If you love the cozy flavours of fall these Pumpkin Pie Cookies are perfect for you! A soft vanilla cookie base, sweet and buttery, filled with a creamy white chocolate pumpkin pie spiced center. Each bite is like a mini taste of pumpkin pie in a fun an easy-to-make cookie.
These cookies freeze beautifully, so you can make them ahead of time and have them ready to go—just pull them out of the freezer for an easy, stress-free dessert on Thanksgiving!
For more thumbprint cookie recipes, try my Heart Shaped Strawberry Jam Thumbprint Cookies or Raspberry Chocolate Thumbprints or Peppermint Thumbprint Cookies.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Delicious way to enjoy fall flavours
- Freezes well
- No chill time required!
- Kid friendly recipe
- Great cookie option for Thanksgiving
- Fun to make with kids!
Ingredients
- white chocolate chips - or use 6 oz of chopped white baker's chocolate
- butter - salted or unsalted is fine just decrease the amount of salt you add to the cookies if you use salted butter
- brown sugar - or swap for coconut sugar
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How To Make Pumpkin Pie Thumbprint Cookies
Here are the step-by-step instructions to make this recipe.
Step 1: Preheat the oven.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Step 2: Cream together the wet ingredients and add the dry ingredients in the same bowl.
In a medium-sized bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, one egg and vanilla extract.
Add the flour and sea salt to the wet ingredients.
Step 3: Mix the dry and wet ingredients together.
Mix dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until just combined. The dough may seem firm and slightly dry, which is normal and ensures the cookies hold their shape during baking.
Step 4: Roll the cookie dough balls and make an indentation in each cookie and bake.
Roll the dough into small balls, about 2 teaspoons each, and place them on the prepared cookie sheets, about 12 cookies per sheet. (I weighed each cookie dough ball at 20 grams each for consistency in size)
Make a small imprint in the centre of the cookies with your thumb, the back of a ½ teaspoon or with the rounded end of a wooden spoon. Bake for 7-8 minutes.
Step 5: Make the ganache.
While the last tray of cookies is in the oven, gently warm the pure pumpkin puree, then add the white chocolate chips and pumpkin pie spice and stir until fully melted.
Step 6: Add ganache to each baked and cooled cookie.
Once the cookies have cooled slightly, add a dollop of the white chocolate pumpkin filling to the centre indentation made in the thumbprint cookies. Top the cookies with a sprinkle of cinnamon if desired. Allow the ganache to cool and to set in the cookie.
This recipe yields approximately 36 small cookies. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Measure the flour carefully and accurately. The best way to do this is to spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife.
- When the cookies come out of the oven, sometimes a few of the cookies lose their defined indentation in the center. I just press the center gently with the end of a wooden spoon or similar kitchen tool to reinforce the indentation of the cookies while they’re still warm. Press carefully to prevent splitting the side of the cookie.
- I begin to make the ganache when the last tray of cookies are in the oven because you want to distribute the ganache between the cookies while it’s still slightly warm.
- Store in a single layer: To prevent the white chocolate ganache filling from sticking to other cookies, store the cookies in a single layer in an airtight container.
Recipe FAQs
Thumbprint cookies can crack as you press to indent them when the dough has dried out a bit or has begun to stiffen. To prevent this, I recommend making the indentation immediately after rolling each ball of dough. Press very gently. If it cracks slightly, I just reroll that ball. As it softens and warms in my hands, I find it solves the problem.
Yes, for sure! These are perfect cookies to make ahead of time or to stock up in your freezer. Pull them out when guests are coming over.
To store leftover pumpkin puree from a partly used can, transfer the puree to an airtight container or resealable plastic bag. You can keep it in the refrigerator for up to 5-7 days. For longer storage, freeze the puree by portioning it into freezer-safe containers or bags. Frozen pumpkin puree can last up to 3 months in the freezer. Just be sure to label it with the date!
More Fall Recipes You'll Love
If you tried this Pumpkin Pie Thumbprint Cookies or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
Recipe
Pumpkin Pie Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- 2 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp sea salt
Pumpkin White Chocolate Ganache
- ⅓ cup pure pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup white chocolate chips (or 6 oz white baker's chocolate)
- ¼ tsp pumpkin pie spice
Topping The Cookies
- sprinkle of ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium sized bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, one egg and vanilla extract.1 cup unsalted butter, ⅔ cup brown sugar, 1 large egg, 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Add the flour and sea salt to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. The dough may seem firm and slightly dry, which is normal and ensures the cookies hold their shape during baking.2 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon sea salt
- Roll the dough into small balls, about 2 teaspoons each, and place them on the prepared cookie sheets, about 12 cookies per sheet. (You can weigh each ball to be around 20 grams if desired.)
- Make a small imprint in the centre of the cookies with your thumb, back of a ½ teaspoon or with the rounded end of a wooden spoon. Bake for 7-8 minutes.
- While the last tray of cookies is in the oven, gently warm the pure pumpkin puree, then add the white chocolate chips and pumpkin pie spice and stir until fully melted.⅓ cup pure pumpkin puree, ¾ cup white chocolate chips, ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- Once the cookies have cooled slightly, add a dollop of the white chocolate pumpkin filling to the centre indentation made in the thumbprint cookies. Top the cookies with a sprinkle of cinnamon if desired. Allow the ganache to cool and to set in the cookie.
- This recipe yields approximately 36 small cookies. Enjoy!
Notes
- Measure the flour carefully and accurately. The best way to do this is to spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife.
- When the cookies come out of the oven, sometimes a few of the cookies lose their defined indentation in the center. I just press the center gently with the end of a wooden spoon or similar kitchen tool to reinforce the indentation of the cookies while they’re still warm. Press carefully to prevent splitting the side of the cookie.
- I begin to make the ganache when the last tray of cookies are in the oven because you want to distribute the ganache between the cookies while it’s still slightly warm.
- Store in a single layer: To prevent the white chocolate ganache filling from sticking to other cookies, store the cookies in a single layer in an airtight container.
Nutrition
If you make this recipe please leave a comment and give this recipe a rating! I aim to respond to every single comment. I am so grateful when you trust me and try one of my recipe creations in your own kitchen. I love to hear how it went! Let’s connect on Instagram and tag me in your food pics!
‘Til next time,
Christy
Meg says
The kids loved these at our family gathering! So good!