Chewy Pumpkin Cookies with Fresh Milled Flour and Brown Butter Icing

These pumpkin cookies scream fall! They're chewy but still have a soft inside that reminds you of cookie-dough-like consistency. The fresh milled flour, pumpkin, and warm fall spices come together with a brown butter icing for the perfect balance of spice and nuttiness. Deep flavor for a deeply enjoyable cookie.

Why You'll Love These Chewy Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Icing

• Chewy, cookie-dough texture, not cakey. Creaming the dough in two stages — butter and sugar, then egg, vanilla, and pumpkin — is what keeps these chewy instead of soft and bready.
• Made with fresh milled flour. A blend of soft white and hard red wheat gives the cookies structure without losing that chewy bite.
• Warm fall spice in every bite. Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger make these taste like the season.
• A brown butter icing drizzle. Just enough nutty sweetness on top without overpowering the spiced cookie underneath.

Fall makes me want to bake. As soon as the weather turns cooler, nothing feels better than spending time in the kitchen making something a little extra special, and these cookies are exactly that! Their perfect balance of spices warms you from the inside out, and the brown butter icing tastes like sitting beside the fire. A cozy bake for this cozy time of year.

I use a blend of soft white and hard red wheat berries for this recipe. The pumpkin puree gives these cookies their fall flavor, but its moisture works against the dough's structure. This is where the hard red wheat comes in to make up the difference because of its higher protein and gluten structure.

This recipe leans on the same fresh milled flour flavors as some of my other favorite fall bakes, like these Fresh Milled Flour Pumpkin Muffins with Streusel Topping and this Pumpkin Bread with Fresh Milled Flour.

Ingredients

Cookies

• Wheat berries, half soft white and half hard red —a blend is used in this recipe to give this cookie the perfect chewy texture despite the pumpkin puree's moisture weakening the cookie's structure.
• Butter, softened — creamed with the sugar for richness and structure.
• Brown sugar — the molasses flavor plays off the fall spices so well.
• Egg — adds richness and helps bind the dough.
• Vanilla extract — rounds out the warm spices.
• Pumpkin puree — adds moisture and fall flavor.
• Cornstarch — helps keep the cookies soft and chewy.
• Baking powder and baking soda — give the cookies their lift.
• Salt — balances the sweetness.
• Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger — the warm spice blend that makes these taste like fall.

Brown Butter Icing

• Butter — browned for a nutty, toasted flavor.
• Powdered sugar — sweetens and thickens the icing.
• Milk or cream — thins the icing to a drizzle consistency.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Step 1: Mill the Flour

Mill all the wheat berries into flour using a home grain mill (soft white and hard red wheat berries).

Step 2: Cream the Butter and Sugar

In a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar with a mixer for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.

Step 3: Cream in the Egg, Vanilla, and Pumpkin

Add the egg, vanilla extract, and pumpkin puree. Cream again for a full 2 minutes until light and fluffy. This is what gives the cookies their soft, cookie-dough texture, so don't be tempted to rush it!

Step 4: Mix in the Dry Ingredients and Spices

Gently mix in the milled flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger until no dry flour remains. Be careful not to overmix. Cover and rest the dough in the fridge for 15 minutes while the oven preheats.

Step 5: Preheat and Scoop

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Once preheated, scoop the dough into balls on the prepared sheet.

Step 6: Bake

Bake for 10–12 minutes, until puffy with edges just set.

Step 7: Rest and Cool

Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for 10 minutes to finish setting, then move to a wire rack and cool completely before icing.

Step 8: Brown the Butter

While the cookies are baking, melt the butter for the icing in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat, swirling often, until it foams and then turns golden-amber with a nutty smell. This takes about 3–5 minutes. Watch closely as it can go from browned to burnt fast.

Step 9: Make the Icing

Remove from heat and let cool slightly before pouring into a bowl and whisking with the powdered sugar and milk (or cream) until smooth. If it's too thick to drizzle, add more milk a teaspoon at a time; if too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar.

Step 10: Drizzle and Set

Drizzle the icing over the fully cooled cookies with a spoon or piping bag. Let sit 15–20 minutes for the icing to set before storing.

Hint: Watch the butter closely once it starts foaming, as it can go from brown to burnt very quickly, so pull it the moment it turns golden-amber and smells nutty. You'll want to use a light-colored saucepan so you can see when the milk solids start to brown.

Substitutions

• Wheat berries — No hard red wheat berries? No problem! Feel free to swap with hard white, kamut, or spelt. These substitutes have similar protein as hard red and should perform similarly in this cookie.
• Milk or cream — a dairy-free milk should work fine in the icing; texture may vary slightly.

If you try one of these swaps, let me know in the comments how it turns out! It helps other bakers know what to expect.

Equipment

• Grain mill for milling your own flour (I have a Wondermill)
• Mixing bowls
• Measuring cups & spoons
• Stand or hand mixer
• Cookie sheet
• Parchment paper
• Cookie scoop
• Light-colored saucepan (for browning butter)
• Wire rack
• Piping bag or spoon (for the icing)

Storage

Store iced cookies covered at room temperature for 2–3 days.

To make ahead, freeze the cookies without icing and add the brown butter icing after they thaw.

FAQ

Related

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Chewy Pumpkin Cookies with Fresh Milled Flour and Brown Butter Icing

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Chewy pumpkin cookies made with fresh milled flour and topped with a brown butter icing — thick, spiced, and never cakey.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

Servings: 32 cookies

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

Cookies

•  
  1 cup butter, softened
•  
  2 cups brown sugar, packed
•  
  1 egg
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
•  
  ½ cup pumpkin puree
•  
  500 g wheat berries half soft white and half hard red wheat
•  
  2 teaspoon cornstarch
•  
  1 teaspoon baking powder
•  
  1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
•  
  1 tablespoon cinnamon
•  
  ½ teaspoon cloves
•  
  ½ teaspoon nutmeg
•  
  ¼ teaspoon ginger

Brown Butter Icing

•  
  3 tablespoon butter
•  
  1½ cups powdered sugar
•  
  2.5 tablespoon milk or cream if too thick, add a teaspoon at a time until it is the right texture to drizzle over the cookies

Equipment

• grain mill
• Stand or hand mixer
• Mixing bowls
• Measuring cups & spoons
• Cookie scoop
• Cookie sheet
• Parchment paper
• Light-colored saucepan (for browning butter)
• Wire rack
• Piping bag or spoon (for the icing)

Method

 

1. Mill the wheat berries into flour using a home grain mill — half soft white wheat and half hard red wheat.
   500 g wheat berries
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar with a mixer for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
   1 cup butter, softened, 2 cups brown sugar, packed
3. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and pumpkin puree. Cream again for a full minute until light and fluffy — this step is what gives the cookies their soft, cookie-dough texture, so don't rush it.
   1 egg, 2 tsp vanilla extract, ½ cup pumpkin puree
4. Gently mix in the milled flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger until no dry flour remains, being careful not to overmix. Cover and rest the dough in the fridge for 15 minutes while the oven preheats.
   500 g wheat berries, 2 tsp cornstarch, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp cinnamon, ½ tsp cloves, ½ tsp nutmeg, ¼ tsp ginger
5. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Once preheated, scoop the dough into balls on the prepared sheet.
6. Bake for 10–12 minutes, until puffy with edges just set.
7. Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for 10 minutes to finish setting, then move to a wire rack and cool completely before icing.
8. While the cookies are baking, melt the butter for the icing in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat, swirling often, until it foams and then turns golden-amber with a nutty smell. This takes about 3–5 minutes. Watch closely as it can go from browned to burnt fast.
   3 tbsp butter
9. Remove from heat and let cool slightly before pouring into a bowl and whisking with the powdered sugar and milk (or cream) until smooth. If it's too thick to drizzle, add more milk a teaspoon at a time; if too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar.
   1½ cups powdered sugar, 2.5 tbsp milk or cream
10. Drizzle the icing over the fully cooled cookies with a spoon or piping bag. Let sit 15–20 minutes for the icing to set before storing.

Notes

Make sure to bake these cookies on a light baking sheet with parchment paper and to pull when the cookies are puffy and just barely set! Let them continue to bake on the warm cookie sheet for 10 minutes after they've been pulled from the oven. This will give them the perfect chewy texture. If you wait to pull them after they've finished baking they'll be overbaked once they've cooled.

Watch the butter closely once it starts foaming, as it can go from brown to burnt very quickly, so pull it the moment it turns golden-amber and smells nutty. You'll want to use a light-colored saucepan so you can see when the milk solids start to brown.

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Let us know how it was!