How to Make the Cutest Pumpkin Spice Cookies
I’d like to introduce you to one of my favorite fall cookies: Pumpkin Wedding Cookies! The delicate, melt-in-your-mouth cookie texture you love in a classic wedding cookie, but with a delicious fall pumpkin spice twist.
They’re buttery, tender, filled with pecans, and flavored with pumpkin pie spice. A little orange food coloring gives them their adorable pumpkin color, and a pepita pressed into the top makes them look just like tiny pumpkins.
These cookies are based on my classic Snowball Cookie Recipe, also known as Mexican Wedding Cookies, Italian Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes, or simply Wedding Cookies. There are plenty of names for them, but you probably know exactly which cookie I mean: that tender, buttery cookie filled with nuts that practically melts in your mouth.
And now that classic cookie has a pumpkin makeover.
The recipe itself is very similar to my chocolate version. Instead of chocolate, I use pumpkin pie spice for that warm fall flavor, plus a few drops of orange food coloring to give the cookies their pumpkin color. Chopped pecans add a little crunch and complement the pumpkin flavor perfectly.
My favorite part: pressing a little pepita (roasted shelled pumpkin seed) into the top of each cookie. It is such a simple detail, but it makes these cookies look like tiny pumpkins!
Adorable enough for a Thanksgiving dessert table, but don’t save them just for Thanksgiving. These are wonderful all through the fall season and would be right at home on a Christmas cookie tray or at a cookie exchange, too.
Do you have to roll Pumpkin Wedding Cookies in powdered sugar?
No! I left the powdered sugar coating off these cookies because I wanted the beautiful pumpkin color to show. However, you absolutely can roll them in powdered sugar if you prefer.
Roll them in powdered sugar while they are still warm, you’ll get that classic Wedding Cookie look with a sweet, snowy coating. They are delicious either way.
Why you’ll love these Pumpkin Wedding Cookies
• They taste like pumpkin pie thanks to pumpkin pie spice and pecans.
• They look like little pumpkins without needing any complicated decorating.
• They are tender and buttery with that classic melt in your mouth Wedding Cookie texture.
• They are easy to make using the same basic dough as my other Wedding Cookie recipes.
• They are perfect for fall baking, Thanksgiving, Christmas cookie trays, and cookie exchanges.
Honestly, the cutest part is that they don’t need much decorating at all. The orange color and little pepita stem do all the work.
These are the kind of cookies that make people smile before they even take a bite. Then they taste one and realize they’re not just cute. They’re really, really good.
When food colored cookie dough bakes, it lightens in color, adjust the amount of color in the cookies accordingly.
More Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups butter
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 3 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 cups chopped pecans
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla
- orange food coloring Orange Americolor
- pepitas, shelled roasted salted pumpkin seeds
Instructions
- In a medium bowl with a mixer beat butter with powdered sugar until smooth.
- Add flour, salt, pumpkin pie spice, nuts, and vanilla, and orange food coloring, mix until incorporated.
- Roll into balls.
- I use a tablespoon size scoop.
- Place a pumpkin seed (pepita) into the top of each cookie
- Bake at 325 for 15 minutes.
- Alternatively you can roll them into powdered sugar if you want to keep the orange color pumpkin a secret!
Look so nice. I will try to cook it.
Looks delicious. Would love for you to share this with us over at foodepix.com.
Love these, and great idea to add pumpkin flavor to cookies that are so tender. I bet these are winners!
I love the wedding cookie recipe and you are so smart to have created this pumpkin cookie recipe from it. They are very cute and I’m sure…totally irresistible!
I made two new recipes using the wedding cookie as the base, next one should be up next week 🙂
adorable pumpkin cookies! so cute!
So stinkin cute!! You come up with the best ideas!
These look amazing! I have never had a melt in your mouth pumpkin cookie……yum!
yum yum!! this looks SOO good!!!
I’ve been on a pumpkin kick lately (along with the rest of the world) so I’ll definitely be trying these! I love mexican wedding cookies, so I can’t wait to try this variation!
I want to make these!
Mmm, I love melt-in-your-mouth cookies. The fact that these contain pumpkin makes them even more amazing!
Ha, what a GREAT idea!
We adore Italian wedding cookies. What a great idea to make a version with pumpkin. A pop-in-your mouth treat that I’m sure is full of flavor.
Super cute cookies!
YUM!! These look delicious. I may just have to try these this weekend. Hope you have a great one!
What a GOOD idea, D!!!
So cute! I love the little pumpkin seed stems.