These pumpkin peanut butter cookies are made with creamy peanut butter, warm spices, and pumpkin puree. They’re soft, chewy, peanut buttery and irresistibly delicious!
These peanut butter pumpkin cookies are made with creamy homemade peanut butter, warm spices, and pumpkin puree. They’re soft, chewy, peanut buttery and irresistibly delicious!
If you’re looking for more pumpkin recipes, try my pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting, or pumpkin olive oil cake.
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Why You Will Love This Recipe
- These peanut butter and pumpkin cookies are made with a whole cup of peanut butter!
- They are flavored with cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.
- The addition of pumpkin makes them a fun alternative to simple peanut butter cookies.
- They have a nice soft, tender texture.
- You probably already have everything you need to make these!
- These pumpkin and peanut butter cookies can be mixed up in minutes. They do not need to chill. They only need about ten minutes to bake.
Ingredients
Here are useful notes on some of the ingredients for this peanut butter pumpkin cookie recipe.
- Unsalted Butter: Use room temperature unsalted butter.
- Cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice: Cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice add warm flavor to the cookies.
- Peanut Butter: I suggest baking with creamy peanut such as Jif or Skippy. I wouldn’t recommend baking with natural peanut butter or crunchy peanut butter.
- Pumpkin puree- Use canned pure pumpkin puree. Be careful not to confuse pureed pumpkin with pumpkin pie filling.
- Brown Sugar: Use light or dark brown sugar. Brown sugar helps make the cookies chewy. It also adds a warm molasses flavor.
- An egg: Use one large room temperature egg.
- Extra Granulated Sugar: For coating.
Substitutions & Variations
- Pumpkin puree: Pumpkin puree can’t be substituted with pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling includes spices and sweeteners. Pumpkin puree is purely pumpkin with nothing else added.
- Canned pumpkin puree: I recommend using store bought pumpkin puree. I haven’t made these using homemade pumpkin puree.
- Pumpkin pie spice: If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, you can make your own. Live Well Bake Often has a Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice Recipe you could make! Alternatively, you could substitute the pumpkin pie spice for nutmeg or for more cinnamon.
- Chocolate: Add mini or regular chocolate chips or even chopped chocolate to the cookie dough.
Instructions
Step One: Combine dry ingredients. In a medium sized bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt.
Step Two: Mix the butter, peanut butter and sugar. In a large bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter and sugars on medium speed until combined.
Next, add the vanilla and pumpkin puree followed by the egg and beat until combined.
Step Three: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. With the mixer on low, gradually mix in the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
Step Four: Bake the cookies. Form balls of 2 tablespoons of dough each. Roll each cookie dough ball in sugar to coat. Place balls on a parchment paper lined baking sheet 2 inches apart. Push down on the tops of the cookies with a fork to create a criss-cross pattern.
Then bake in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 9-11 minutes.
Hint: Dough will be sticky. Dip the fork in granulated sugar to prevent sticking.
Expert Tips
Tip #1- Scrape the mixing bowl. Use a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl. Mixing the bowl helps all ingredients are incorporated into the dough.
Tip #2- Don’t overbake cookies. It can be hard to tell when peanut butter cookies are finished baking because of the color of the dough. Take cookies out of the oven when the edges are very light brown. They will continue to bake on the tray.
Recipe FAQs
Peanut butter cookies are often pressed with a fork in a criss-cross pattern before baking. Peanut butter cookie dough is heavy. Pressing it down before baking helps it spread evenly.
No. This is a no chill cookie recipe. You can refrigerate the dough for up to 1 day if you need to.
Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Freeze the baked cookies for up to 30 days in an airtight container. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
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Pumpkin Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar light or dark, packed
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree use pure canned pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- granulated sugar for coating
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium sized bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt.
- In the bowl of a hand held or stand mixer, cream the butter, peanut butter and sugars on medium speed for 1-2 minutes, until creamed and combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl then add the vanilla and pumpkin puree followed by the egg and beat until combined.
- With the mixer on low, gradually mix in the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
- Use a cookie scoop to form balls of 2 tablespoons of dough each. Roll dough into a circle then roll it in sugar to coat. Place balls on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Lightly push down on the tops of the cookies with a fork to create a criss cross pattern. Dip the fork in granulated sugar to prevent sticking.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes, until edges are very light brown. Let cool on the baking sheet for about five minutes then transfer cookies to a rack to cool completely.
Victoria
I just want to mention that you’d most likely get more people baking these cookies if you didn’t mention in the introduction that they’re made with “creamy homemade peanut butter.” That’s off-putting When you later mention that you recommended making them with Jif or Skippy, but not homemade, natural, or chunky peanut butter. Most people go for simple recipes, unfortunately. Once they see your introduction, they’ll think, “I’m really not interested in the extra work of making my own peanut butter.” They’ll leave your site before reading your mention of specifically recommending original, creamy Jif or Skippy peanut butter, and probably not their natural recipes. Also, under “why you will love this recipe,” you wrote, “The addition of pumpkin makes them a fun alternative to simple pumpkin cookies.” I think you meant that either “the addition of pumpkin makes them a fun alternative to simple peanut butter cookies,” or “the addition of peanut butter makes them a fun alternative to simple pumpkin cookies.” I read your article/recipe info and tips because I figured I could be up for the challenge of making my own peanut butter for these cookies. However, many others would most likely skip this recipe due to wanting a simpler recipe. It’s unknown to them if you have any specific reasoning for homemade peanut butter, such as its influence on the taste, structure, texture, etc. I’m not meaning to be rude, just some constructive criticism. Maybe making some changes will help bring in more bakers willing to try the recipe and rate your cookies. I think I’ll try it out. I’ll be baking them for my fiancé. I inherited a clear glass pumpkin cookie jar along with other memorabilia from his grandmother after her passing. He mentioned that when he was a child, he would sneak a cookie in the night. It was always filled with store-bought pumpkin peanut butter cookies. ♥️ Thank you!
Natalie
Hi Victoria, Thanks so much for your helpful feedback. I appreciate those notes and will be sure to update the post. I’m so glad these cookies reminded you of a story about your fiance’s childhood and hope that you both enjoyed the cookies if you tried them out! Have a great week 🙂