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If you love pumpkin and cheesecake then bake a batch of the best Easy Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies. They start with a pumpkin cake mix cookie and end with the perfect cheesecake frosting. It is pumpkin season, don’t miss them.
The BEST Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies
The very best part about using pumpkin puree in a cookie is that you know it is going to be soft. So if a soft cookie is what you like, these chewy pumpkin cookies truly have the best texture. These pumpkin chocolate chip cookies do too.
You will love the fact that they are large, thick cookies you can really sink your teeth into. However, the out of this world cheesecake frosting might just be the very best part!
With only three ingredients, this cheesecake frosting comes together easily but tastes gourmet. It also pipes {or spreads} onto the cookie perfectly every single time. This frosting is also added to these Raspberry Cheesecake Cookies.
A sprinkle of cinnamon is all you need to finish these amazingly soft and super delicious Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies that truly are the BEST.
What goes into this Recipe
- Yellow Cake Mix: It is the perfect base for these soft and thick cake mix cookies.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: Make your own pumpkin spice mix or use pumpkin spice from the grocery store. The warm spices bring the fall season to life.
- Pumpkin Puree: Not to be mistaken for pumpkin pie filling.
- Butter: Room temperature butter is the perfect ingredient to bring everything together and help keep the cookies tasting fabulous.
- Cream Cheese: The base for any fabulous cheesecake frosting, room temperature cream cheese mixes into the other ingredients wonderful.
- Marshmallow Fluff: Added for both sweetness and to give the frosting an amazing texture.
- Powdered Sugar: The perfect ingredient to add sweetness without adding the grit other sugars would do.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Chocolate chips! Semi-sweet, milk chocolate or white chocolate chips would all be delicious in this soft pumpkin cheesecake cookie.
- Nuts! Adding chopped pecans or walnuts to this cookie would give it both great flavor and crunch.
- Dried Fruit! Raisins and cranberries would both be great add-in options for this cookie because they pair perfectly with pumpkin.
- Graham Cracker Crumbs! Sprinkle the top of the finished cookies with graham crackers.
- Cinnamon Sugar: A bit of cinnamon sugar on top of each pumpkin cheesecake cookie or giving each unbaked cookie a cinnamon sugar coating would also be fabulous.
How to make Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookie with a Cake Mix
1. Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Combine using an electric mixer to combine the ingredients until you have a thick cookie dough.
2. Use a large cookie scoop to measure out the pumpkin cookie dough. Lightly flour your hands to press cookie dough balls into round discs and place on a silicone mat {or parchment paper} lined baking sheet.
3. Bake pumpkin cake mix cookies for 9-11 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet, then move the cookies to a cooling rack.
4. Once the cookies are completely cooled, pipe {or spread} cheesecake frosting onto the top of each cookie and sprinkle it with cinnamon.
Expert Tips
- Whisk the dry ingredients together. This will ensure that everything is nicely incorporated before adding the pumpkin and butter to the pumpkin cheesecake cookies.
- Be sure that you start with softened butter. Using room temperature ingredients is always important. If you try to add butter that is not soft enough it will add lumps into the batter that are impossible to remove.
- Lightly flour your hands before forming the cookies into discs. The cookie dough is a bit sticky and this will help so much.
- Make sure the cookies are totally cooled before adding the tangy cream cheese frosting. If the cookies are even slightly warm then they will melt the frosting.
Storing and Freezing
Store- The soft pumpkin spice cookies need to be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The cream cheese frosting needs to be refrigerated to stay good and to be honest…these Cheesecake Pumpkin Cookies are fabulous chilled.
Freeze- Yes, these pumpkin cheesecake cookies will freeze well for at least 3 months. They will however freeze much better without the cheesecake frosting.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, to make smaller pumpkin cream cheese cookies use a medium cookie scoop and bake for 8-10 minutes. Follow the rest of the recipe as directed. It will yield 22-24 small cookies. You may also like these cream cheese-filled pumpkin cookies!
This is going to depend on the texture of the homemade puree. If your own pumpkin puree is wetter than a can of pumpkin puree then I don’t recommend it. The extra liquid will change the texture of the dough and cookies.
It is important the puree is a bit drier so that the pumpkin cheesecake cake mix cookies have just enough moisture to hold their shape while baking.
It is super easy to make your own pumpkin pie spice and the best part is that it will stay good for a long time.
I have a recipe with all of the information you need for making it in this Pumpkin Pie Spice post.
Do you love pumpkin desserts? Try these amazing recipes…
Did you try this recipe?Leave a ⭐️ review below and tag @practicallyhomemade on Pinterest!
Easy Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cookies
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 1 Tablespoon all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 15 ounces pumpkin puree
- ½ cup butter, {softened}
Cheesecake Frosting
- 16 ounces cream cheese, {softened}
- 7 ounces marshmallow fluff
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Topping
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
Pumpkin Cookies
- In a medium bowl combine the yellow cake mix, all purpose flour and pumpkin pie spice. Whisk to combine the dry ingredients.
- Add the pumpkin puree and softened butter to the dry ingredients and mix using a hand held {or stand mixer} until you have a thick dough.
- Use a ¼ measuring cup {or large cookie scoop} to measure out dough. Lightly dust your hands with flour and form each dough mound into a large disc. Place 6 onto a silicone mat {or parchment} lined baking sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until set. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet. Continue until all of the dough is baked.
Cheesecake Frosting
- Once the cookies have cooled, combine the softened cream cheese and marshmallow fluff in a medium bowl with a hand held mixer until smooth. Add powdered sugar and mix until you have a creamy frosting.
Assembly
- Once the cookies are completely cooled, add frosting to the piping {or zipper} bag and cut a large triangle from the end {or corner}. Pipe a hearty amount of cheesecake frosting to the top of each cookie, starting on the outside of each cookie and working to the middle. Continue until all of the cookies are frosted.
- Once all of the cookies are frosted, go back and sprinkle the top with a small amount of cinnamon.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Cookies can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. Doing so will ensure that all of the ingredients mix together well.
- Lightly flour your hands before forming the cookies into discs. The cookie dough is a bit sticky and this will help so much.
- Make sure the cookies are totally cooled before adding the tangy cream cheese frosting. If the cookies are even slightly warm then they will melt the frosting.
- Chocolate chips! Semi-sweet, milk chocolate or white chocolate chips would all be delicious in this soft pumpkin cookie.
- Nuts! Adding chopped pecans or walnuts to this cookie would give it both great flavor and crunch.
- Dried Fruit! Raisins and cranberries would both be great add-in options for this cookie because they pair perfectly with pumpkin.
- Graham Cracker Crumbs! Sprinkle the top of the finished cookies with graham crackers.
- Cinnamon Sugar: A bit of cinnamon sugar on top of each cookie or giving each unbaked cookie a cinnamon sugar coating would also be fabulous.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
