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This easy recipe for pumpkin cookies with cake mix uses just 4 ingredients with an optional cream cheese frosting. A delicious fall treat!
Cake Mix Pumpkin Cookies
If you’re looking for an easy pumpkin cookie recipe, try these cake mix pumpkin cookies. These soft, chewy cookies are made with a box spice cake mix and a few other simple ingredients that you probably already have at home. We topped the basic cookies with a delicious cream cheese frosting for extra flavor and candy pumpkins for a pop of color.
You can never have too many cookie recipes, so you may want to try these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies or these easy carrot cake mix cookies next!
Ingredients
Here’s an overview of what you need to make these pumpkin cake mix cookies. Full amounts are in the printable recipe card below.
- Boxed spice cake mix — If you can’t find this, use a tablespoon pumpkin pie spice and yellow cake mix.
- Canned pumpkin — pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling
- Large egg
- Milk — thins out the dough mixture for more of a cookie texture. You can also sub pumpkin spice creamer for more spice flavor!
- Optional — cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla for frosting the cookies
How to Make Pumpkin Cookies with Cake Mix
Mix the cake mix, pumpkin, egg and milk in a large mixing bowl. The dough will be a little sticky, but this is normal for cake mix cookies.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil for easy clean up. Use a tablespoon or small cookie scoop to drop the dough on the cookie sheets. We flattened out the tops slightly with a spoon as we wanted them to be smooth for frosting.
Bake the cookies for about 10-12 minutes. You don’t want to let them get too dark. The edges should be firm when touched, although the centers may be a little soft. When the cookies have cooled slightly, you can transfer them to a wire rack. They will firm up as they cool completely.
Make the frosting by combining the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla in a large bowl. Then either spread the frosting on the cooled cookies or use a piping bag to pipe the frosting on top of the cookies.
We sliced marshmallow pumpkins in half and placed them on top of the frosting for a little extra color.
Storage
Store the pumpkin spice cookies in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to a week. If you don’t frost them, you can keep the cookies at room temperature.
Recipe Tip
You can use 1 tbsp of pumpkin pie spice and yellow cake mix if you can’t find spice cake mix.
Dough will be a little bit sticky. If dough is too sticky, you can chill it for about 30 minutes.
Pumpkin Cookies with Cake Mix
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 large egg
- 1 13.25ounce box spice cake mix
- ½ cup canned pumpkin
- 2 teaspoons milk
Cream cheese frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- ½ cup butter softened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 16 marshmallow pumpkin candies cut in half
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉
- In a large mixing bowl, add the egg, and lightly beat with fork or electric mixer
- Add the cake mix, canned pumpkin and milk, and mix well
- Use a tablespoon to scoop batter out and drop on baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving about 2 inches between cookies
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are firm
- Remove from oven, allow to cool slightly, then remove cookies from baking sheets, and allow to cool completely on a wire rack or counter
Frosting
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth
- Add in the softened and beat until all lumps are gone
- Stir in the vanilla extract
- Gradually add in the powdered sugar
- Prepare a piping bag with a small round tip and cream cheese frosting. Pipe frosting onto all the cookies
- Cut the marshmallow pumpkin candies in half, and place one half on the center of each cookie
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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The family loves anything Halloween. Made these the other night and they didn’t stick around long! So simple to make using the cake mix.
These are SOOOOOO cute! I absolutely love adding the pumpkin candy on the top, so fun. I am so going to make these for Halloween parties!
These cookies were delicious! Loved the frosting and the pumpkin flavor!
I love how soft these cookies are, and the cream cheese frosting is tasty too!
So glad you liked the cookies, Sunny. Thanks!