10 Pumpkin Cookie Recipes You'll Want To Bake Year-Round

Are you a pumpkin head? No, not that evil creature from the 1988 horror movie of the same name, and not the headless horseman, but just a regular person who wants everything pumpkin? You’ve already dived into pumpkin desserts, pumpkin breads, pumpkin muffins and the kinds of things you can cook when you have a can of pumpkin puree on hand, so that leaves one major category untapped: cookies! Which is a real oversight, because what’s better than single-serve doses of pumpkin that are small enough that you can eat several at once? Here are some of our favorites, so get carving and get baking.

A nice cakey pumpkin cookie, counterbalanced by cream cheese frosting and given a crunchy pecan crown? That will definitely do the trick! These are only missing ground ginger from the classic pumpkin pie spice profile, which results in a subtly mellower take on the flavor that amps up the notes of brown sugar and maple syrup.

These crisp but chewy cookies look homey on the outside, but take a bite to find their incredible striped interiors. The effect comes from folding together a pumpkin cookie batter with a sugar cookie batter. The glaze also carries the essence of pumpkin pie spice, so these are a real fall tour de force.

We love how these almost look like a photo negative (remember those?) of the chocolate-kiss-topped thumbprint cookies that you see around Christmas. Here, they get a kiss of cream cheese frosting to tango with those pumpkin spices. A dusting of cinnamon, rather than the usual powdered sugar, completes the effect.

Yes to pumpkin and chocolate, if you haven’t gotten the memo. Whether you crave chocolate chip cookies with a little twist or pumpkin cookies with a little twist, these qualify. These will win the Election Day bake sale.

These are ideal for that period between Halloween and Thanksgiving (oh, okay, or Halloween and New Year’s) for those who aren’t ready to cede pumpkin to more wintry flavors. Layered together are gingerbread and pumpkin, which actually make perfect sense as a pair, although you rarely see it. The cream cheese drizzle gives them a little tang and looks very cute once you cut them into bars.

We love a savory fried ravioli, so why shouldn’t sweet get in on the fun? These are stuffed with pumpkin butter, which will remain deliciously molten and silky even after a trip through the deep-fryer. A dusting of pumpkin pie spice powdered sugar really seals the deal.

These aren’t quite pumpkin pie in cookie form, more like a true hybrid between sugar cookie and pumpkin pie. The cookies, aside from their pumpkin pie spice, stay true to a classic sugar cookie, then get thumbprints added to them halfway through baking. Once cooled, the thumbprints get filled with a creamy pumpkin filling and topped with a crunchy, brown-sugary crumble. It’s giving peak fall.

The oats and oat flour contribute a comforting toasted-nut-note in these gluten-free cookies from Silvana Nardone, a pioneer in GF baking. The dried cranberries liven up the consistency and add hits of sweet-sour. If you want to try your hand at making your own GF flour, you can be sure her recipe is a good one.

These are for the texture fiends, but don’t forget that with the quinoa and oatmeal come added healthful qualities, namely, protein and fiber! Pepitas and dried cranberries get in on the texture party, adding crunch and chewy sour hits, respectively. Best thing about these cookies? We think they can qualify as breakfast or energy bites, too.