The grocery store running out of good bakery cinnamon rolls at 2 PM on a Tuesday, which sent me into a minor emotional crisis about it, is exactly what led to these pumpkin spice roll cookies. I thought rolling dough sounded like a therapeutic fall cookie recipe project to take my mind off things. Instead, I learned that canned pumpkin is basically orange water that will actively try to sabotage your dough if you do not squeeze the life out of it first.
I ruined my first batch by skipping the weird paper-towel blotting step, resulting in a sticky orange swamp on my counter. Once I actually followed the instructions and dried the pumpkin out, they turned out incredible. Here is exactly how I do it.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The swirl factor. They look wildly impressive, like you spent hours at a bakery instead of aggressively squishing squash in paper towels.
- Two-day magic. The spices actually taste better on day two, making this an easy pumpkin spice cookie recipe fall gatherings will beg you for.
- Make-ahead friendly. You can leave the dough logs in the fridge for days while you procrastinate baking them.
- No eggs required. Perfect for when you realize you forgot to buy eggs but already committed to baking.
Tools You’ll Need
Nothing fancy, I promise.
- rolling pin You need this to get the dough thin enough, though a wine bottle works in an absolute emergency.
- Stand mixer or hand mixer. Creaming butter by hand is a workout nobody asked for.
- Paper towels. Lots of them, because blotting pumpkin is a messy, essential reality.
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter – Make sure it is actually room temperature, not aggressively microwaved into a puddle.
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar – Just the regular white stuff.
- 6 Tablespoons pumpkin puree – NOT pumpkin pie filling, or your dough will be a disaster.
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract – Measure with your heart, but maybe stick close to the recipe here.
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour – Spoon and level it so you do not end up with dry, crumbly pumpkin pinwheel cookies.
- 1 3/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice – The star of the show.
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon – Because we need extra warmth.
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder – For a little lift.
- 1/4 teaspoon salt – To balance the sugar.
For the Filling
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter – Melted and cooled so it does not melt your dough.
- 2/3 cup brown sugar – Light or dark, whatever is currently hardening in your pantry.
- 1 3/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice – Yes, more of it.
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon – Essential for that cinnamon roll vibe.
For the Cream Cheese Icing
- 4 ounces full-fat brick cream cheese – Do not use the spreadable tub stuff, it will turn into soup.
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter – Softened.
- 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar – For sweetness and structure.
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract – A little goes a long way.
- 1 pinch salt – Optional, but highly recommended if you find icing too sweet.
How To Make Pumpkin Spice Roll Cookies
Clear your counter and prepare to aggressively dry out some canned squash.
- Blot the pumpkin: Spread the puree on some paper towels and press out the moisture until you have about 1/3 cup left. If you skip this, your dough will be a sticky nightmare and you will curse my name.
- Mix the dough: Cream the butter and sugar, then add the dried-out pumpkin and vanilla. It might look curdled and gross at this point – do not panic, the flour fixes everything.
- Add dry ingredients: Mix in the flour, spices, baking powder, and salt until a thick dough forms. Do not overmix, unless you want tough cookies.
- Roll and fill: Divide the dough in half and roll each into a 10×8 inch rectangle on a floured surface. Spread with melted butter and sprinkle with the spiced sugar mixture, pressing it gently into the butter so it actually stays put.
- Roll into logs: Tightly roll up each rectangle into a log, using your fingers to pinch any cracks back together. If your log looks a little lopsided, congratulations, you have made a rustic homemade cookie.
- Chill: Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and put them in the fridge for at least two hours. I once tried to slice these immediately and ended up with weird, flat, brown-sugar puddles.
- Slice and bake: Cut into slices slightly less than 1/2-inch thick, reshape them into circles if they got squished, and bake at 350°F for 13-15 minutes.
- Ice them: While they cool, whip up the icing and spread it over the top for the ultimate cream cheese pumpkin roll cookies recipe experience.
♥ The Misfit Tips!
- Do not skip the blotting I cannot stress this enough. I thought I knew better and dumped wet pumpkin straight into the bowl. The dough was completely un-rollable. Read up on baking with pumpkin if you want the science behind why moisture matters, but just trust me and squeeze that puree until it feels like a chore.
- Flour your hands and the counter. This dough loves to stick, so keeping a little pile of flour nearby and dusting everything generously before rolling helps.
- Fixing cracks is easy. Wetting your fingers slightly and spackling cracks back together before baking hides any imperfections.
Make it yours
- Chocolate swirl version. You add mini chocolate chips to the spiced sugar filling for a richer twist on this fall cookie recipe.
- Maple icing version. You swap vanilla extract for maple extract in the icing for a different sweetness profile in this easy pumpkin spice cookie recipe fall.
Perfect Pairings
These go perfectly with a quiet weeknight when you need something heavily spiced to look forward to after work.
- A giant mug of black coffee balances out the sweet cream cheese icing.
- Thanksgiving dessert tables satisfy everyone who stays too full for pie but can somehow manage just one cookie.
How to Store
❤
- Fridge. Up to a week in an airtight container, since the texture gets slightly denser and crunchier on day two.
- Freezer. Up to 3 months for baked cookies or unbaked dough logs, thawed in the fridge overnight before slicing.
- Reheat. Letting them sit at room temperature for 10 minutes takes the chill off the cream cheese icing.
- Storage note. Because of the cream cheese icing, these cannot sit out on the counter indefinitely, so keeping them chilled stays essential.
Pumpkin Spice Roll Cookies
These pumpkin spice roll cookies prove that a genuinely impressive fall treat can come together with nothing more than a rolling pin, a mixer, and a few pantry staples. This cream cheese pumpkin roll cookies recipe relies on blotting the pumpkin and chilling the logs to avoid the sticky swamp and flat puddles that ruin so many other rolled cookie attempts. Whether served at Thanksgiving or sliced for a Tuesday night treat, this easy pumpkin spice cookie recipe fall earns a permanent spot in the regular rotation.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- First, make sure you have removed excess liquid from the pumpkin puree by blotting it as much as you can with a clean kitchen tea towel or paper towels. This dough will not turn out properly with the pumpkin’s excess moisture. After blotting excess liquid, you should have about 1/3 cup (75g) to use in the recipe. See recipe note.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until completely smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the pumpkin and vanilla extract, and then beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine. It’s ok if the mixture looks curdled. Add the flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Beat on low speed until combined and a thick dough forms.
- Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. If you want to be accurate and weigh the dough, each half should be around or a little more than 12 ounces each. On a floured work surface using floured hands, pat each into a small rectangle. Then, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll each portion of dough out into a 10×8 inch rectangle. It should be about 1/4″ thick. As you’re rolling, use your hands to help keep the sides straight as you see me do in the video. Spread half of the melted butter onto each rectangle doesn’t need to be exactly half, just eyeball it. It will be a thick layer of butter. Mix the brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon together then sprinkle evenly over each. Using the back of a spoon, pat the brown sugar and spices down into the butter to help it stick.
- Working slowly using your fingertips, tightly roll up each rectangle into a 10-inch log. If the dough is cracking at all, use your fingers to smooth it out. (See troubleshooting above if needed.) Wrap the dough logs in plastic wrap, parchment paper, or aluminum foil. Chill the dough logs for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days in the refrigerator. (Or freeze for up to 3 months, see freezing instructions below.) The pictured cookie dough logs chilled in the refrigerator for 1 day.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Remove dough logs from the refrigerator. Using a sharp knife, cut each into slices that are slightly less than 1/2 inch (between 1/4 and 1/2 inch is perfect). You’ll have around 24-26 cookies per log. Arrange sliced cookies onto baking sheets 1.5-2 inches apart. If the slices have lost their round shape, use your fingers to help mold them into perfect circles again. Not necessary of course, but you can see me do it in the video.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes or until very lightly browned around the bottoms. (As the cookies bake, you can make the icing in the next step.) Remove finished cookies from the oven, allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 full minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese on high speed until completely smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the butter and beat until smooth and combined. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract, and then beat on medium speed until combined. Taste. Add a pinch of salt if desired.
- Spread cream cheese frosting (or drizzle maple icing) on warm or cooled cookies.
- Cover plain or iced cookies and store at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.