Pumpkin Sugar Cookies are absolutely amazing! Deliciously soft sugar cookies, full of pumpkin fall flavor! This easy pumpkin cookies recipe is bound to become a family favorite!
This is a pumpkin cookie recipe that you all have really enjoyed, so I thought I would add a video to it and update the photos. The post was written in September 2015 and the photos were just updated August 2017.
This week marked the five year anniversary of Elliot’s death.
What is so weird/tricky/frustrating/maddening about grief is that you don’t really know how or when it will strike. Four years ago, when we should have been celebrating Elliot’s first birthday, everyone was bracing for us to struggle through September 9th, the first anniversary of his death. But it was September 1st, when we should have been taking pictures of him shoving cake in his mouth, that really floored me.
And this year while I was really anticipating Elliot’s birthday to be rough, it was the anniversary of his death that was hard.
I have never really talked about his death publicly. Probably because we had to make the unbearable decision to take him off life support, and I know that that is controversial. We did so with a lot of counsel from his doctors. And when I say counsel, I mean I asked them what they would do if it was their own child and watched their eyes fill with tears at the mere thought. They made it very clear to us that our options were very limited, and were so kind in helping us come to a decision.
I will never forget watching Gavin say goodbye to Elliot . . . though he didn’t entirely understand what that meant.
I will never forget Elliot squeezing my finger and second guessing myself and having his nurses reassure me that this was common in patients with only lower brain functioning.
And I will never forget Nathan and I promising Elliot that we would never look at this life as a tragedy. So many people have asked me how I possibly made it through losing a child, and honestly the answer to that question is a work in progress. But what I come back to over and over and over is that moment when I was holding him and he was taking his last breaths and he was all unhooked from machines and I was promising him that I would not let his death be a black mark on my life.
Just before school started this fall, and I promise this relates, Quinn drew a picture of me with something giant. I asked her what it was and she said it was me . . . sad because I missed her because she was at school and with a giant sandwich.
She gets me. I’m an emotional eater. Lol!
So . . . . I made these cookies on the anniversary of Elliot’s death this year. The foundation of these cookies are these perfect sugar cookies that I made 7.2 million times while my mom was dying. They are my ultimate comfort food. Scratch that. The cookie dough for these cookies is my ultimate comfort food.
I had had a conversation with Cathy just a few days before making these pumpkin sugar cookies and she mentioned these cookies, and the ratio she used of pumpkin and eggs to make the perfect cookie. She was dead on! I used it to make the pumpkin sugar cookies and it resulted in what might be the best damn cookie I’ve ever eaten. I’m not kidding.
So I’m not going to say that these soft pumpkin cookies fixed the anniversary of Elliot’s death. But if I’m being 100% honest, they totally did make it a little easier.
WATCH ME MAKE THESE PUMPKIN SUGAR COOKIES
Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups sugar + more for rolling
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 14 TBSPS unsalted butter 1 3/4 stick at room temperature
- 2 tsps vanilla extract
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 cup 100% pure pumpkin puree
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- With your mixer on medium, mix together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Mix in the egg yolk, then vanilla, then pumpkin until well combined.
- Slowly mix in the flour mixture until well combined, with your mixer set to low. Scrape down the paddle and the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and refrigerate the cookie dough for 20 minutes.
- Roll the dough into one inch sized balls. Roll in sugar. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet or silicon mat and press down slightly. Space the cookies about two inches apart.
- Bake for 15 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking. (I baked mine in three batches)
- Let cool on the pan for about two minutes before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.
did you make this
Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
Other Great Pumpkin Recipes:
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Melissa says
Thank you for sharing your story. Today my son and I made “Elliott’s Cookies” with he and other children taken far too soon in our thoughts. I am sorry for your loss.
Oh, thank you so much for leaving this sweet comment, Melissa.
Mandie says
As a fellow loss mom I appreciate this post so much. I’m going to make these cookies soon and I’ll think of you and Elliot and my son Joe jr. as I make them with my girls. It was 2 years in August for me and this year birthday was much harder than death day, and I figured it was going to be the other way around. <3
Mandie, I’m so sorry for your loss. I always want to give other moms who have lost kiddos a GIANT hug. So please consider this a giant virtual hug. I hate that you are a member of this club with me, but I’m happy to have other members who get it.
Cheryl says
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I just finished making them and even tried a few “variations”. I added some mini chocolate chips to some for my chocolate loving grandkids and on others I added some pumpkin pie spice (Cinnamon would work too) to the sugar when coating them.
That’s great! Thanks Cheryl!
Angel says
Is it possible to bake the cookies without chilling the dough for 20 minutes? Thank you
I mean, you can feel free to try *anything* with this recipe. I think if you skip the chilling time they won’t bake as nicely, but they will still be delicious.
Crystal says
These cookies are absolutely amazing. Thank you so much for the delicious recipe- they were a huge hit at a friends gathering that I went to last night. My husband isn’t a huge fan of pumpkin and I lost count of how many cookies he ate. He raved about them! The only thing I did a tiny bit different was that I rolled them in a cinnamon sugar mixture instead of just sugar. I’m a sucker for cinnamon! Thank you so much.
And thank you for sharing your story. Such a beautiful post. <3
Thank you so much Crystal!
Karen Howard says
Alright That’s it. I have to sign up for your emails! Too much good stuff here -I’m a total Foodie-can you tell?
Thanks Karen!
Kim says
Mine didn’t have much pumpkin taste, and I’m not sure how to adjust a ratio by adding more pumpkin … any ideas? They were great otherwise!!!!
Kim, that’s tough because the pumpkin really changes the baking it doesn’t just go in for the flavor. You would have to play around with it.
Linda says
Mine also did not taste like pumpkin. I even added some pumpkin spice and rolled in cinnamon sugar. Great texture, smooth and crispy just wanted it to taste like pumpkin
I’m so sorry, Linda. I’ve loved the pumpkin flavor every time I’ve made it.
Sam says
I am not sure how I messed these up!! :( They did not spread at all and were still raw. :/
I’m so sorry Sam, that stinks! These are one of my favorites!
Laura says
Stumbled upon your recipe and blog while searching for a quick pumpkin cookie recipe. My husband and I read about your beautiful Elliot while these baked. I will be driving these cookies over to a fellow mom friend with a brand new baby girl instead of eating them all like we planned. A very small act of kindness, but done with your sweet boy on my mind and heart.
Laura, that made me cry. Your friend is lucky to have such a good hearted person in her life.
Melissa says
Would they work for cutouts do you think?
I really don’t think they would Melissa, but I for sure need to come up with a recipe for those!