Recipes and Cooking Pumpkin Cookies with Candied Pepitas Be the first to rate & review! Chilling the dough for these helps it firm up and keeps the pumpkin cookies from spreading too much during baking. It also makes the dough easier to handle. By Juliana Hale Juliana Hale Juliana Hale is a senior culinary specialist in the Better Homes & Gardens Test Kitchen with 20 years of experience in recipe testing and development. She works closely with AllRecipes, Forks Over Knives, Midwest Living, and Traditional Home overseeing testing in the test kitchen for those titles. Juli is an expert in all fields of cooking, but is particularly geeky about mixology and has taught her class, Fun with Sours, to internal staff and the AllRecipes Allstars. She holds an associate's degree in culinary arts and a bachelor's degree in food and beverage service management from the New England Culinary Institute. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Published on October 5, 2021 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Brie Passano Hands On Time: 30 mins Chill Time: 30 mins Bake Time: 13 mins Total Time: 1 hrs 13 mins Servings: 48 Jump to Nutrition Facts Ingredients 3 ½ cup all-purpose flour 3 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt 1 ½ cup packed brown sugar ½ cup vegetable oil 1 egg 1 tablespoon vanilla ¾ cup canned pumpkin ½ teaspoon orange zest 2 8 ounce pkg. cream cheese, softened ⅔ cup powdered sugar 1 recipe Candied Pepitas Directions In a medium bowl, combine flour, 1 tsp. of the pumpkin pie spice, the baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl beat brown sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla with a mixer on medium to high until combined. Stir in pumpkin and orange zest. Beat in flour mixture until combined. Divide the dough in half. Roll one dough portion between two sheets of parchment paper to 1/8 inch thick. Transfer to a baking sheet and chill 30 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough. Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove top sheet of parchment from each dough half. Use 2- to 2 1/2-inch pumpkin-shape or round cutters to cut dough, dipping cutters in flour to prevent sticking. Place cutouts 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheets. Reroll scraps once between sheets of parchment paper and chill 30 minutes before cutting. Bake 13 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove; cool on a wire rack. For icing, in a medium bowl beat cream cheese with a mixer on medium 30 seconds. Add powdered sugar and remaining 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice. Beat until light and fluffy. Spoon icing into a decorating bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe icing onto center of each cookie. Top with Candied Pepitas. Candied Pepitas In a 6-inch heavy skillet heat 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar and 1/8 tsp. salt over medium-high heat, shaking skillet several times to heat sugar evenly (do not stir). Heat until some of the sugar is melted and syrupy. Begin to stir only the melted sugar to keep it from overbrowning, blending in remaining sugar as it melts. Reduce heat to low. Continue to cook and stir until all of the sugar is melted and golden. Stir in 1 tsp. butter. Add 1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas) to the skillet, stirring to coat. Transfer to a sheet of greased foil. While mixture is still warm, use two forks to separate into clusters. Cool completely. To Store Layer unfrosted or unfilled cookies between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container. Store at room temperature up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months. Frost or fill cookies after thawing. Rate it Print Nutrition Facts (per serving) 139 Calories 7g Fat 17g Carbs 2g Protein Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label Nutrition Facts Servings Per Recipe 48 Calories 139 % Daily Value * Total Fat 7g 9% Saturated Fat 2g 10% Cholesterol 14mg 5% Sodium 78mg 3% Total Carbohydrate 17g 6% Total Sugars 9g Protein 2g Vitamin C 0.3mg 2% Calcium 20mg 2% Iron 0.8mg 4% Potassium 61mg 1% Folate, total 19.9mcg *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.