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Brown Butter Maple Pumpkin Cookies

Brown butter maple pumpkin cookies with a tender, lightly crisp edge and a nutty caramel flavor. Browned butter is chilled to firm, then baked with pumpkin puree and finished with a simple maple glaze drizzle and flaky salt.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
brown butter chilling 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 37 minutes
Servings: 28 cookies
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 185
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Dry ingredients
  • 2.25 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 0.5 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.5 tsp salt
Cookie batter
  • 1 lb unsalted butter, browned and solidified brown until deeply golden, then refrigerate until solid
  • 0.75 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 0.25 cup pure maple syrup
  • 0.33 cup pumpkin puree (blotted very dry)
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
Maple glaze
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp milk add 1–2 tbsp as needed to thin glaze
Finishing
  • 1 flaky salt for finishing

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Brown the butter and chill
  1. Brown the butter until deeply golden, then pour it out and refrigerate until solid, about 1 hour.
  2. Once firm, remove the butter and let it sit briefly so it can be beaten until creamy.
Prep and mix the dry ingredients
  1. Preheat the oven to 375F and line baking sheets with parchment.
  2. Whisk all-purpose flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt until evenly combined.
Make the cookie dough
  1. Beat the solidified brown butter, brown sugar, and pure maple syrup until creamy.
  2. Add the blotted pumpkin puree, then mix until incorporated.
  3. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then mix until smooth.
  4. Mix in the vanilla extract.
  5. Fold the flour mixture into the batter until no dry streaks remain.
  6. Scoop the dough into 2-tablespoon rounds and place them on the prepared baking sheets.
Bake and finish
  1. Bake for 10–12 minutes, until the edges are golden.
  2. Cool completely before glazing.
  3. Stir together powdered sugar and pure maple syrup, thinning with milk until drizzly, then drizzle over the cookies.
  4. Finish by sprinkling flaky salt over the glazed cookies.

Notes

Pro tip: blot the pumpkin puree very dry so the centers stay tender instead of cakey. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or refrigerate up to 7 days; freeze baked cookies up to 2 months (thaw overnight and glaze after thawing if you want the drizzle to look fresh). For a dairy-free option, use a plant-based butter that browns well and swap milk in the glaze for dairy-free milk.