Melissa K. Norris
  • Start Here
  • Podcast
  • Articles
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Classes
    • General Store
  • In Person Workshops
  • Academy
Log In

Old-Fashioned Pumpkin Sugar Cookies Recipe

Dessert, Healthy Snacks, Recipes

Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means I will earn a commission at no additional cost to you, if you click through and make a purchase. Regardless, I only link to products we use on our homestead or believe in.
Jump to RecipePrint Recipe
These old-fashioned pumpkin cookies are amazing, plus they use real pumpkin. I can't stop eating them! Grab the recipe here

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.

These old-fashioned pumpkin cookies are amazing, plus they use real pumpkin. I can't stop eating them! Grab the recipe here

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.

These old-fashioned pumpkin cookies are amazing, plus they use real pumpkin. I can't stop eating them! Grab the recipe here

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

Old-Fashioned Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

MelissaKNorris
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 hr 10 mins
Cook Time 10 mins
Total Time 1 hr 20 mins
Servings 28

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 cup melted butter
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon molasses
  • 1 cup cooked pumpkin
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Instructions
 

  • 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.
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • 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 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.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Grow Your Own Food In-Person Worksop

Saturday May 20th

$349

An intimate and hands on workshop

At Norris Farmstead

Click Here to Learn More

Want to grow a year’s worth of food?

Get my FREE planting chart!

Know exactly how many plants per person you need to plant with my easy worksheet and chart!

Melissa Norris

Melissa K. Norris inspires people's faith and pioneer roots with her books, podcast, and blog. Melissa lives with her husband and two children in their own little house in the big woods in the foothills of the North Cascade Mountains. When she's not wrangling chickens and cattle, you can find her stuffing Mason jars with homegrown food and playing with flour and sugar in the kitchen.

Read more about Melissa

Related Posts

A woman's hands opening a freshly cooked bao bun.

EASIEST Homemade Bao Bun Recipe

Diced onions on a cutting board.

Homemade Cream of Onion Soup Substitute

Mozzarella cheese and whey separating out.

How to Make Whey in Four Easy Steps

Comments:

  1. Tami Schultz

    6 years ago

    I feel overwhelmed, so I take one thing at a time to change. I live in the city in ca the bay area. I signed up for your canning classes and think they are so very helpful and very hands on. I want to do more than can jam but am afraid to do vegetables. I want to grow my own vegetables to can but space is small I do have 4 chickens for eggs. I am also hand grinding wheat for homemade bread. I sometimes have trouble with heavy loaves though. I do make my own yogurt as well. Anyway you help me so much to keep going forward when things seem scary, thank you so much. The 2 things I struggle the most with is growing enough for production and or getting food in bulk cheap for canning. It is costly here in ca. The next thing is the actual pressure canning and not have botulism. My time and priorities are not balanced yet on getting these things done. A whole new life style. We’ll thank you again for sharing your knowledge!

    Sincerely,
    Tami

    Reply
  2. Mary

    6 years ago

    Does this recipe require an egg?

    Reply
    • Melissa Norris

      November 12, 2016 at 12:44 am

      No, the pumpkin acts as the binder, no egg needed.

      Reply
  3. Jen

    6 years ago

    Just made these last night and we really like them! My husband is not usually a big fan of sugar cookies as he thinks they don’t have much flavor. These definitely deliver on the flavor! I have some maple sugar that we reserve for special occasions and I decided it might be a good combination with these pumpkin cookies, so I dipped them in the maple sugar and they are really tasty! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe and for your persistence in coming up with a winning combination of ingredients!

    Reply
    • Melissa Norris

      6 years ago

      Jen,

      Yay!! I”m so glad they turned out and I bet the maple sugar was amazing. This recipe is actually a new one I just developed for my new book, but I couldn’t wait until it releases next year to share the recipe. I’m so happy you guys enjoyed it.

      Reply
  4. Patty Kasiewicz

    November 19, 2017 at 12:56 am

    Love all your post.
    Do you think I could make this using almond flour and splenda . i got two
    grandsons that must have gluten free and a husband who is diabetic but loves
    anything pumpkin.
    Thank You.

    Reply
    • Melissa Norris

      November 19, 2017 at 6:13 am

      Patty, I think stevia or splenda would work splendid. I would add a 1/2 teaspoon or so of Xanthan gum with the almond flour and maybe a bit more pumpkin so it’s not too dry.

      Reply
  5. Jon Wyman

    4 years ago

    Made these cookies this morning. Tasted great but seemed undercooked in the middle. Kept leaving them in longer and longer but did not seem to make a difference (last batch baked for 12 mins). I appreciate what you do and love all the info you throw our way. Keep it up.

    Reply
  6. Brenda Wagner

    3 years ago

    Hello, I have a couple of questions about pumpkin…1 I have a sweet Carolina Candy Roaster winter squash that I pressure canned for later use. Can I use this in pumpkin recipes? And 2 is it considered “cooked” after pressure canning? Thanks Melissa!
    Brenda

    Reply
    • Melissa Norris

      3 years ago

      Yes, that squash should work find and it’s definitely considered cooked after pressure canning. Let me know how you like them.

      Reply
  7. MJ

    3 years ago

    I luv your posts but am baffled by all the sugar n white flour. I know you value health so just wondering the reason for using these two unhealthy items. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Melissa Norris

      October 26, 2019 at 12:43 am

      For many people cooking from scratch without using a store bought mix is a start, which is what these cookies are, I do use fresh ground flour for many recipes but not everyone has access to that, so for an occasional treat like a cookie, I don’t stress over organic unbleached all-purpose flour and organic cane sugar (which is what we use). Do I eat it every day, no. I don’t do a lot of baking with honey because the heat destroys the good benefits and it is converted in the body the same as sugar. I use honey for teas or on top of other things when it isn’t being cooked.

      Reply

Leave us a reply: Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

Recipe Rating




Melissa K. Norris

Follow me:

  • Start Here
  • Courses
  • Academy
  • Contact
Log In

Articles

  • Gardening
  • Homesteading
  • Recipes
  • Lifestyle
  • DIY

Podcast

  • Orchard Planning to Keep Pests Out (Live Coaching Call)
  • How to Boost Your Immune system (10 Easy Ways)
  • Homesteading With Special Needs Children
  • Seventh-Year Land Sabbath and Bread Baking Tips (Live Coaching Call)
  • Must-Have Pantry Items For Long-Term Storage

Books

  • Everything Worth Preserving
  • The Family Garden Planner
  • Hand Made
  • The Made From Scratch Life

Education

  • Organic Gardening Workshop
  • Home Fruit Preservative Canning e-course
  • Home Canning With Confidence
  • Homemade Bread & Baking Class
  • Natural Homemade Bath and Beauty
  • Pioneering Today Academy


Copyright 2023 - Melissa K. Norris Pioneering Today LLC

  • Privacy Policy
  • Affiliate Disclaimer
  • Terms of Use

Melissa K. Norris and Pioneering Today LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

631 shares
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Email