Pumpkin crumb cake cookies are like your favorite pumpkin coffee cake, in hand-held cookie form! A soft and chewy pumpkin cookie cradles a buttery, spiced crumb topping, and a dash of pure maple flavor seals the deal: this will be your new favorite fall cookie!
Pumpkin cookie season is my specialty. My brown butter pumpkin oatmeal cookies are a personal and fan favorite because they’re made with ultra-flavorful brown butter. Then there are my frosted and super soft pumpkin cookies, which are always a hit! And if you love the combo of pumpkin and chocolate, you’ll adore these chewy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.
I have a recipe for crumb cake cookies in my book, Sally’s Baking 101, and wanted to try a pumpkin variation for the fall. With all that pumpkin cookie know-how, and with what I learned while developing the crumb cake cookie recipe for the cookbook, I thought this would be a piece of [crumb] cake!
Boy was I wrong! Today’s recipe went through so many tests, my team and I actually lost count when we got into the double digits… 15 or 16, maybe? The perfect pumpkin crumb cake cookie had to be soft and chewy, packed with pumpkin spice flavor, and topped with crumbles that held their form.
When we finally got it right, there were cheers (and maybe also some tears?) throughout the kitchen. I can now say this with complete confidence: this recipe for pumpkin crumb cake cookies is one you’re going to want to make on repeat all season long.
One reader, Don, commented: “Thanks to you and your team for the many test batches needed to perfect this recipe! These cookies are PERFECT for the fall season! Cookie exteriors but crumb cake centers and the warm spice flavors. I’m going to be making lots of friends happy this fall with these tasty treats! The only addition I made was sprinkling some pecan chips on the top of the crumbs before baking. Can’t wait to try your next experiment! ★★★★★“
Another reader, Grace, commented: “Amazing! A little time intensive with blotting the pumpkin and chilling the dough, but SO worth it. Not difficult, just takes some time. Very soft cookies, definitely a bit of a cake-like texture. Probably some of the best cookies I’ve ever made. Already sending pictures and the link to everyone I know. ★★★★★“
Stock Up on These Ingredients:
- Canned Pumpkin: Be sure to use the can labeled “pure pumpkin puree,” not pumpkin pie filling. (By the way, here’s a list of recipes to make with leftover pumpkin puree!)
- Flour: You need all-purpose flour to create the structure of the cookie.
- Baking Soda: The leavening that will help the cookies puff up and spread just enough in the oven.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice, Cinnamon, & Salt: The seasonings these cookies need for that delicious pumpkin spice flavor you crave. You can use store-bought or homemade pumpkin pie spice. (I recommend making a batch of the homemade stuff now… because you’re going to want to make these cookies again soon!)
- Melted Butter: As you know from chewy chocolate chip cookies, melted butter makes cookies ultra chewy.
- Brown Sugar: More brown sugar than white sugar makes for chewy cookies with that deep molasses-y flavor.
- Granulated Sugar: A little white sugar to help the cookies spread just right.
- Maple Syrup: This deepens the overall flavor and made for the very BEST batch (out of many, many batches). It also helps the cookies spread.
- Egg Yolk: Pumpkin acts like an egg in cookie dough, which is something I learned when testing pumpkin chocolate chip cookies over a decade ago. Testing today’s pumpkin crumb cake cookies, however, proved that an egg—or at least part of an egg—is necessary. Use just 1 large egg yolk because that little extra bit of fat makes a difference.
- Vanilla Extract: A splash of vanilla rounds out the delicious flavors in these cookies.
The crumb topping is made from ingredients you’ll also use in the cookie dough, so you don’t need anything extra just to make it.
Before You Begin, Blot the Pumpkin
Blotting moisture out of pumpkin puree is remarkably useful when making cookies.
Pumpkin is approximately 90% water by mass, which isn’t really useful in a chewy cookie recipe. (Think about it—there isn’t usually liquid in a chocolate chip cookie recipe, is there?) Using a paper towel, blot out some of the pumpkin’s moisture, so all that’s left is the flavor:
Blot the pumpkin. More moisture = cakier cookies. To prevent overly cakey cookies, blot a lot of the moisture out of the pumpkin. I know it sounds odd, but gently soaking liquid out of the pumpkin puree with paper towels works.
Don’t be afraid to swap for quite a few new paper towels as they become saturated. You want the amount of pumpkin to be fully reduced by half.
After you’ve blotted your pumpkin, the rest of the steps are quick and easy. The cookie dough will be very soft, so it’s imperative that you chill the dough for at least 2 hours before you shape the cookies and bake.
Make the Crumb Topping
While the dough is chilling, whisk together some flour, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice. Then use a hand mixer or forks to cut in softened butter until crumbles form. Refrigerate—or even freeze—the crumb topping until you’re ready to make the cookies.
Shaping Pumpkin Crumb Cake Cookies
Use a cookie scoop. I like to use a medium cookie scoop for this cookie dough. Why? This is a sticky dough, and a cookie scoop makes things a little more manageable. Once you scoop the dough, roll it into a ball, then slightly flatten it. Then use your finger or thumb to press a few indents in the center of each cookie, to make a shallow bowl shape.
Generously (and I do mean generously!) sprinkle the cold crumb topping over the cookies.
These cookies take around 15 minutes to bake.
Maple Icing
The maple icing is the same as on these maple brown sugar cookies and these apple cinnamon oatmeal cookies—why yes, it IS an all-purpose fall cookie icing, thank you for noticing! It’s easy to make, and adds that perfect finishing touch on these pumpkin crumb cake cookies. You could, of course, top with vanilla icing, like we do on pumpkin coffee cake, or with brown butter glaze instead.
Because it’s made with butter, which is solid at room temperature, the icing eventually sets, making the cookies a little easier to stack, store, and transport.
Pumpkin Crumb Cake Cookies
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 24 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Pumpkin crumb cake cookies are like your favorite pumpkin coffee cake, in hand-held cookie form! A soft and chewy pumpkin cookie cradles a buttery, spiced crumb topping, and a dash of pure maple flavor seals the deal: this will be your new favorite fall cookie! Do not skip blotting the pumpkin, to reduce it by half. And be sure to use only an egg yolk, not the whole egg.
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup (226g) canned pumpkin puree
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons store-bought or homemade pumpkin pie spice*
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled for 5 minutes
- 2/3 cup (133g) light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (30g/ml) pure maple syrup
- 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Crumb Topping
- 1/2 cup (63g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/3 cup (67g) light or dark brown sugar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons store-bought or homemade pumpkin pie spice*
- 4 Tablespoons (56g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
Maple Icing
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup (80g/ml) pure maple syrup
- 1 cup (112g) sifted confectioners’ sugar
- pinch salt, to taste
Instructions
- Blot the pumpkin: Line a medium bowl with several paper towels. Place the pumpkin puree in the bowl. Using another paper towel, press down to blot excess moisture out of the pumpkin. Repeat with new paper towels until the pumpkin feels much drier and has been reduced by half, to 1/2 cup (113g). Set aside.
- Make the cookies: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and maple syrup until combined. Whisk in the egg yolk and vanilla extract until incorporated, then whisk in the 1/2 cup of blotted pumpkin. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon until combined. The cookie dough will be very soft.
- Cover tightly and refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.
- Make the crumb topping: Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice. Using a fork or a handheld mixer on low speed, mix in the butter until sandy and crumbly. Feel free to work the mixture together with your hands if it’s not coming together. Place the topping in the refrigerator or freezer until needed in step 7.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Scoop and roll the chilled cookie dough into balls, about 1.5 Tbsp (35g) of dough each, and arrange 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Use your thumb to press a few indents into the middle of each cookie, to make a shallow bowl shape. Sprinkle a generous amount of the cold crumb topping on top of each cookie.
- Bake for 14–15 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are lightly browned and set. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack.
- Make the icing: In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and maple syrup together, whisking occasionally. Once the butter has melted, remove from heat and whisk in the sifted confectioners’ sugar. Taste. Add a pinch of salt, if desired. Drizzle over cookies. Icing will set after about 1 hour.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and crumb topping and store both (tightly covered) in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. You can also freeze the cookie dough or cookie dough balls for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, add the topping, and bake as directed. You can also freeze the unbaked shaped/topped cookies (after adding the crumb topping), then bake from frozen; no need to thaw, just add an extra minute or two to the bake time.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Handheld Mixer | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: You can find pumpkin pie spice in the baking aisle of most grocery stores or make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice. If you don’t have either and want to use individual spices: for the cookie dough, use 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, and an extra 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Do not leave out the 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon that is also called for in the dough. For the topping, use 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus 1/4 teaspoon each: ground ginger, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, and ground allspice.
- Pumpkin: Make sure to purchase the can labeled 100% pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. I like Libby’s brand. Squeeze as much of the moisture out of the pumpkin puree as you can before adding it to the cookie dough. I simply squeeze the puree between paper towels. This will help produce a less cakey cookie. Less moisture is a good thing in these cookies!
Reader Comments and Reviews
These were Bomb. Made them for my friends and they enjoyed them.
I’m allergic to maple syrup. Suggestions for a substitute?
You can substitute with honey, Gail!
Amazing!! A little time intensive with the blotting pumpkin and chilling dough, but SO worth it. Not difficult, just takes some time. Very soft cookies, definitely a bit of cake-like texture. Probably some of the best cookies I’ve ever made. Already sending pictures and the link to everyone I know…
These were so delicious!! A few steps but so worth it!! So much flavor! Wow! I took another reviewers suggestion and reduced the pumpkin in a pan and then cooled it down. A perfect fall dessert!!
This recipe is 10/10, per usual with Sally’s recipes! I love that the cookie isn’t too sweet without the icing. It’s almost like a pumpkin bread cookie. Personally, I LOVE the maple icing on it, but they’re great without too.
Will definitely be making again this fall season and potentially all year round haha.
Love ’em! My partner is in Denver visiting family at the moment. When asked, the only thing I wanted brought back to Australia was your book! And I believe it is on it’s way.
What a pain to make but very good!! Mine did not flatten as much as yours but then again I got tired of using so many paper towels and was able to reduce the pumpkin down to a little over the 1/2 cup. Very good! Sweet enough that I didnt make the icing. But probably won’t go to the trouble again. You have plenty of recipes I have on repeat anyway!
The best way to handle excess moisture in pumpkin is to add the canned pumpkin to a skillet and set over med/low heat. Heat and stir until the moisture has evaporated.
This method is very easy and brings out more flavour in the pumpkin.
This is exactly what I was wondering!! Thanks for the clear (and succinct) advice.
Thanks to you and your team for the many test batches needed to perfect this recipe!! These cookies are PERFECT for the fall season!! Cookie exteriors but crumb cake centers and the warm spice flavors. I’m going to be making lots of friends happy this fall with these tasty treats!! The only addition I made was sprinkling some pecan chips on top of the crumbs before baking. Can’t wait to try your next “experiment”!!
I made these cookies today n my take away is after making dent with thumb cover entire cookie with crumb topping…I made topping from crumb cake muffins so you get more topping…otherwise after cookie spreads there’s not lot of crumbs n I love the crumbs
I made these cookies with a few adjustments to make them gluten free yesterday. They turned out great! I didn’t ice them but still have great flavour.
You mention that you can freeze the baked cookies. Do I freeze with or without the icing?
You can freeze them either way, with or without. For the best tasting results, however, icing is always best when it’s fresh. You can freeze the cookies without and then when you are ready to serve the thawed cookies, top with freshly-made maple icing.
My cookies didn’t flatten as much as yours. There are more like the tops of a muffin. Any tips? I flatten them out before baking too
Hi Winnie! Usually when cookies don’t spread, there’s too much flour in the dough. How did you measure the flour? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post.
These were incredible!! I swapped the brown butter glaze from the Brown Butter Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies recipe for the maple icing because I’m not a big maple person. Sooo good! I also added a little salt when making the crumble.
Can you omit the maple syrup? Or substitute with honey?
You can substitute with honey.
I would like to know if I can use my frozen pumpkin puree instead of canned? I realize that it will require more paper towels to remove moisture but I have quite a few bags left. I’ve been using it for pumpkin loaves and pumpkin cream cheese rolls and it works fine. Not sure if I will get a reply here though
Hi Rachelle, that should work just fine here. Just thaw before using and as you mention, make sure you get that excess moisture out! Let us know how you like the cookies.
Oh my Sally this recipe looks divine! I can’t wait to try it.
I made dough for these crumb cake cookies today but when I went to make topping, by mistake I made topping for your crumb cake muffins…can I still use this for topping cookies or should I stick to recipe here for topping
Hi Ali! The recipes are very similar, but the recipe from the muffins makes more. It should be fine to use either!
I made these today. They were quite easy & were delicious!
Can you make this with almond flour or oat flour?
Hi Katrina, We don’t recommend almond or oat flour as they have very different baking properties and are not a 1:1 swap. We haven’t tested it, but you might have success experimenting with a gluten-free all-purpose flour like Bob’s Red Mill or Cup4Cup if you need it to be gluten free. If you give anything a try, we’d love to know how it goes for you!
These cookies sound amazing, but I hate maple flavor! I can easily work around the maple in the glaze, but if I remove the maple syrup from the cookie batter, do I need to replace it with something else or can I just skip it?
Hi Kristin, You can use the same amount of milk or even orange juice instead. Enjoy!
Hi Sally – is there a way of replacing the egg yolk to make this vegan. Can sub butter for margarine etc but unsure how to sub a yolk?
Hi Katherine, without the egg yolk, the cookies taste quite cakey… not as much like a cookie. You can certainly try it and add a splash of milk or spoonful of applesauce. Either would be fine in the dough. But, again, the texture won’t be as intended.
Hi Sally! Loved the recipe. Any recommendations on how to make sure the cookies don’t stick together while storing and they are iced? I made some and ensured they were well cooled but they all stuck together while storing. Same thing happened with the scones that had the same icing!
Hi Sanjana! We’re so glad the cookies were a hit. Was the icing fully set/dried before you stacked them? A piece of parchment paper between layers can also help prevent any sticking.
Hi Sally! What are your thoughts on baking the crumb topping before adding it to the cookie? Essentially the crumb topping will be twice baked.
Hi Faye, you can certainly test that if you’d like but I didn’t find it necessary.
These were so good! If I can make a suggestion – as an alternative to blotting the pumpkin purée to remove the excess liquid, I always put it in a frying pan and cook it, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula, till most of the liquid evaporates and the color darkens a little. This method of “scorching” thickens and removes most of the moisture (depending on how long you cook it) and makes the flavor more intense. I do this when I make pumpkin pies, cakes, bread, cookies, etc.
Autumn-I do the exact same thing for anything ‘pumpkin’ – something I first learned from America’s Test Kitchen /Cook’s Illustrated years ago.
An extra step that’s well worth the time.
I learned it from a (then old) cookbook about 40 years ago – wish I could remember which one. It makes the best pumpkin pies!
Thanks for this tip! Love reading the reviews as I always learn extra helpful tidbits.
These look incredible! Can you use brown butter?
Absolutely, though you may want to add a little moisture or start with more butter to account for the loss of moisture from cooking the butter.
Would it work to line a sieve with paper towels instead of a bowl to drain the pumpkin?
Hi Michelle, yes, that works too. However you’d like to drain/blot the pumpkin to reduce it down to 1/2 cup, or 113g.
Omgosh, these look fabulous. I made pumpkin bread this week and I am so ready for everything pumpkin. The topping is
This looks and sounds amazing and I can’t wait to try them! Quick question: have you tried/can you use homemade pumpkin puree rather than canned? And do you think this would affect the amounts at all? I have a stack of leftover plain roasted pumpkin that I was thinking could be used….
Hi Sarah, other readers have reported making fresh pumpkin puree this way: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pumpkin-puree-recipe-1922629
Can I use fresh pumpkin puree instead on canned?
Absolutely! Just be sure to blot/drain it to rid excess moisture.
Hi Sally and Team! These look amazing. One question – is the 226g of pumpkin before blotting/reducing by half, or is that the total amount we want to use (and thus should start out with more)? Thanks!
Hi Gina, before! After blotting, it should be about 113g.
Hello, Do you have a gluten free version of these cookies. Love pumpkin recipes in fall. Thank you
Hello Liz,
When making recepies gluten-free (for friends) I swop out gluten ingredients like all purpose flour for gluten-free flour. Any other ingredients containing gluten I swop out for a gluten-free version. If you bake gluten-free regularly you should have gluten-free alternatives. I personally the texture is a little different but the flavour is the same. My gluten-free friends are always appreciative of the gluten-free version and love the bakes.
Good luck