These brown butter pumpkin sugar cookies are a soft pumpkin sugar cookie with a little extra flavor from the brown butter, topped with a cinnamon brown sugar frosting that tastes like heaven. They’re the perfect Fall cookie!
BROWN BUTTER PUMPKIN SUGAR COOKIES
I don’t know if there is anything I love more than pumpkin season. I have always been drawn to all the Fall baked goods filled with warm spices and making you feel all cozy inside. These brown butter pumpkin sugar cookies are no exception. I am sure they will become a staple Fall recipe once you’ve tried them.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
- Brown Butter
- Coconut or vegetable oil
- Powdered Sugar
- Granulated Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Pumpkin Puree
- Salt
- Cream of Tartar
- Baking Soda
- Pumpkin Pie Spice
- Flour
- Butter
- Brown Sugar
- Milk
- Cinnamon
HOW TO MAKE BROWN BUTTER PUMPKIN SUGAR COOKIES
- Start by browning the butter. You’ll take 1/2 cup of butter and melt in a medium saucepan, and then continue to cook past the point of boiling. You will do this over medium heat, past the point of the butter foaming, until it turns a nice golden brown, and has a nutty smell. Make sure you are stirring and watching it, because it will turn from perfectly brown to burnt fairly quickly. Once finished browning, pour into a bowl and put back in the fridge to solidify again. You will want it to become a soft solid again to start the cookie dough. This should take about an hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place browned butter, oil and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add eggs one at a time, mix until smooth on low speed, about 30 seconds each egg. Beat in the vanilla and pumpkin.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together salt, cream of tartar, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and flour. Add flour mixture to bowl and mix on low, being careful not to overmix. I usually like to stop mixing when I still have flour remnants around the bowl.
- Scoop the dough into large balls. I like to use a ¼ cup cookie scoop.
- Place 8 cookie balls on your baking sheet. Flatten cookie balls with a glass until they are about ½ inch thick. I like to spray the bottom of my glass with cooking spray and dip in sugar before flattening. Bake the cookies for 10-11 minutes. You’re looking for a light golden brown outside rim. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
TO MAKE CINNAMON BROWN SUGAR FROSTING
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and brown sugar together and let come to a boil.
- Pour mixture into a medium bowl and add milk, powdered sugar and cinnamon. Whisk together until smooth.
- Frost cookies with a good helping of frosting!
HOW BEST TO STORE COOKIES
I have found that these cookies taste best cold from the fridge. So I usually let the frosting completely set and then I put them in a ziplock bag or an airtight container and store them in the fridge. They will keep in there for 3-4 days fresh, or you can put them in the freezer to keep longer. Because of the texture of these soft cookies you can even eat them straight from the freezer.
FROSTING OPTIONS
This cinnamon brown sugar frosting is sweet and really compliments these brown butter sugar cookies, but if you would prefer a basic buttercream or cream cheese frosting would also work great with these.
If you’re looking for other Fall recipes make sure and try my Apple Fritter Bread.
For more yummy treats follow me on instagram @thesaltedsweets. And be sure to tag me and comment below if you make them and love them as much as I do.
Brown Butter Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
These brown butter pumpkin sugar cookies are a soft pumpkin sugar cookie with a little extra flavor from the brown butter, topped with a cinnamon brown sugar frosting that tastes like heaven. They're the perfect Fall cookie!
Ingredients
Brown Butter Sugar Cookies:
- ½ cup brown butter solidified
- ½ cup coconut oil any vegetable oil will work
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temp
- 2 tsp vanilla
- ½ cup pumpkin puree, not pie filling
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
Brown Sugar Frosting:
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup milk
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
Instructions
To make cookies:
- Start by browning the butter. You'll take ½ cup of butter and melt in a medium saucepan, and then continue to cook past the point of boiling. You will do this over medium heat, past the point of the butter foaming, until it turns a nice golden brown, and has a nutty smell. Make sure you are stirring and watching it, because it will turn from perfectly brown to burnt fairly quickly. Once finished browning, pour into a bowl and put back in the fridge to solidify again. You will want it to become a soft solid again to start the cookie dough. This should take about an hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place browned butter, oil and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add eggs one at a time, mix until smooth on low speed, about 30 seconds each egg. Beat in the vanilla and pumpkin.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together salt, cream of tartar, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and flour. Add flour mixture to bowl and mix on low, being careful not to overmix. I usually like to stop mixing when I still have flour remnants around the bowl.
- Scoop the dough into large balls. I like to use a ¼ cup cookie scoop.
- Place 8 cookie balls on your baking sheet. Flatten cookie balls with a glass until they are about ½ inch thick. I like to spray the bottom of my glass with cooking spray and dip in sugar before flattening. Bake the cookies for 10-11 minutes. You're looking for a light golden brown outside rim. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
To make frosting:
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and brown sugar together and let come to a boil.
- Pour mixture into a medium bowl and add milk, powdered sugar and cinnamon. Whisk together until smooth. Frost cookies with a good helping of frosting!
Notes
These cookies are more of a cake like cookie, not a traditional crispy on the outside type of cookie.
For some reason I prefer these cookies to be chilled before eating. It is not necessary to chill them, but might be worth a try for you to see if that’s how you prefer them too! Just place them in an airtight container after the frosting has set and they should keep fresh in there for 3-4 days, or in the freezer for longer.
It is best for butter, eggs and milk to be at room temperature before starting to mix.
If you would rather use a regular buttercream frosting you can omit the brown sugar and add a little vanilla to the recipe.
I have given both cups and grams as measurements. Grams will be more precise, especially when measuring flour. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, no problem! Just lightly spoon flour into your measuring cup to insure its not packed in there. Light and fluffy is the key.
Nutrition
Calories: 460kcalCarbohydrates: 69gProtein: 4gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 14gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 54mgSodium: 205mgPotassium: 86mgFiber: 1gSugar: 44gVitamin A: 1587IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 26mgIron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
These turned out great!! I’m not sure I browned the butter correctly… it turned a dark colour but once it was in the fridge the darker bits had settled to the bottom and the rest of the butter looked a normal yellow colour. Did I cook it too long? Not long enough? Too high of a temp? I used it in the cookies anyways and they turned out yummy!!
You want the butter to turn out as a golden brown, and yes there will be a bunch of dark little bits at the bottom. Those are so yummy and should also be used. It’ll separate somewhat, but once it all mixes together its great. Glad you liked them. It sounds like you did it right!
I made these for a recipe night and they were so yummy! The frosting and the cookie are perfect compliments. I will definitely be making these again.
Thanks so much Kelsey! I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
The flavor on these were great still giving a 4 star, but the texture was a little cakey for me. I prefer my sugar cookies crisp on the outside and slightly doughy on the inside. I tried cooking them at three different times to see if that helped, but the dough itself was the issue I think. The frosting was amazing though!
Thanks Laura, yes these are more of a thick cake like sugar cookie, and the flavors seems to come out more when they are refrigerated. Glad you enjoyed the frosting!!
Do you think I could make the frosting in advance? just by a few hours, but I’m worried that maybe putting it in the fridge would make it hard to use later
absolutely! I keep some of the frosting stored in my freezer and just pull it out and let it thaw before using. Just let it get to room temp again before frosting and you’ll be good!
Made these cookies yesterday and frosted them today. They are delicious! The frosting puts these cookies over the top. So good.
I totally agree!! The frosting is so good and perfect for this cookie.
These were yummy & tasted how I expected them too. They are definitely sweet & a perfect pumpkin treat! My family loved them.
Thanks so much Anna! Appreciate you trying them and leaving a review!
Loved these! They were a hit at a potluck and so good to eat all week. They softened to the sugar cookie texture overnight after I frosted them which was perfect!