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    Home » Recipes » Cookies and Biscuits

    Published: Oct 27, 2018 · Modified: Oct 23, 2024 by joskitchenlarder · 42 Comments. · This post may contain affiliate links ·

    Crunchy Pumpkin Cookies

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    Crunchy Pumpkin Cookies

    Crunchy Pumpkin Cookies are beautifully buttery, melt in your mouth and tasting of pumpkin and cinnamon! Perfect cookie with a crunch for any occasion!

    Crunchy Pumpkin Cookies

    These Crunchy Pumpkin Cookies have been the labour of love! You know by now how pumpkin obsessed I am and so far I have been pretty lucky with my pumpkin puree based bakes. They all worked first time! These cookies had different idea!

    The problem was that I wanted to create a crunchy cookie, one with a bit of a snap as majority of pumpkin cookies out there are the soft ones. Instead, all I was getting were cookies that were not even cakey or chewy or soft but kind of on a claggy side - not good!

    Crunchy Pumpkin Cookies

    Needless to say, after some experimentation I finally managed to achieve lovely, buttery, melt in your mouth pumpkin cookies with a bit of a crunch - utterly delicious!

    My initial problem was down to the fact that I underestimated the level of moisture in pumpkin puree, the ratio of butter to flour for that buttery, melt in the mouth consistency and also the role that oven temperature and timings play here. I got there in the end though and couldn't be happier with these little pumpkin cookies now! They are a doddle to make and the dough itself is a pleasure to work with. It isn't sticky at all and rolls out and cuts beautifully!

    Crunchy Pumpkin Cookies

    Tips for baking Crunchy Pumpkin Cookies!

    • Make sure that pumpkin puree you are using is really dry (I couldn't stress it enough)! Even though I'm a huge advocate of making your own puree it might be safer to use tinned version here. Although if you can get your hands on my favourite Hokkaido Pumpkin you should be ok with homemade version (read my tips and tricks on making your own pumpkin puree here).
    • Chilling the dough is quite crucial as it is with majority of buttery cookies/biscuits. 30 min is an absolute minimum but if you can spare it more time please do.
    • Make sure you stick to the ratio of flour to butter and don't try to make these "skinny" as they will simply not work. Trust me, I've tried it!
    • These work best when baked at slightly lower temperature of 170C/325F/Gas Mark 3 and for slightly longer (approx 20 min). Most of us know our ovens well though and as they can be tricky beasts at times, make sure you start watching your cookies from 15 min on to prevent them from getting too coloured.
    • As soon as they're cold transfer them into a tin/box/jar to keep them as fresh and as crunchy as possible for longer! They will keep their crunch for a couple of days but after that they will slowly start going a bit softer (still lovely and melt in your mouth though).

    Crunchy Pumpkin Cookies

    Couple more tips...

    This recipe will give you approx 37 cookies (that's what I got with my pumpkin cutter) and they were gone within a day! Feel free to use any cutter you fancy. We will be making some more of these to share out on Halloween and ghost, bat and witch's hat are waiting at the ready.

    Feel free to decorate these with some icing if you want to! It could be a nice rainy afternoon project with your kids. My lot will not touch any iced cookies or biscuits hence we decided to leave these plain.

    Crunchy Pumpkin Cookies

    How to make Crunchy Pumpkin Cookies?

    • Put all the ingredients in a bowl of food processor and pulse gently until they turn into smooth and silky, orange dough. Turn out onto the kitchen counter, divide dough in half and shape into two flat disks. Wrap them in cling film and put in the fridge for minimum 30 minutes or longer if you can.
    • If you don't have food processor simply sieve your flour, icing sugar and cinnamon into a large bowl and add cold and cubed butter. Rub the butter and flour mixture together with your fingers until they start looking like breadcrumbs. Add remaining ingredients and mix them in with your hand, kneading gently until you reach smooth and silky, orange dough consistency. Proceed as per instructions above.
    Crunchy Pumpkin Cookies
    Crunchy Pumpkin Cookies
    Crunchy Pumpkin Cookies
    • After the dough has had time to chill, take it out of the fridge and onto the floured kitchen surface. Roll it out to the thickness of pound coin and cut the cookie shapes using the cutter of your choice. Re-roll the remaining dough and repeat until you've used up all the dough.
    • Bake your cookies on the baking sheet lined with baking parchment in the oven preheated to 170C/325F/Gas Mark 3 for approx 20 min (keep an eye on them from 15 min on just in case your oven is slightly unpredictable).
    • Transfer baked cookies onto cooling rack and repeat with the remaining ones. Wait for them to cool and enjoy!
    Crunchy Pumpkin Cookies
    Crunchy Pumpkin Cookies
    Crunchy Pumpkin Cookies

    📋 Recipe

    Crunchy Pumpkin Cookies
    Print Pin
    4.74 from 15 votes

    Crunchy Pumpkin Cookies

    Crunchy Pumpkin Cookies are beautifully buttery, melt in your mouth and tasting of pumpkin and cinnamon! Perfect cookie with a crunch for any occasion!
    Course Biscuits / Cookies, Snack, Treat
    Cuisine International
    Keyword biscuits, cookies, crunchy cookies, halloween, pumpkin puree
    Prep Time 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time 20 minutes minutes
    Chilling dough 30 minutes minutes
    Total Time 30 minutes minutes
    Servings 37 cookies
    Calories 83kcal
    Author Jo Allison
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients

    Metric - US Customary
    • 300 g plain flour/ white rye flour/ white spelt flour more for dusting your work surface
    • 200 g unsalted butter cold and cubed
    • 100 g icing sugar
    • 137 g pumpkin puree see notes below
    • 2 egg yolks
    • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
    • zest of ½ orange optional

    Instructions

    • Put all the ingredients in a bowl of food processor and pulse gently until they turn into smooth and silky, orange dough. Turn out onto the kitchen counter, divide dough in half and shape into two flat disks. Wrap them in cling film and put in the fridge for minimum 30 minutes (a bit longer would be even better).
    • If you don't have food processor simply sieve your flour, icing sugar and cinnamon into a large bowl and add cold and cubed butter. Rub the butter and flour mixture together with your fingers until they start looking like breadcrumbs. Add remaining ingredients and mix them in with your hand, kneading gently until you reach smooth and silky, orange dough consistency. Proceed as per instructions above.
    • After the dough has had time to chill, take it out of the fridge and onto the floured kitchen surface. Roll it out to the thickness of pound coin and cut the cookie shapes using the cutter of your choice. Re-roll the remaining dough and repeat until you've used up all the dough. 
    • Bake your cookies on the baking sheet lined with baking parchment in the oven preheated to 170C/325F/Gas Mark 3 for approx 20 min (keep an eye on them from 15 min on just in case your oven is slightly unpredictable). 
    • Transfer baked cookies onto cooling rack and repeat with the remaining ones. Wait for them to cool and enjoy!

    Notes

    • Calories are approximate and per cookie/biscuit.
    • Make sure you use really dry pumpkin puree for this bake. The less moisture the more crunchy and melt in your mouth final result.

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Facts
    Crunchy Pumpkin Cookies
    Amount Per Serving (0 g)
    Calories 83 Calories from Fat 36
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 4g6%
    Saturated Fat 2g10%
    Cholesterol 22mg7%
    Sodium 1mg0%
    Potassium 18mg1%
    Carbohydrates 9g3%
    Fiber 0g0%
    Sugar 2g2%
    Protein 1g2%
    Vitamin A 725IU15%
    Vitamin C 0.2mg0%
    Calcium 5mg1%
    Iron 0.5mg3%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Tried this recipe?Tag me @Joskitchenlarder or use hashtag #joskitchenlarder!

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    Easy Chocolate Gingerbread Biscuits

    Chocolate Shortbread Biscuits with Mini Eggs

    Salted Peanuts & Peanut Butter Millionaire's Shortbread

    Dark Chocolate Cranberry Chestnut Cookies

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    Have you tried my Crunchy Pumpkin Cookies? Leave a comment at the bottom of this post, I love reading them! You can also come and say hello over on my Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest

    Pin Crunchy Pumpkin Cookies for later!

    Crunchy Pumpkin Cookies

    This post has been included in the Twinkl Halloween Guide. Why not have a look at the pumpkin patches available near you for next Halloween?

    Linkies:

    Cook Once Eat Twice  

    *This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on a link and go on to buy the product I recommend, I will get a small commission, but you will not be charged a penny more. I only recommend products I own or really like and which caught my attention. Thanks in advance for supporting Jo’s Kitchen Larder!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      4.74 from 15 votes (1 rating without comment)

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    1. Ally says

      December 04, 2024 at 2:19 am

      5 stars
      I can't thank you enough for this recipe. I have been searching for months for a crunchier, crispy Pumpkin-based cookie. Thank you for all the hard work and research you put into creating this recipe!

      Reply
      • joskitchenlarder says

        December 04, 2024 at 9:22 am

        That's so kind of you Ally.😊 I'm so pleased you are happy with the cookies.

        Reply
    2. Judith says

      December 10, 2023 at 11:59 pm

      5 stars
      I always make half recipes the first time. My first effort I did exactly as written (non-food-processor method) and probably didn't cook them quite long enough because I felt they were a bit doughy. The second try, I doubled the sugar (accidentally used granulated), I used a "flax egg" instead of the two yolks, and used half oil and half butter. I did them the more common way of using my hand-held mixer to beat together the butter/oil, sugar, "egg", and pumpkin, then beating in the flour. Because the dough was quite soft, I decided to put it into a piping bag with a fat decorator's tip and piped them onto the cookie sheets. I sprinkled the tiniest bit of coarse clear decorator's sugar before baking. I used the full cooking time this time and they held their shape and look so pretty. I put two together with a cream cheese icing piped in between for some of them, but plain they're really tasty enough. The pumpkin flavour comes through beautifully. Every Christmas when I have canned pumpkin puree to use up, I try one new pumpkin sugar cookie recipe. I'm so glad I chose this one this year, it's the best yet and definitely will make it onto cookie gift plates!

      Reply
      • joskitchenlarder says

        December 11, 2023 at 9:47 am

        Hi Judith, Thank you so much for your lovely comment. I'm super pleased that you're happy with your recipe choice this year. 🙂 I find it super helpful to get such detailed feedback on my recipes as well as some tips, ingredients substitutes etc. It's great to hear that these cookies work well with the flax egg! I think the softness of the dough might have been down to the use of oil but it sounds as piping the cookies instead of cutting them out works as well which is great. 🙂 Thanks again and I hope you have wonderful Christmas! x

        Reply
        • Judith says

          December 12, 2023 at 12:30 am

          Yes, maybe the avocado oil made the dough ever so slightly softer as I certainly did stick to the weights (thanks to your recipe being given that way) including estimating the amount of "flax egg" to substitute for egg yolk, but the great thing is they hold their shape even with the minor changes. I do think version 2 would've firmed up with fridge chilling as it wasn't much softer than my first unaltered try, and I was probably being a bit impatient or maybe just a bit lazy to not pull out the rolling pin, but they really turned out so pretty, like Danish butter cookies. Today I baked the rest of the dough that I'd left in the piping bag overnight and I made a buttercream/whipping cream icing that is much nicer than my cream cheese icing for the (completely unnecessary) filling between two cookies. My friend loves them both with and without the icing, as do I! Thanks again. I'll be exploring more of your recipes!!

          Reply
          • joskitchenlarder says

            December 12, 2023 at 10:55 am

            Thanks again Judith 🙂 and the cookies sandwiched together with buttercream sound fantastic. Enjoy!

            Reply
    3. Rachel Cochran says

      October 16, 2023 at 10:29 pm

      3 stars
      Not sure what I’ve done to make this happen but my cookies are super duper greasy :/

      Reply
      • joskitchenlarder says

        October 17, 2023 at 11:12 am

        Hi Rachel, Sorry to hear that but I've never found these greasy. Perhaps the ingredients weren't measured accurately?

        Reply
    4. Lisa says

      October 11, 2023 at 1:11 pm

      Hi, I'm looking forward to trying this crunchy pumpkin cookie recipe! Is the 137g weight of.the pumpkin puree before or after water is removed? Thanks!

      Reply
      • joskitchenlarder says

        October 12, 2023 at 9:07 am

        Hi Lisa, It is the amount of dry puree. If you are using canned puree (which I recommend for this recipe), you should be able to use it straight from the tin. Hope that helps. 🙂

        Reply
    5. Melissa says

      October 30, 2022 at 8:11 pm

      5 stars
      Crispy and with lots of pumpkin flavor. I solved the dampness of pumpkin by using 1 cup of my homemade pumpkin butter in the recipe. I also reduced to one egg yolk and 3/4 (from 1 cup) cup icing sugar. Everything else was the same. I baked a about 5 minutes longer. Crispy!
      I also froze these for a week and the dough worked up just fine.

      Cook down 14/15 oz can of plain pumpkin and 1/2 to 1 cup brown sugar mixed in on low heat stirring occasionally. Takes about an hour. I added 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice also. Cool before adding to recipe.

      Reply
      • joskitchenlarder says

        October 31, 2022 at 9:07 am

        Hi Melissa, Thanks so much for lovely feedback and for sharing your tips as well! 🙂

        Reply
    6. Michelle Adams says

      October 16, 2022 at 9:51 pm

      4 stars
      Made these today and followed the recipe exactly. My cookies were beautiful and flat but not completely crisp in the middle. If I make them again I will put the purée in a nut bag and get all the moisture out and I would extend the cooking time just a bit

      Reply
      • joskitchenlarder says

        October 17, 2022 at 1:39 pm

        Hi Michelle, I'm super pleased you've made these! 🙂 Dry pumpkin puree is definitely the way to go. I find tinned puree works best with this particular recipe.

        Reply
    7. Kathryn says

      November 25, 2021 at 12:54 pm

      5 stars
      These were lovely! Not too sweet and Perfect with coffee. I put gold sprinkles on them for Thanksgiving—Served along with Pecan Pie. I made and refrigerated the dough ahead of time. This recipe is a keeper!

      Reply
      • joskitchenlarder says

        November 25, 2021 at 1:11 pm

        That's fab Kathryn! 🙂 Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know. Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂 x

        Reply
    8. Carol says

      October 17, 2021 at 8:30 pm

      can you use regular sugar?

      Reply
      • joskitchenlarder says

        October 18, 2021 at 8:57 am

        Hi Carol, I have only ever made these cookies with icing sugar so I don't know how they would come out with regular sugar but you can certainly give it a go. Please do let me know if you try it. 🙂

        Reply
    9. Jodie says

      September 30, 2020 at 8:53 pm

      No matter how thin I rolled them they were more like round blobs that were doughy in the middle...

      Reply
      • joskitchenlarder says

        October 01, 2020 at 8:16 am

        Hi Jodie, I'm sorry to hear your cookies didn't come out right. Have you used really dry (preferably tinned) pumpkin puree and followed the recipe, ingredients and tips exactly? It took me quite a few goes to get these right but I know this recipe works providing it's followed exactly to the letter.

        Reply
      • Nikky says

        November 14, 2022 at 2:32 am

        Did the recipe exactly as it say and my dough was so sticky that I had to work the dough to make it ok to spread and shape the cookies. It was a mess . Now the taste, it doesn't taste very much pumkin, my daughter prefer the taste of the dough before cooking. For me they are ok.

        Reply
    10. Patricia says

      August 03, 2020 at 8:57 am

      Is it possible to omit the egg yolks and increase the pumpkin puree amount? Do you think it will still turn out fine? Since egg yolks will likely contribute to moisture in the cookies, I'm thinking if I can omit it and use pumpkin puree instead, so as to elevate the pumpkin flavour... do you have any advice for me please?

      Reply
      • joskitchenlarder says

        August 03, 2020 at 3:58 pm

        Hi Patricia, I've never tried baking these cookies without egg yolks and with more pumpkin puree instead. Egg yolks not only contribute moisture here but have impact on overall texture as well. Cookies without yolks might be more like shortbread and quite crumbly. I would also be careful with adding more pumpkin puree unless you don't mind softer cookies. Hope that helps a bit. Feel free to experiment, sometimes that's half the fun! 🙂

        Reply
        • Patricia says

          August 05, 2020 at 5:00 pm

          4 stars
          I've made it according to your recipe but halved it.. took me sometime to blot out all the moisture from the homemade pumpkin puree.. many paper towels used! they tasted fine but I might have added too little cinnamon.. I will try this again but increase the sugar.. It's not easy to find a pumpkin cookie recipe that yields crunchy cookies, so thank you for sharing!
          Oh I won't consider dropping the egg yolk anymore.. I can't blot more pumpkin puree to make up for it.. that's like the most tedious part of the recipe for me.. lol

          Reply
          • joskitchenlarder says

            August 06, 2020 at 8:41 am

            Homemade pumpkin puree is fantastic but for these cookies I do advocate tinned one which is definitely of perfect consistency and would save tons of bother with trying to dry it out 🙂

            Reply
    11. jenny paulin says

      November 18, 2018 at 10:33 pm

      5 stars
      I love the look of these pumpkin shaped and flavoured cookies Jo. They caught my eye a few weeks back when you first posted them to co-incide with Halloween. I love the styling in your photos too - really eye catching. thank you for sharing with #Bakeoftheweek x

      Reply
    12. Corina Blum says

      November 04, 2018 at 4:13 pm

      5 stars
      These sound delicious and they look so cute too! I know my kids would love them and they'd probably love icing them as well. However, they have seriously overdosed on sugar after Halloween so I'm going to stick to healthy things for a while now! Thanks for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice!

      Reply
    13. Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook says

      November 04, 2018 at 9:04 am

      The dough looks so perfect and the cookies look so adorable! Thanks for sharing, Jo! x

      Reply
    14. Michelle Frank | Flipped-Out Food says

      November 02, 2018 at 3:15 pm

      5 stars
      I hate it so much when the recipe in my head doesn't turn out the way I wanted. It's the WORST! These look so buttery and yummy: I can't wait to give them a try!

      Reply
      • joskitchenlarder says

        November 02, 2018 at 8:20 pm

        Perseverance is the way to go! lol 🙂 I so so hate it when recipes are not perfect first time around though. I'm not the most patient of people (something I keep working on to no avail lol). I'm super chuffed you like the sound of my cookies Michelle, thank you! 🙂

        Reply
    15. Mayuri Patel says

      October 29, 2018 at 6:39 pm

      5 stars
      These cookies are so so so cute.. Very festive. I wouldn't have thought of using pumpkin puree for cookies.

      Reply
      • joskitchenlarder says

        October 30, 2018 at 7:53 pm

        Thank you Mayuri! 🙂 Perfect for this time of year and also as a less scary and healthier Halloween treat 🙂

        Reply
    16. Jacqui Bellefontaine says

      October 29, 2018 at 12:09 pm

      5 stars
      They look just perfect love the pumpkin shape

      Reply
      • joskitchenlarder says

        October 29, 2018 at 2:01 pm

        Thank you Jacqui! 🙂 Couldn't resist pumpkin shape for pumpkin biccies 🙂

        Reply
    17. Cat | Curly's Cooking says

      October 28, 2018 at 8:40 pm

      5 stars
      These sound and look absolutely delicious. I think when a recipe takes a few goes before getting it perfect, it is even more satisfying 🙂 Thanks for sharing with #CookBlogShare

      Reply
      • joskitchenlarder says

        October 29, 2018 at 2:00 pm

        Thank you Cat! 🙂 I know what you mean. It definitely feels very satisfying once you crack the recipe but can also be a bit frustrating in the process lol Nobody said developing recipes was easy 😉 x

        Reply
    18. mimi rippee says

      October 28, 2018 at 2:42 pm

      Such pretty photos! I don't know where you live, but Whole Foods has an organic pumpkin puree in an aseptic carton that is the most water-free product of pumpkin i've ever come across. So I've been using it a lot. Love these cookies!

      Reply
      • joskitchenlarder says

        October 28, 2018 at 7:34 pm

        Hi Mimi and thank you so much for your kind comment! We do have Whole Foods in the UK but nowhere near where I live (that's a great tip for the US readers though)! I do find the puree from my favourite Hokkaido pumpkin perfect for these (that's what I used for this particular batch) as it's very dry so much so that the spoon will easily stand up in it! 🙂

        Reply
    19. Antonia says

      October 28, 2018 at 2:20 pm

      These are so cute! I love a good crunchy cookie, and you can't beat pumpkin! Your photos are so pretty and are perfectly autumn! I'm so glad you could bring your delicious fall cookies to the party! Happy Fiesta Friday!

      Reply
      • joskitchenlarder says

        October 28, 2018 at 7:19 pm

        Thank you Antonia! 🙂 I'm a huge fan of soft and chewy cookies but I do like a challenge and I wanted to make delicious and snappy pumpkin cookies on this occasion and I'm glad I did! Happy Fiesta Friday to you too!

        Reply
    20. Kat (The Baking Explorer) says

      October 28, 2018 at 9:41 am

      5 stars
      They're so cute and they look absolutely scrummy!

      Reply
      • joskitchenlarder says

        October 28, 2018 at 7:17 pm

        Thanks so much Kat! 🙂

        Reply

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