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 flavored with warm fall spices. Peanut butter and cinnamon are also so yummy together in my edible peanut butter cookie dough!
- Pumpkin adds a fun spin on peanut butter cookies.
- They are soft and chewy.
- You probably have most of the ingredients already!
- These pumpkin and peanut butter cookies can be mixed up in minutes. They do not need to chill. They only need about 10 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. Dry the pumpkin puree with paper towels for more dense, chewy cookies. This step is optional. If you choose not to dry the pumpkin, the cookies will be more cakey.
- 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 dry ingredients. For more dense and slightly chewy cookies, dry your pumpkin puree of excess moisture. To do this, place the pumpkin puree on a few thick paper towels. Wrap the paper towels up around the pumpkin puree. Squeeze out all the excess moisture. This step is optional.
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 pumpkin spice 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.
Expert Tips
Tip #1- 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: Dry the pumpkin puree with paper towels for more dense, chewy cookies. This step is optional. If you choose not to dry the pumpkin, the cookies will be more cakey.
Tip #3- 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
Pumpkin Peanut Butter Cookies
- 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
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Pumpkin spice coating
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
Pumpkin Peanut Butter Cookies
- 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.
- Place the pumpkin puree on a few thick paper towels. Wrap the paper towels up around the pumpkin puree. Squeeze out all the excess moisture.
- In a shallow bowl or rimmed plate, stir together the 1/4 cup sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice for the coating. Set aside.
- 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 pumpkin spice 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.
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that nutritional values are created by an online calculator and should only be used as an estimate.
Lianne
Amazing recipe! Cookies turned out delicious … Made them a couple of days ago, they disappeared within a couple of hours 🙂
Natalie
Hehe Love to hear they disappeared, Lianne! Thank you so much for making these cookies! Have a great weekend 🙂
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 🙂
Jessica
they came out a little floury to me. also I wasn’t sure to measure the pumpkin before or after getting rid of some of the moisture. I measured it then put it between paper towels in a mesh strainer. after doing the first batch I almost wanted to add another 1/2 cup of butter. maybe even a little brown sugar as well.
Natalie
Thanks for trying this recipe, Jessica. I appreciate your feedback. The pumpkin should be measured before getting rid of some of the moisture and I just updated the recipe card to make sure that’s more clear.