Fall is upon us and to me that means all things pumpkin. I associate different seasons by the different foods or seasonal items. That’s totally normal, right? Pumpkin is the flavor of the month and I’ve already used it in a couple of recipes. Pumpkin Banana Bread and Pumpkin Spice Granola have made appearances so far this year, but Pumpkin Waffles are a classic. I just can’t seem to get enough pumpkin right now! When I saw these Chewy Brown Butter Pumpkin Cookies, I knew I had to make them.
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I adapted this recipe from Butternut Bakery and let me tell you, they are good. They are really good and I can’t stop eating them. They are filled with my favorite fall spices and are soft and chewy. How can you go wrong with that?
I cut down the brown sugar from the original recipe by 1/3. Honestly, I don’t think that these need to be any sweeter. Since they are rolled in sugar, I didn’t think they needed to be super sweet. My cookies are smaller, but I see it as built in portion control. I had a hard time not eating all of the cookies, so I threw them into the freezer. That way I can easily grab one and enjoy it with my coffee.
2. Mix dry ingredients together
3. Wet ingredients
4. Mix butter and brown sugar
Have you ever had cookies straight from the freezer? These Chewy Brown Butter Pumpkin Cookies are perfect straight out of the freezer. They are still chewy and the texture is a little different, but in a good way. If you’ve never tried it, I highly recommend it. Let me know what you think!
Notes to the recipe
I’ve mentioned this before, but I highly recommend using a cookie scoop. Your cookies will be uniform and they will bake evenly. Plus it saves time when scooping the cookies. Anything that will get these cookies baking faster is a win in my book!
6. Add flour mixture to the wet mixture
7. Mix until just combined and cinnamon sugar mixture ingredients
8. Scoop dough balls and roll in sugar coating
Brown butter is worth the extra effort. I recently discovered brown butter and I don’t know why I haven’t used it sooner. These Gooey Browned Butter S’mores Bars introduced me to this nutty goodness and I’m trying to think of new ways to incorporate it.
On this particular batch, I tried my hand at the new (at least new to me) pan banging trend. What is that you may be asking? Simply part way through baking, you lift the pan 3-4 inches above the oven rack and drop it down a couple of times. This is supposed to help the cookies spread and get crinkly on top. I didn’t notice a huge difference between this batch and another batch where I didn’t bang the pans. It was fun to do, but totally optional.
These cookies will definitely be making a repeat appearance in our house. I can see myself making these ever year in the fall (or whenever I have pumpkin on hand). Do you have a certain cookie that you make all the time or every year?
Chewy Brown Butter Pumpkin Cookies
Ingredients
Cookie dough
- 1 cup unsalted butter, browned and cooled
- 1 cup light or dark brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg yolk
- 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup pure pumpkin puree, (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Coating
- 2 tbsp light or dark brown sugar, packed
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- flaky sea salt to sprinkle on top of the cookies, optional
Instructions
Brown the butter
- In a medium skillet, melt your butter over medium heat. The butter will begin to foam, but that's normal. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon for 5-7 minutes until golden brown. The solids from the butter should be lightly golden brown and it should have a nutty aroma.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and pour the brown butter into a glass or ceramic bowl to cool slightly. You don't want your butter to be hot but you also don't want it to be solid.
Assemble the cookie dough
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon.
- In a large bowl, using a rubber spatula, mix the brown sugar and cooled brown butter. It's ok if they are not completely mixed together.
- Mix in the egg yolk, maple syrup, vanilla, and pumpkin until incorporated. Again, it's ok if it's not completely mixed together. The dough will come together.
- Add the dry ingredients and fold into the batter until completed incorporated, making sure to not over mix the dough. The dough will be soft, but it will firm up a little as you make the coating.
- In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon for the coating.
- Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop out the dough and roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture. (See notes.)
- Place the cookie dough balls onto the prepared baking sheet, making sure to space them about an inch apart so they have room to spread.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are cooked but the middle looks like it's slightly under done. You don't want to over bake the cookies, otherwise they may not be chewy. (See notes.)
- Sprinkle with flaky sea salt if using and allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for a couple minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat until you have used all of your cookie dough.
Notes
- I highly recommend using a cookie scoop when making cookies. This ensures your cookies are uniform in size and will bake evenly.
- There’s this trend of pan banging cookies that I wanted to try, so I make one recipe using this technique and one not. I didn’t notice a huge difference taste wise, but it was fun to do. If you would like to try this as well this is what I did. At 6 minutes, I lift up the tray 3-4 inches from the oven rack and drop the pan of cookies. I did this about 3 times and then rotated the tray and then repeated. Cooked for the remaining time and that’s it!
- These baked cookies freeze really well. All you need to do is make sure the cookies are cooled completely and then place into a plastic freezer bag. They have a great texture if you eat them frozen, or you can allow them to thaw and enjoy.
Recipe adapted from Butternut BakeryIf you make any of my recipes, be sure to tag me on Instagram @amysdeliciousmess and use #amysdeliciousmess. I’d love to see all of your pictures!
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