These 2-Ingredient Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting Are Soft and Delicious

Photo byTwo Sisters Crafting

These 2-ingredient pumpkin cookies are light, fluffy and full of warm fall spices. It's hard to believe you only need two ingredients to make them but this is one of those recipes it's impossible to mess up. Just combine a box of spice cake mix with a can of pumpkin puree, scoop the batter onto a cookie sheet and bake.

Aside from the taste, clean-up is a breeze. You don't need to use a mixer (though you can) and everything goes into a single bowl. There's no need to measure ingredients because you use the full can of puree and the entire box of cake mix.

Another plus is that this recipe takes about 10 minutes to prepare and costs next-to nothing. A box of Duncan Hines Perfectly Moist Spice Cake mix costs $1.38 at my local grocery store and Great Value pumpkin puree sells for $1.17. Total cost: less than three dollars.

Because these cookies are so quick and easy, I like to splurge and make cream cheese frosting to pair them with (see recipe below). I love the contrast between the rich pumpkin spice flavor and the tang of the cream cheese, but these cookies also taste great with buttercream frosting. Or eat them warm right out of the oven.

Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients

1 (15.25 ounce) box of spice cake mix

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, stir the cake mix and canned pumpkin until well combined. Dough will be sticky.

3. Using a cookie scoop or two spoons, drop spoonfuls of batter onto the cookie sheets. Make sure cookies are two inches apart.

4. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until edges are golden, and remove from oven.

5. Let the cookies sit for 5 minutes on the baking sheets then transfer them to a wire rack.

6. If you plan to decorate the cookies, let them cool completely before frosting.

Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Notes

Be sure to use pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.

There are lots of possibilities for toppings. Frost with cream cheese frosting (recipe below) or try buttercream. Decorate the frosted cookies with chopped nuts, colored sprinkles, pumpkin pie spice, a dusting of cinnamon or even shaved dark chocolate.

For more textured cookies, try adding chocolate chips and/or chopped nuts.

These cookies rise rather high. If you want to flatten them to make frosting easier, spray the bottom of a glass and press it down lightly onto the scooped cookie dough.

If you don't have spice cake mix, you can use yellow cake mix and 1-2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice instead.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

1/2 (1 stick) cup butter, softened

1 8-ounce package of cream cheese, softened

4 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Mix the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla together on medium speed until thoroughly combined.

2. Gradually add the powdered sugar and combine on low speed, then increase to medium speed. Beat until frosting is light and fluffy.