A Celebrity Pastry Chef Told Us How To Bake Pumpkin Cookies With The Perfect Texture

When it comes to fall flavors, pumpkin reigns supreme. It's never a bad idea to have some canned pumpkin in your pantry, should the craving for an autumnal sweet treat arise. If cookies are your dessert of choice but you find your pumpkin cookies always turn out a little more cakey in texture than you want, don't worry — we've talked to an expert to troubleshoot this potential pumpkin problem.

Zac Young, Sprinkle Master at PieCaken Bakeshop and Sprinkletown Donuts & Ice Cream, explained exclusively to Mashed that issues with texture in pumpkin cookies are almost always due to one factor: the canned pumpkin itself. "Pumpkin adds moisture and fiber which results in a cakey cookie," says Young. Luckily, there's an easy fix. He advises, "To combat that, try squeezing your pumpkin puree in a cheesecloth to remove the extra moisture." 

If you don't have cheesecloth on hand, try some of our favorite substitutes for cheesecloth like coffee filters, paper towels, or (clean!) kitchen towels. Pumpkins are anywhere from 88 to 96% water, so there's plenty to remove. Yes, it adds an extra step to the process, but it should ensure your cookies maintain that perfect sugar cookie-like texture. Many pumpkin cookies call for brown sugar, which has a higher moisture content than white sugar, so eliminating some of the excess moisture in the pumpkin puree is particularly helpful. Young also advises swapping out whole eggs with just egg yolks, as the whites "contain a lot of moisture."

What happens when you've achieved the ideal texture in your preferred pumpkin cookie recipe, but there's still something lacking? Turn your attention to the flavor. The first way to truly boost that pumpkin flavor is by cooking the puree before incorporating it into the cookie dough. Some of the water within the pumpkin will evaporate and the puree will end up having a much more concentrated pumpkin flavor. As a bonus, it'll also make the Zac Young recommended straining process a bit easier since you'll have removed a lot of that excess moisture already. 

Then, of course, there's the spices. Our recipe for soft and chewy pumpkin cookies includes pumpkin pie spice and maple syrup for sweetness and a deeper flavor, but you can get creative and make your own spice blend as well. Any type of warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and clove typically pair well with pumpkin, or if you're looking for a more unusual flavor combination, you might try a sweet and savory blend by adding cayenne or rosemary. 

And, while many pumpkin cookie recipes don't typically require a full can of pumpkin puree, having leftovers isn't a bad thing — there are a ton of other creative ways to use canned pumpkin besides baking, from pumpkin pasta sauce to pumpkin enchiladas.