Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

I thought it would be fun to show you how to make these adorable Pumpkin Sugar Cookies. They are simple to make and so pretty. Nothing says Fall like pumpkins and baking!

My kids love sugar cookies, so this is perfect way to start off our holiday dessert baking. If you love sugar cookies, you might also like Sugar Cookie Bars or check out more Thanksgiving Desserts for Kids or these Easy Halloween Recipes.

You must also try these Jack-O-Lantern Chocolate Covered Oreos or Mickey Mouse Cookies.

How to Make the Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

• Step 1 – Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Step 2 – In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Then set aside.
• Step 3 – In a separate bowl, beat together the butter with the sugar until creamy and light and fluffy.  Add in the eggs one at a time until combined.  Then add in the vanilla extract.  Continue mixing.

Step 4 – Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Mix until just combined.  Be careful not to over mix.

Step 5 – Roll out each of the dough balls onto a lightly floured surface until the dough is approximately ¼ inch thick with a rolling pin.  Then use a Pumpkin cookie cutter to cut out the cookies.  Continue this process until all the dough is formed into the cookies.

Step 6 – Line the baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a metal spatula move the cut cookies to the parchment lined cookie sheet.

Step 7 – Bake for 7-8 minutes until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges (just a slight change of color). Let cool on a wire rack.

How to Make Royal Icing

Making Royal Icing is worth the extra steps as it taste great and easy to spread onto the sugar cookies. All you need is Egg Whites, Powdered Sugar, Cream of Tartar and Gel Food Coloring.

• Step 1 – Beat the egg whites in a large mixing bowl with a stand up mixer until frothy. 
• Step 2 – Reduce the speed on the mixer to low and slowly add in the confectioner’s sugar, cream of tartar and vanilla extract. 

Step 3 – Increase speed to high and beat until stiff peaks are formed. 

Step 4 – Remove a small amount of the icing to a separate small bowl. Dye the small bowl of icing green and the large bowl of icing orange with the food coloring.   

How to Decorate Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

• Step 1 – Transfer the Icing to piping bags fitted with a Wilton tip number 5. 

Step 2 – Outline the pumpkin cookies with the icing (orange around the pumpkin and green around the stem).  Let it set for at least 30 seconds to dry. 

Step 3 – Fill in the cookies with the icing and use a butter knife to spread it around inside of the cookies.

• Step 4 – Let the cookie set for the icing to dry fully and then they are ready to serve and enjoy! 

Recipe Tips

• Scooping Cookie Dough – To make sure the cookie dough balls were even, we recommend using cookie scoop.
• Frosting Cookies – Make sure to cool the cookies before adding the frosting and decorating the cookies.
• Food Coloring – For the best, vibrant colors we recommend using gel food coloring to dye the frosting.
• Combining the Cookie Dough Mixture – Mix the cookie dough ingredients with a hand mixer or in bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment on medium speed. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure that everything is combined.