These pumpkin coffee cake cookies are soft, chewy, and warmly spiced, with a buttery crumb topping and a drizzle of maple icing.
Coffee cake has always been my favorite part of a brunch spread, but let’s be honest: the best bite is the crumb topping. So I started wondering what would happen if a cookie was basically all edges and all crumb. These are the answer.
Each cookie gets a little well pressed into the center, which cradles a generous pile of spiced streusel. It bakes into crunchy, golden clusters on top of a soft pumpkin cookie. Then a quick stovetop maple icing ties it all together.
Why You’ll Love These Cookies
- Chewy, not cakey. Blotting the pumpkin and using only an egg yolk keeps them dense and soft.
- Coffee cake vibes in cookie form. Every cookie has a crunchy, spiced crumb topping.
- No mixer needed. Melted butter means the dough comes together with a whisk and a spatula.
- Make-ahead friendly. The dough can chill in the fridge for up to 3 days, so you can bake whenever you’re ready.
Ingredient Notes
- Pumpkin purée: Use plain canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. You’ll start with 1 cup and blot it down to about 1/2 cup.
- Butter: Melted butter makes a chewier cookie. Let it cool for a few minutes so it doesn’t scramble the yolk. The crumb topping uses softened butter instead, which gives you sandy, crisp clusters.
- Egg yolk only: Skipping the white cuts moisture and keeps the texture fudgy rather than puffy.
- Maple syrup: It goes in the dough and the icing, so use pure maple syrup rather than pancake syrup.
- Pumpkin pie spice: Store-bought works. For homemade, stir together 2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp allspice, and a pinch of cloves.
- Flour: Weigh it if you can. Too much flour turns these into dry, puffy mounds.
Pumpkin Coffee Cake Cookies
These pumpkin coffee cake cookies are soft, chewy, and warmly spiced, with a buttery crumb topping and a drizzle of maple icing.
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Ingredients
Pumpkin Cookies
- 1 cup 226g canned pumpkin purée (blotted down to 1/2 cup / 113g)
- 2 1/4 cups 281g all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp 4.5g baking soda
- 2 tsp 5g pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp 2.5g ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp 3g fine sea salt
- 3/4 cup 170g unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 2/3 cup 133g light or dark brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup 100g granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp 40g pure maple syrup
- 1 large egg yolk room temperature
- 1 tsp 4g pure vanilla extract
Spiced Crumb Topping
- 1/2 cup 63g all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup 67g light or dark brown sugar, packed
- 1 1/2 tsp 4g pumpkin pie spice
- 4 tbsp 56g unsalted butter, softened
Maple Icing
- 2 tbsp 28g unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup 107g pure maple syrup
- 1 cup 112g powdered sugar, sifted
- pinch of fine sea salt
Instructions
- Dry out the pumpkin. Spread the pumpkin on a double layer of paper towels in a bowl or on a plate. Press another paper towel on top to soak up the liquid. Swap in fresh towels and keep pressing until the pumpkin is thick and pasty and you’re left with about 1/2 cup (113g).
- Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk the cooled melted butter with both sugars and the maple syrup. Add the egg yolk and vanilla, whisk until smooth, then whisk in the blotted pumpkin.
- Make the dough. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and fold with a spatula just until no flour streaks remain. The dough will be soft and sticky, which is exactly right.
- Chill. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 3 days. Don’t skip this. Warm dough spreads into thin, flat cookies.
- Make the crumb topping. Whisk the flour, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice in a small bowl. Work in the softened butter with a fork or your fingertips until it looks like damp sand with small clumps. Keep it in the fridge or freezer until you’re ready to bake.
- Get ready to bake. Heat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
- Shape and top. Roll the cold dough into balls of about 1 1/2 tablespoons (35g) each and space them 3 inches apart. Press your thumb into the tops a few times to form a shallow dip, then pile on a generous spoonful of the cold crumb topping.
- Bake. Bake for 14–15 minutes, until the edges are set and just starting to turn golden. Let the cookies rest on the pan for 10 minutes before moving them to a wire rack.
- Make the icing. In a small saucepan over low heat, warm the butter and maple syrup, stirring now and then, until the butter melts. Take it off the heat, whisk in the powdered sugar until smooth, and add a pinch of salt to taste.
- Drizzle. Drizzle the warm icing over the cooled cookies. It firms up in about an hour.
Tips for Perfect Pumpkin Coffee Cake Cookies
- Really blot the pumpkin. This is the step that separates chewy cookies from pumpkin muffin tops. Keep going until it’s reduced by half.
- Keep everything cold. Chilled dough and cold crumb topping mean thicker cookies and chunkier crumbs. If your kitchen is warm, pop the shaped dough balls back in the fridge for 10 minutes.
- Be generous with the crumb. It’ll look like too much. It isn’t. Gently press it into the dip so it stays put.
- Don’t overbake. Pull them when the edges are set and the centers still look slightly soft. They firm up as they cool.
- Ice them warm. If the icing thickens while you work, rewarm it over low heat for a few seconds.
Storage and Freezing
- Room temperature: Up to 4 days in an airtight container.
- Fridge: Up to 1 week.
- Freeze the dough: Roll the dough into balls and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake straight from frozen with fresh crumb topping, adding 1–2 minutes.
- Freeze baked cookies: Freeze un-iced cookies for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, then drizzle with icing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do I need to blot the pumpkin? Pumpkin is mostly water. Removing some of it keeps the cookies from turning cakey and puffy.
Can I use a whole egg instead of the yolk? You can, but expect a softer, more cake-like cookie.
Can I skip the icing? Absolutely. The crumb topping alone makes them plenty sweet.
Why did my cookies spread? Usually the dough wasn’t chilled long enough, or the butter was too warm when it went in.
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