look wonderful! And the photos are fantastic…nice work!
I always have a notebook working too, but it’s more for my writing ideas. These cookies look wonderful and perfect for fall!