The moment weather starts getting cooler, the need for comfort (chunky scarves, piping hot cider, and of course, pumpkin everything) hits. Pumpkin spice is the perfect fall baking ingredient — cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and clove bring the perfect amount of warmth to a chilly day.
Everyone needs a good go-to pumpkin spice recipe to share with friends and families at football games, chili cook-offs, and bonfires. These soft and puffy pumpkin spice honey cookies are like pillows — lightweight, supremely soft, delicate, and melt in your mouth.
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed 1 large egg 1/4 cup of Cloister whipped pumpkin spice honey 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice or to taste 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons corn starch 1 teaspoon baking soda pinch salt, optional and to taste
DIRECTIONS:
To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, egg, and beat on medium-high speed until well-creamed, light and fluffy, about 5 minutes (or use a hand mixer and beat for at least 7 minutes). Do not shortcut the creaming process; make sure dough is very light in color and fluffy, stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the honey, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until combined and smooth, about 2 minutes.
Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, optional salt, and mix until just combined, about 1 minute.
Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, form heaping two tablespoon mounds (you should be able to make about 17). Place mounds on a large plate, flatten mounds very slightly with your palm, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter.
Preheat oven to 350F, spray baking sheets with cooking spray. Place mounds on baking sheets, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet). Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set, even if undercooked, pale, and glossy in the center. Do not bake longer than 9 minutes for soft cookies because they firm up as they cool; bake for 9-10 minutes if you like firmer cookies (The cookies shown in the photos were baked with dough that had been chilled overnight, allowed to come to room temp for 10 minutes while oven preheated, and were baked for 8 minutes). Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.
Store cookies airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 4 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.
Bakers note: The dough must be chilled before baking. It’s impossible for warm dough to bake up into thick, puffy cookies. Warm dough is limp and spreads much more while baking. So be sure to chill your dough if you want puffy cookies!
*This image and recipe was adapted from Averie Sunshine’s Soft and Puffy Pumpkin Spice Honey Cookie recipe from her site https://www.averiecooks.com/ where you can find fast and easy recipes from dinners to desserts that taste amazing and are geared for real life.
