Soft Pumpkin Gingersnap Cookies are soft, perfectly spiced cookies made with pure pumpkin and packed with amazing flavor. This pumpkin cookie recipe is a fun twist on a classic treat, perfect for holiday baking.
These ginger snap cookies are loaded with your favorite holiday spices, perfect to serve at family get togethers or hosting a holiday event. Making these pumpkin ginger cookies is easy too, you most likely already have a majority of the ingredients in your kitchen!
Gingersnap Pumpkin Cookies
Pumpkin Gingersnap Cookies…mmmm…can’t you just smell these cookies baking? I can! I absolutely love traditional gingersnap cookies, they evoke the taste of the holidays for me. My husband is not super fond of them, but it is more because of the crisp-chewy texture of most gingersnaps. He took one bite of these Pumpkin Gingersnap Cookies, where the added pumpkin really changes the texture, and he was hooked! They have all the flavor of a classic gingersnap but with a lovely soft texture. They are my family’s new favorite holiday cookie! We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
Why we think you will fall in love with this amazing cookie recipe
If you were not already convinced to give this delightful recipe a try, here are a few more reasons why you should!
- Best of two classics! If you are anything like me and love the classic fall flavors, you will love this cookie recipe. Pumpkin spice is a widespread popular fall flavor. Then you add in the amazing ginger spice and you have a winning combination. The two of these combined into one amazing treat that is just perfect!
- Simple ingredients. What is great about this recipe is that most of the ingredients you will most likely find in your kitchen. You can whip up a batch without having to buy a bunch of extra ingredients, that is a win in my book!
- Fairly Quick and easy. To make this amazing pumpkin and ginger cookie you need just a little over 1 hour from start to finish. We do ask for a dough chilling period because these flavors deserve it, but it is worth the wait. You can still create an amazing dessert in a short amount of time that will impress anyone who tries it.
Soft Gingersnap Pumpkin Cookie Ingredients
Butter: Using ½ cup of butter, room temperature, will help create a perfectly rich cookie.
Sugar: Add in 1 cup of granulated sugar, plus more for rolling the cookies, to provide just the right amount of sweetness to this recipe.
Pumpkin: You will need ½ cup of pure pumpkin for amazing flavor and texture.
Molasses: Adding in ¼ cup of molasses gives the best depth of flavor imaginable.
Egg: For more great taste and texture, use 1 large egg.
Vanilla Extract: To help enhance all the wonderful flavors in this cookie recipe, use 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Flour: You need 2 ⅓ cups of all-purpose flour for the base of this cookie dough.
Baking soda: To help the cookie rise as they bake, add in 2 teaspoons of baking soda.
Cinnamon: For a great warm spice taste, use 2 teaspoons of cinnamon.
Ginger: Using 1 ½ teaspoons of ground ginger help create the amazing cookie flavor we are aiming for.
Cloves: Adding in 1 teaspoon of ground cloves adds more earthy flavor to these fantastic treats.
Salt: To help balance all the great taste in these cookies, add in ½ teaspoon of salt.
Step by step on how to make Soft Pumpkin Gingersnap Cookies
Cookie dough
In the bowl of a stand mixer or using an electric handheld mixer, beat the softened butter and sugar together until creamy and smooth.
Then, add in the pure pumpkin, molasses, egg, and vanilla extract, mix until well combined.
After that, in a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, ground cloves and salt. Proceed to add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until combined.
Chill
The dough will be fairly sticky, so be sure to REFRIGERATE the cookie dough for at least 1 hour. The dough can be chilled for 2-3 days. I personally think these cookies taste better after the dough has sat in the fridge for a day to allow the flavors to meld!
Bake
When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Then, line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat. Also, place some sugar in a small bowl.
Proceed to roll tablespoon-sized balls of dough and then roll them in the bowl of sugar until well coated, place them on the prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. I like to use Turbinado sugar, it is coarse so the granules of the sugar stand out more. But regular sugar also works well too.
Place the cookie sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cookies look cracked and set at the edges. The cookies will still be soft so let them cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes after removing them from the oven, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Serve and enjoy!
Soft Pumpkin Gingersnap Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar plus more for rolling the cookies
- ½ cup pure pumpkin
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 ½ tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Cookie dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer or using an electric handheld mixer, beat the softened butter and sugar together until creamy and smooth. Then, add in the pure pumpkin, molasses, egg, and vanilla extract, mix until well combined.
- After that, in a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, ground cloves and salt. Proceed to add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until combined.
- Chill: The dough will be fairly sticky, so be sure to REFRIGERATE the cookie dough for at least 1 hour. The dough can be chilled for 2-3 days. I personally think these cookies taste better after the dough has sat in the fridge for a day to allow the flavors to meld!
- Bake: When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Then, line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat. Also, place some sugar in a small bowl.
- Proceed to roll tablespoon-sized balls of dough and then roll them in the bowl of sugar until well coated, place them on the prepared baking sheet, about2 inches apart. I like to use Turbinado sugar, it is coarse so the granules of the sugar stand out more. But regular sugar also works well too.
- Place the cookie sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cookies look cracked and set at the edges. The cookies will still be soft so let them cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes after removing them from the oven, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
HOW DO I STORE GINGER PUMPKIN COOKIES?
You can store these cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 week. That is, if there are any left!
CAN I FREEZE PUMPKIN GINGER COOKIES?
Yes. After the cookies have cooled completely you can transfer to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. When you are ready to enjoy the cookies let them sit on the counter for an hour to come to room temperature.
DO I HAVE TO USE THE GINGER SPICE IN THIS COOKIE RECIPE?
No, you do not have to use this spice if you do not want to. If you want to create just a spiced pumpkin cookie you can omit the ginger and you will still have a wonderful and delicious cookie treat!
Be sure to try a few of our other favorite holiday recipes!
- Homemade Peppermint Patties
- Tiger Butter Fudge
- Chocolate Caramel Bars
- Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups
- Easy Cracker Toffee
- Double No Layer No Bake Pumpkin Pie
- Homemade Almond Joy Bars
- Microwave Pumpkin Spice Caramels
- Tiger Butter Candy
- Chocolate Peppermint Truffles
- Gooey Holiday Chex Mix
- Easy Cracker Toffee
- Marshmallow Chocolate Covered Pretzels
Soft Pumpkin Gingersnap Cookies are delicate, wonderfully spiced cookies made with pure pumpkin and loaded with great flavor. This pumpkin cookie recipe is a nice twist on a traditional treat, perfect for holiday baking.
Dawn says
My grandma used to make the best gingersnap cookies 🙂 I haven't tried pumpkin gingersnaps before.. I'm so pinning this…. Thank you 🙂
Deborah says
I made the pumpkin gingersnaps. I didn’t use as much ginger as it called for because my husband doesn’t care for ginger that much. They are delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Alison says
Thank you Deborah! I am glad less ginger worked well for you and your husband!
Jenn says
Would this work with almond, oat, or coconut flour? These look amazing!
Jessica says
I haven’t tested it with a gluten free flour, Jenn…
Rachel Jagger says
THESE COOKIES BURN LIKE CRAZYYYYY!
Jessica says
Most cookies burn like crazy if you overcook them… have the oven too high…leave them in for too long… or if you use a really cheap cookie sheet, they’re also more likely to burn. None of these things are the recipes fault. 😉
auntie em says
Made these cookies for Thanksgiving this weekend and they were a hit. Followed recipe as shown. I ended up splitting the dough and baking each half over two days. First two pans were chilled for 12 hours. Second two pans for 48 hours. Definitely better if you can chill for longer. The scent and flavour was incredible.
Instead of rolling the last two pans in the sugar I pressed them lightly on the parchment sheet covered cookie sheet with a glass dipped in sugar. A lot less sticky mess! I hate handling dough if at all possible.
Thank you so much for sharing this great recipe. Definitely a keeper! 🙂
Alison says
I’m so glad this was a hit for you and thank you for sharing your tips!
Lise says
These are DELICIOUS! I made them gluten free using a cup for cup blend(Namaste), the flavor was amazing, chilled for 24 hrs. The only thing I can say is they had to be cooked way longer if left as a ball, the last batch I flattened with a fork and they cooked better, but Still needed a good 14-15 min.
Kathy Holst says
Looking Forward to trying these. Where can I find the nutrition info on these cookies?
Nellie says
I added the nutrition info to the recipe card at the bottom, so you should be able to see that now. Thank you!