When Autumn comes around, there's nothing quite like enjoying soft Sourdough Pumpkin Cookies. Melt in your mouth and full of Fall spices, these cookies are a must make when the air starts to get crisp!
When Fall comes around here in New England, I start craving all things pumpkin and pumpkin spice. These cookies are no exception! They are soft, melt in your mouth, and so full of flavor!
Baking with sourdough discard is one of my favorite things to do! You can make sourdough scones, super moist sourdough discard banana bread, and our favorite sourdough discard pancakes!
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Why This Recipe Is Great!
- There's no need to chill the dough! Mix up the dough and bake it right away.
- They are full of pumpkin flavor! If you need a change from a chocolate filled recipe, these cookies are the perfect recipe! They are full of pumpkin and pumpkin spice just like these 3 ingredient chocolate chip pumpkin cookies!
- It's a great use of your leftover sourdough discard! Don't throw out your extra sourdough discard. Bake with it! It adds a slight tang to the cookies that can't be beat!
What Is Sourdough Discard?
Sourdough discard is the portion of your sourdough starter that you are not feeding. When you are "feeding" your starter to make bread with, you add equal parts flour, water, and starter to a mason jar and let it rise. If you are new to sourdough, you can make your own sourdough starter from scratch, buy one, or get one from a fellow sourdough friend.
You can't feed your entire starter, as it doubles and sometimes triples in size, and that's a lot of starter to have on hand! If you are new to sourdough, be sure to check out how to keep a sourdough starter post all about how to keep your sourdough starter happy.
Ingredients in Sourdough Pumpkin Cookies
- Butter. At room temperature so it creams well.
- Granulated Sugar. All cookies need a good amount of sugar!
- Pumpkin. Canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling.
- Pumpkin Spice. For that warmth in the cookies.
- Baking soda and baking powder. Even though we are adding sourdough discard to the batter, the baking soda and baking powder do the hard work of making the cookies rise.
- Sourdough discard. Unfed, or inactive.
- All-Purpose Flour. To give the cookies structure.
- Egg. Room temperature, if possible.
Pro Tip! Make sure you are using pureed pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling is full of sugar and spices and will overpower the cookies.
Do These Cookies Taste Sour?
No! The sourdough discard adds a bit of a tang to the cookies, but they do not taste sour. The sourdough discard adds a bit of rise to the cookies and is a great balance for the sweetness of the sugar and raisins.
If you want to up the sour flavor, chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for a few hours, or overnight. That will enhance the sour flavor of these cookies.
Equipment To Gather
- Stand Mixer
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Ice Cream Scoop
- Silicone Mat or Parchment Paper
- Baking Sheet
- Wire Cooling Rack
How To Make Sourdough Pumpkin Cookies
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and pumpkin spice. Set that aside.
In a large bowl, add the butter and sugar. With a hand mixer, for one minute, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg and sourdough starter. Mix again.
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix until fully combined. With an ice cream scoop, scoop the dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the cookies are baked through.
While the cookies bake, mix together one cup of powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk, and 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice. Mix with a whisk until there are no more lumps.
Take the baking sheet out of the oven and allow the cookies to cool on a wire rack. After the cookies have cooled, drizzle the icing over the cookies. Enjoy immediately!
Tips and Tricks
- An ice cream scoop ensures that all the cookies are the same size and cook evenly.
- Parchment paper ensures that the cookies do not stick to the baking sheet.
- If you don't have pumpkin spice, use ground cinnamon instead.
Making Cookies Ahead of Time
To make the dough ahead of time, put the dough together completely and then cover it with plastic wrap. Place it in the refrigerator overnight, if necessary. Bake the dough when you are ready. This will also increase the sour flavor just slightly in the cookies.
If you would like to freeze the cookies, do not ice them until you are ready to serve them. These cookies will last in a Ziploc bag up to 4 days. You can also keep them in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You can use active starter in these cookies instead. It will add even more air and texture to the cookies.
Mini chocolate chips will take these cookies to a whole new level! You can also add your favorite nuts, such as walnuts or pecans, just make sure to chop them into very small pieces.
No! This dough can do straight from the bowl to the oven without refrigerating it.
Other Recipes To Try!
Did you love this Sourdough Pumpkin Cookies Recipe? If you did, don't forget to tag me on social media on Instagram or Facebook and share this recipe on Pinterest! Thanks for sharing this journey with me and enjoy these delicious recipes!
📖 Recipe
Soft Sourdough Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Flour
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Pumpkin Spice
- ½ cup Butter Room Temperature
- ¾ cup Sugar
- ½ cup Sourdough Starter Inactive
- 1 Egg Room Temperature
- ½ cup Canned Pumpkin
For the Icing
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar
- 2 tablespoon Milk
- 1 teaspoon Pumpkin Spice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and pumpkin spice. Set that aside.
- In a large bowl, add the butter and sugar. With a hand mixer, for one minute, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg, pumpkin, and sourdough starter. Mix again.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix until fully combined.
- With an ice cream scoop, scoop the dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the cookies are baked through.
For the Icing
- While the cookies bake, mix together one cup of powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk, and 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice. Mix with a whisk until there are no more lumps.
- Take the baking sheet out of the oven and allow the cookies to cool on a wire rack. After the cookies have cooled, drizzle the icing over the cookies. Enjoy immediately!
Notes
- To thicken the icing, add more milk. If the icing is too thin, add more powdered sugar. The consistency should be drippy and easily drizzled.
- An ice cream scoop ensures that all the cookies are the same size and cook evenly.
- Parchment paper ensures that the cookies do not stick to the baking sheet.
Mel says
Awesome recipe but the final batter for me was really running might add more flour to stiffen it up
Sandra says
I made these for my family to trial before making them for a party we are going to. Everyone loves them. I did add extra pumpkin spice as recommended by others. Turned out great!
Helene says
These cookies turned out super pillowy and soft, I like the texture! I also love that it uses discard. I would like to make these again and experiment with adding more pie spice and maybe vanilla or salt? They taste okay but are on the bland side.
Lynn Polito says
Sure! You can definitely add more pumpkin spice or vanilla.
Esther byler says
It’s pleasant to the taste buds. I think more spice would be even better.
cindy kiriazis says
Can I freeze these scooped and raw, then bake them as needed?
Lynn Polito says
Definitely!
Stacy says
Delicious!!! Yum. First fall treat. I am trying to find more ways to use discard. I substituted half of the sugar with coconut sugar. Delicious!
Lynn Polito says
I am so happy you enjoyed them!
Katelyn Molter says
Should you omit the baking soda and/or baking powder if using active starter? Hoping to make these tomorrow for a friend!
Lynn Polito says
I don't think you need to omit the baking soda because the cookies don't sit long enough for the active starter to kick in and make the cookies fluffy.
Meg says
What an absolutely genius way to use up all that discard when I’m concentrating more on fall flavors!! 10/10
Robin says
These cookies were amazing!
Jennifer says
These were amazing! Thanks for a great recipe.
laura says
Such a cool way to use sourdough! I never thought to make cookies from it!
Claire says
We love everything pumpkin spice, and these cookies were no exception. I had left some unglazed as I wanted to try freezing some. But they didn’t last long enough to try that! The kids turned them into ice cream sandwiches with some caramel ice cream! And then declared themselves geniuses because they were so good 😂
lynnswayoflife says
I love that idea! That sounds so good!
Glenda says
These are so homey and satisfying. A perfect bite of fall flavors!
Alisa Infanti says
I have never had a sourdough cookie before... life changing!