A Little Katie, A Lot of Grace

There are two kinds of people in this world. People who carefully measure their cinnamon… and people who believe cinnamon should be measured with their hearts. 😂

I’ll let you guess which one I am.

With Halloween behind us and another busy school week ahead, I decided to spend part of my Sunday making homemade treats for the boys’ lunches. I had a big can of pumpkin, an old pumpkin cookie recipe, and absolutely no intention of being conservative with my spices.

Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and pumpkin pie spice all made an appearance. And oh my goodness, these cookies turned out delicious!

♡ Wait… Are These Cookies or Muffin Tops?

You know that wonderfully soft, fluffy top of a freshly baked muffin? The part that’s arguably better than the rest of the muffin? THAT’S what these cookies remind me of!

They’re technically cookies, but they have the texture of little pumpkin muffin tops: soft, fluffy, slightly cakey, and full of warm fall flavor.

The original recipe was for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. But I didn’t add chocolate chips. And personally? I think they’re better without them! 😂 Sometimes I want to taste the pumpkin and spices without anything competing with them.

🍂 The Secret Is in the Spices

The original recipe called for cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. I brought out the allspice and pumpkin pie spice, too. Yes, I realize pumpkin pie spice already contains some of those spices. No, that did not stop me. 😂

I love that deep, warm flavor that makes the whole kitchen smell like fall. A word of caution, though: cloves are powerful, so start small and adjust to taste.

🎃 Katie’s Soft Muffin Top Spiced Pumpkin Cookies

Soft, fluffy pumpkin cookies with the texture of freshly baked muffin tops, generously flavored with warm fall spices. No chocolate chips necessary! And the best part? They’re a true one-bowl recipe. No mixing wet ingredients separately from dry ingredients. Just throw everything into one big bowl, mix, scoop, and bake. Exactly my kind of Sunday baking! 😂

Prep: approximately 15–20 minutes | Bake: approximately 12–15 minutes per batch | Oven: 350°F | Yield: a generous batch; count varies with scoop size

♡ Ingredients

• 2 cups pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 cup neutral cooking oil
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, or more to taste
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Ground nutmeg, to taste
• Ground cloves, to taste
• Ground allspice, to taste
• Pumpkin pie spice, to taste

Katie’s note: I like these heavily spiced! I used cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and pumpkin pie spice. The extra spices weren’t measured precisely, so start with small amounts—especially the cloves—and season to your own taste.

♡ Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Grab one big mixing bowl. Add the pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and pumpkin pie spice. Yep, everything goes into the same bowl!
3. Mix until all the ingredients are combined and you don’t see pockets of dry flour. The dough will be thick, soft, and sticky. Don’t overmix once it’s combined.
4. Scoop generous spoonfuls of dough onto your prepared baking sheets, leaving a little room between each cookie.
5. Bake for approximately 12–15 minutes, or until the tops are set and the centers are cooked through. Larger cookies may need a little longer.
6. Let the cookies rest briefly on the baking sheet before transferring them to a rack to cool. Then taste one for quality control. Obviously. 😂

Recipe note: Baking time is an estimate based on cookie size; check for doneness rather than relying on the clock alone.

♡ Want to save this recipe? Download the printable recipe card (PDF) ♡

♡ Perfect for Little Lunchboxes

One of the reasons I made these was to tuck something homemade into the boys’ school lunches. They’re soft, easy to pack, and don’t need frosting or toppings. And since this makes a big batch, I can save some for later.

Once completely cooled, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days, or freeze portions for longer storage. It’s one less thing to think about when packing lunches!

🍞 One Can of Pumpkin, Two Fall Treats

Of course, I couldn’t stop at cookies. I bought a big can of pumpkin and didn’t want to waste any, so I used the rest for a loaf of pumpkin bread.

Because apparently my idea of a relaxing Sunday is baking cookies, making pumpkin bread, and preparing taco meat for the week. 😂

The pumpkin bread was still awaiting its official taste test, but the cookies? Already approved!

♡ A Little Homemade Happiness

Sometimes homemade happiness is just a little flour on the counter, a kitchen that smells like cinnamon, and a few cookies disappearing before they’ve made it into the storage containers.

These Soft Muffin Top Spiced Pumpkin Cookies are definitely going into my collection of recipes worth making again. Next time, I might even remember to measure the spices. Probably not, though. 😂

♡ Katie