Pumpkin Pudding Cookies
Welcome back to Episode 3 of The Great Pumpkin Cake Series
If you’ve been following along, you already know we’re building The Great Pumpkin Cake piece by piece — each episode sharing a component that you can use on its own or as part of the final, show-stopping cake.
Today we’re making one of my favorite parts:
Soft, plush Pumpkin Pudding Cookies.
They’re thick, tender, and unbelievably cozy — thanks to a little secret ingredient that keeps them soft for days: instant vanilla pudding mix.
These cookies stand perfectly on their own, but they also play a key role in the final pumpkin cake, adding texture, warmth, and a nostalgic fall flavor.
Before we jump in, you can also check out the other recipes in this series:
→ Episode 1: Pumpkin Cake Layers
→ Episode 2: No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling
→ Episode 4: Marshmallow Frosting + Cinnamon Buttercream
→ Episode 5: The Great Pumpkin Cake
Why You’ll Love These Cookies
- Soft, thick, plush texture — never cakey, never dry.
- The pudding mix keeps them tender for days.
- Real pumpkin flavor without excess moisture weighing them down.
- Perfect fall cookie for gifting, snacking, or your holiday dessert table.
- Doubles as a component for The Giant Pumpkin Cake.
- Rolled in a pumpkin-spice sugar.
- You can make mini (like I did) or normal size cookies.
Ingredient Highlights
- Pumpkin Purée: the KEY to preventing cakey or gummy cookies. Measuring after draining ensures the dough stays thick and scoopable.
- Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix (dry): adds moisture, plushness, and that iconic bakery-cookie chew.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend: warm, cozy, and balanced — cinnamon + nutmeg + ginger + allspice.
Step Overview
- Cream butter + sugars until fluffy.
- Mix in pumpkin, egg yolk, and vanilla.
- Add pudding mix, then dry ingredients.
- Scoop, roll, and coat in pumpkin-spice sugar.
- Bake until just set — centers should look slightly underdone.
- Cool & enjoy incredibly soft fall cookies.
There’s something about pumpkin cookies that just feels like fall — the warmth, the spice, the softness straight out of the oven. These are the kind you make once and immediately add to your yearly baking lineup. Serve them warm, share them with friends, or save a batch for our giant pumpkin cake… either way, they’re the kind of cookies that disappear fast.
Pumpkin Pudding Cookies (Episode 3: The Great Pumpkin Cake Series)
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Beat 170 g softened butter (¾ cup) with
- 100 g brown sugar (½ cup) and 75 g granulated sugar (⅓ cup)
- for 2 minutes until pale and fluffy.
- Mix in
- 60 g drained pumpkin (¼ cup),
- 1 egg yolk (18 g),
- and 10 g vanilla (2 tsp).
- Beat 30 seconds until glossy.
- Beat in 96 g vanilla pudding mix (dry) just until combined.
- Whisk together:
- 250 g flour (2 cups)
- 3 g baking soda (½ tsp)
- 1 g baking powder (¼ tsp)
- 3 g salt (¾ tsp)
- 4 g pumpkin spice (1½ tsp)
- Add to bowl in two additions; mix until a soft, slightly tacky dough forms.
- Scoop 20 g (≈ 1 Tbsp) portions. (Or 40g (≈ 2 Tbsp) portions.
- Roll into a smooth ball, then roll in pumpkin-spice sugar.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Bake 10–12 minutes until tops look matte and edges are just set.
- Let cool on the pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack.
Notes
Tips & Tricks
The Pumpkin Rule:- Always measure the 60 g of pumpkin after draining.
- If you don’t drain, cookies will:
- Pull cookies when the centers look slightly underdone — they finish baking on the hot sheet.
Storage
- Room Temp: 3–4 days in an airtight container.
- Freeze Baked Cookies: Up to 2 months (layer with parchment).
- Rewarm: 10 seconds in the microwave for that fresh-baked texture.
- Freeze the Dough: Scoop, freeze on a tray, then bag — bake from frozen +2 minutes.
