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These Crumbl caramel pumpkin cookies are my copycat of the famous fall cookie: a thick, soft pumpkin cookie topped with a fluffy caramel cream cheese frosting and a dusting of pumpkin pie spice. If you’ve been hunting for a Crumbl pumpkin cookie recipe that actually tastes like the bakery version, this is it!! There’s no dough to chill, the recipe makes eight big bakery-size cookies, and they bake in just 13 minutes. These copycat Crumbl pumpkin cookies taste just like the real thing.
Quick Look: Crumbl Caramel Pumpkin Cookies
- 🍪 What it is: A thick, soft pumpkin cookie with caramel cream cheese frosting and pumpkin pie spice on top.
- ⭐ Why it works: One egg yolk instead of a whole egg balances out the moisture from the pumpkin puree.
- 💛 Why you’ll love it: No dough chilling, so you go straight from mixing bowl to oven.
- ⚠️ What to watch for: Let the cookies cool completely before frosting, or the frosting melts right off.
- 🍳 Pan notes: Parchment-lined baking sheet and a large cookie scoop for 8 even cookies, flattened to 1 inch.
- ❄️ Make ahead: Freeze the cookies and frosting separately, then thaw and frost when you’re ready.
Why This Recipe Works
Every September, the pumpkin Crumbl cookie is the one I get asked about the most, so I made sure this pumpkin Crumbl cookie recipe nails it: the same soft, thick base, that warm pumpkin spice Crumbl cookie flavor, and the pumpkin cookies with caramel frosting everyone lines up for.
- No chilling needed: the dough is thick enough to scoop and bake right away
- Thick, soft, and chewy, a lot like my Crumbl snickerdoodle cupcake cookies but made for fall
- A caramel cream cheese frosting that tastes just like the bakery’s
- Eight big bakery-style cookies, or 16 mini catering-size ones
- One of my all-time favorite fall Crumbl cookies (find the rest in my Crumbl copycat recipes collection)
Table of Contents
Key Ingredients
- Egg yolk: Instead of a whole egg, this recipe uses just the yolk. It removes some of the moisture and balances out the pumpkin puree so the cookies stay thick.
- Pumpkin puree: Make sure it’s 100% pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling, which is already sweetened and spiced.
- Brown sugar + granulated sugar: Brown sugar keeps the cookies extra soft, and granulated sugar gives them slightly crisp edges.
- Pumpkin pie spice + cinnamon: The warm fall flavor in every bite, plus a little extra pumpkin pie spice for dusting on top.
- Full-fat cream cheese: Use full fat for a frosting that whips up thick and fluffy.
- Caramel: Use my homemade caramel sauce or store-bought caramel. Either one works in the frosting for these pumpkin caramel cookies.
- Caramel extract (optional): Just a little gives the frosting a stronger caramel flavor.
Full ingredient amounts are in the recipe card below.
Substitutions and Additions
- Butter: Salted or unsalted both work in the cookie dough.
- Salted caramel: Swap in a salted caramel sauce for salted caramel pumpkin cookies.
- Stiffer frosting: One reader added extra powdered sugar (up to 1 ¾ cups total) for a thicker frosting that holds its shape.
- No caramel on hand: Another reader skipped it and loved the plain cream cheese frosting. It’s a different flavor, but still delicious.
How to Make Crumbl Caramel Pumpkin Cookies
- Cream the butter and sugars. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until smooth.
- Make the dough. Mix in the egg yolk, pumpkin puree, and vanilla. Add the flour, salt, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon, and mix just until the flour disappears.
- Scoop and flatten. Scoop 8 equal dough balls with a large cookie scoop, set them on the baking sheet, and gently flatten each one to about 1 inch thick.
- Bake and cool. Bake for 13 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 20 minutes, then move them to a rack and let them cool completely.
- Make the frosting and pipe. Whip the butter and cream cheese for 3 minutes, then add the vanilla, caramel, powdered sugar, and caramel extract if using. Whip 3 to 4 minutes until fluffy and pipe onto the cooled cookies.
- Dust and serve. Dust each cookie with a little pumpkin pie spice and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Don’t overmix. Once the flour goes in, stop as soon as it disappears so the cookies stay soft.
- Use a large cookie scoop. Eight equal dough balls bake evenly into big, bakery-size pumpkin Crumbl cookies.
- Want them extra soft? One reader pulled hers slightly underbaked, the way Crumbl does, and said the texture was unreal.
- Cool completely before frosting. Even slightly warm cookies will melt cream cheese frosting.
- Whip the frosting the full time. Those 3 to 4 minutes are what make it light and fluffy like the bakery’s.
This recipe only uses ¼ cup of pumpkin puree, so you’ll have plenty left over. Use the rest for my pumpkin banana bread, a single-serve pumpkin mug cake, a batch of soft pumpkin cinnamon rolls, or an easy homemade pumpkin pie.
Crumbl Caramel Pumpkin Cookies FAQs
No! The dough for these Crumbl caramel pumpkin cookies needs no chilling at all, so you can scoop and bake right after mixing.
No. Use 100% pumpkin puree for Crumbl caramel pumpkin cookies. Pumpkin pie filling is already sweetened and spiced, so it throws off the flavor and texture.
Yes! Split each dough ball in half to make 16 mini catering-size Crumbl caramel pumpkin cookies, and bake them for 9 to 10 minutes instead of 13.
Store frosted Crumbl caramel pumpkin cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 to 5 days, since the frosting has cream cheese. If you’d rather keep them at room temperature, store them unfrosted and frost them right before serving.
Yes. Freeze the unfrosted Crumbl caramel pumpkin cookies and the frosting in separate airtight containers. Thaw both in the fridge overnight, re-whip the frosting, then pipe and enjoy.
More Pumpkin Desserts
If you tried these Crumbl Caramel Pumpkin Cookies or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments! I love hearing from you!
Crumbl Caramel Pumpkin Cookies
Ingredients
Pumpkin cookie
- 1/2 cup Butter salted or unsalted, softened
- 1/2 cup Granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup Brown sugar
- 1 Egg yolk
- 1/4 cup Pumpkin puree 100% pumpkin, not pie filling
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 & 2/3 cup AP flour
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1 & 1/2 tsp Pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
Caramel cream cheese frosting
- 5 oz Cream cheese full fat, softened
- 4 tbsp Butter unsalted, softened
- 3 tbsp Caramel homemade or store-bought
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup Powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp Caramel extract optional, for stronger caramel flavor
- Pumpkin pie spice for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until smooth. Add the egg yolk, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract and mix again to combine.1/2 cup Butter, 1/2 cup Granulated sugar, 1/3 cup Brown sugar, 1 Egg yolk, 1/4 cup Pumpkin puree, 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- Add the flour, salt, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon, and mix just until the flour disappears. Don’t overmix.1 & 2/3 cup AP flour, 1/4 tsp Salt, 1 tsp Baking powder, 1 & 1/2 tsp Pumpkin pie spice, 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
- Using a large cookie scoop, scoop 8 equal dough balls onto the baking sheet and gently flatten each one to about 1 inch thick. Bake for 13 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 20 minutes, then move them to a cooling rack and let them cool completely before frosting.
Make the caramel cream cheese frosting
- Beat the butter and cream cheese with the whisk attachment for 3 minutes, until smooth.5 oz Cream cheese, 4 tbsp Butter
- Add the vanilla, caramel, powdered sugar, and caramel extract (if using). Whip for another 3 to 4 minutes, until light and fluffy.3 tbsp Caramel, 1 tsp Vanilla extract, 3/4 cup Powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp Caramel extract
- Pipe the frosting onto each cooled cookie with a piping bag (or a zip-top bag with the corner snipped off), dust with pumpkin pie spice, and enjoy!Pumpkin pie spice
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The frosting on these is 👌🏻 I love that it’s a very simple cookie and used the fool proof caramel recipe by Chahinez as well! Love her recipes!!
Thank you so much Kathy! I am glad to hear you used the homemade caramel recipe as well!
Chahinez
These were so good and so easy to make! Took them to work and they were a hit with everyone!
So happy you enjoyed these, Heather! Thank you for trying them!
Chahinez
These are delicious and incredibly easy to make!!! They are my new favorite pumpkin recipe for fall!! 10/10!
So happy to hear that!!!
Chahinez
So amazing and easy to make. I’m going to be making these the entire Fall season! The cookies were super moist and the frosting so delicious on top. 1000/10.
I am so happy you enjoyed these!!
Chahinez
So yummy!! A perfect copycat for the real Crumbl cookie. Soft, fluffy, and delicious! I’m going to be making these all season long!
So happy to hear that you loved them, Cami!
Chahinez
INCREDIBLE, everyone I gave one of these cookies to was mind blown by the flavor and how good it was. highly recommend!
Thank you so much for trying them, Jacod! So glad to hear everyone loved them : )
Chahinez
Beyond good is such an understatement. These are dangerous. So so good. I’m damn near tempted to try all the recipes you ever make just to try it.
Hey! That’s a great reason to try all the recipes. ou can try one cookie and give the rest out to friends and family!
Chahinez
Absolutely delicious and beautiful!!
Thank you so much, Rebekah!
Chahinez
These were so good and so easy to make. I was a little nervous because the dough seemed too wet, but I just went with it and they turned out perfect. Make sure to take them out of the oven after the time it says, they will seem to soft, but they continue to cook on the tray as they are cooling down. The frosting is really the star. I used Bon Appetite’s homemade salted caramel sauce in it. It was smooth and the most delicious frosting I’ve ever tasted. I put them in the fridge and ate some the next day and they were still delicious. I’m excited to try more of the Crumbl copycat recipes.
Thank you so much for such a thorough review!! I’m glad you enjoyed them and I’m so happy to hear that frosting was top notch 🙂
Chahinez
This is my favorite cookie from Crumbl and I’m so happy I can make it at home now! These were so easy to make and taste even better than Crumbl!! My boyfriend isn’t a pumpkin fan but he adores these cookies, I had to put them away before he ate the entire batch lol. Highly recommend making these ♡
I love hearing that this recipe takes nonpumpkin lovers and converts them to pumpkin fanatics! Thank you for such a great review 🙂
Chahinez
My girls and I made these for their troop’s service project to give to our local disable adults who work in our community. We obviously made extra so the kids could try some and they are delicious! My kids went nuts for them. Thanks for the recipe.
I’m so glad to hear they loved them Kerri!!!
these were so good!! i didnt use carmel extract, but on some of them i added a carmel swirl on top, very nice finishing touch (: overall delicious!
So happy you enjoyed these cookies, Sophia!!
Chahinez
love the recipe!! but cannot for the life of me figure out how to keep my cookies from spreading when i bake them. any tips?
Try adding a few tablespoons of flour to help thicken the remaining dough 🙂