Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

caramel pumpkin cookies

(4 ratings)
Blue Ribbon Recipe by
Amanda Lesko
Wyandotte, MI

These are, by far, the best cookies I've ever made! They're soft, moist, sweet, and unbelievably addicting! I'm giving you the whole recipe, but feel free to cut it in half... it makes a ton!

Blue Ribbon Recipe

Soft and lovable, these pumpkin cookies are cake-like with an ever-so-slight cinnamon flavor. Pumpkin isn't prominent, but you know it's an ingredient. We opted to add walnuts and loved the crunch. Where these fall cookies become special is the caramel-like frosting. It is rich and almost like a caramel praline on top of the cookie.

— The Test Kitchen @kitchencrew
(4 ratings)
yield serving(s)
prep time 20 Min
cook time 1 Hr
method Bake

Ingredients For caramel pumpkin cookies

  • COOKIE DOUGH:
  • 3 c
    vegetable shortening
  • 3 c
    canned pumpkin
  • 3 c
    sugar
  • 3
    eggs
  • 3 tsp
    vanilla extract
  • 3 tsp
    baking soda
  • 3 tsp
    baking powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp
    salt
  • 3 tsp
    cinnamon
  • 6 c
    flour
  • 2 c
    chopped dates and/or walnuts (optional)
  • FROSTING
  • 9 Tbsp
    butter-not margarine
  • 1 1/2 c
    brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 3/4 c
    milk
  • 3 c
    powdered sugar

How To Make caramel pumpkin cookies

Test Kitchen Tips
The batter for this cookie is not typical. It's very soft and not thick; almost the consistency of a pumpkin bread batter. When cut in half, the recipe still makes a ton of cookies.
  • Shortening, pumpkin, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a bowl.
    1
    Mix first 5 cookie dough ingredients in mixer until well combined.
  • Baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and flour added to bowl.
    2
    Add the next 5 cookie dough ingredients and mix well. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl at least twice.
  • Chopped nuts added to the bowl.
    3
    Add chopped dates/nuts if desired.
  • Batter on parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
    4
    Drop by rounded tablespoonful or medium-sized cookie scoop. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes on greased cookie sheets.
  • Pumpkin cookies cooling.
    5
    Cool on wire racks. Makes 8-9 dozen using a medium-sized cookie scoop.
  • Butter, brown sugar, and milk boiling in a saucepan.
    6
    FOR FROSTING: Melt and mix together, butter, brown sugar, and milk. When the mixture comes to a boil, time for 2 minutes and remove from heat.
  • Whisking powdered sugar into the saucepan.
    7
    Whisk in powdered sugar and let cool slightly.
  • Frosting the cooled cookies.
    8
    When cookies are cooled, and the frosting is still warm but starting to get firmer, drizzle or spread over cookies! (Frosting may run off the edges of cookies, but it's ok! Just make sure there's enough on top of the cookies too.)
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT