Pumpkin spice sugar cookies in the shape of pumpkins. Is there anything better? How about when they’re covered in cream cheese frosting and festive M&Ms? That’s better.
Ever since I can remember my mom and I have always baked sugar cookies together for Christmas. You know, those made from scratch, roll and cut out cookies that are fluffy, yet slightly crispy on the edges? I have always loved those cookies and the memories they bring along with them.
The cookie dough has to chill overnight so that it can be rolled out into their delicious little shapes. Sometimes I love to sneak a little bite of the cookie dough from the fridge while it’s chilling. Okay, let’s be honest, I always sneak a bite {or 5} from the fridge while the dough chills. It’s just that good.
Because I really didn’t want to wait until Christmas to recreate these cookies, I thought it would be super appropriate to sub in Pumpkin Pie Spice in place of the traditional nutmeg. I mean, nutmeg is one of the ingredients that makes up pumpkin pie spice, so I’m still doing these cookies justice. And once again, while I was making this pumpkin pie spice sugar cookie dough I was taken back to childhood and of course started sneaking small bites from the refrigerator.
I found these adorable pumpkin and bat shaped cookie cutters from Target for just $2. Two Dollars! They were just crying out to me {while in the candy aisle, trying so hard to avoid it all} to buy them and make pumpkin spice sugar cookies. So of course I had to pick them up! And while in the in the candy aisle I picked up some fall M&Ms and some cream cheese frosting. My mom is going to be disappointed when she reads this because we always make homemade frosting together. But because I wanted to spend more time decorating cookies with little chocolate covered candies, I opted for store bought frosting {oh the horror! ??}.
The dough for these cookies is really fairly simple to pull together. Start with traditional dry ingredients, including pumpkin pie spice. Then cut butter into slices and add it to the dry ingredients. Using either using a pastry blender
{a “fancy” hand held tool that cuts the butter into dry ingredients to make it smaller}, your hands or a fork.
In a separate bowl, mix together the good stuff, i.e. sugar, milk, vanilla, eggs. Add it to the butter flour mixture and stir until a nice {super tasty} dough comes together.
Now here’s the hard part. Wrap up that buttery, sugary, sugar cookie dough and place it in the refrigerator. I always start to feel like the cat from ‘Secret Life of Pets’ who keeps opening the refrigerator trying to keep herself from actually eating the turkey. But replace the turkey with pumpkin spice sugar cookie dough. Cue the head banging on the refrigerator shelf.
Pull what’s left of the dough out of the fridge and lightly flour a work surface. I love using this pastry mat
and this beautiful marble rolling pin
. Lightly flour the top of the dough to keep it from sticking the to rolling pin and roll until it’s about 1/8″ thick. Now use your cute little cookie cutters to cut out the pumpkins and bats. They only take 5 minutes to bake, which is awesome because then you are so close to fluffy, melt in your mouth pumpkin spice sugar cookies.
Once cooled, use your store bought {or props to you if you made your own} frosting and decorate those cute little cookies just the way you like. I used the M&Ms in all sorts of patterns. I also had an orange gel icing pen and a black one where I could draw some additional shapes on the cookies.
If you’re willing to share these cookies with everyone else, good for you! If not, put the remainder of the cookies in an airtight container with wax paper in between and pop in the freezer. Then just pull out and let thaw until soft. Or like me, just eat them straight from the freezer!
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 cup {1 stick} cold butter, cubed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp. milk of choice
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla
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In a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder and soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice.
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Cut the butter into the flour mixture using either a pastry blender, your fingers or a fork until it becomes pea sized.
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In a separate bowl, beat the egg. Add in the sugar, milk and vanilla. Stir to combine.
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Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir until the dough forms.
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Place the dough on a piece of saran wrap and wrap up. Place in the refrigerator to chill for 5 hours, or overnight.
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Preheat oven to 375°F.
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Roll the dough out and cut circles out of the dough for your pumpkin shape {bonus points if you have a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter}.
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Bake the cookies for 5 minutes, remove and cool.
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Frost the cookies with store bought white or orange frosting {even more bonus points if you make your own}.
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Lay the orange M&Ms on the frosting to create the pumpkin look. Top with a brown M&M for the stump.
