These Pumpkin Shortbread Cookies made with browned butter and pumpkin puree are lightly spiced, the perfect combo of crunchy and crumbly, and full of pumpkin flavor.
When I started planing recipes to share this fall, one of the first things I wanted to make was pumpkin shortbread cookies, because I love pumpkin; I love shortbread; of course I was going to combine two of my favorite things into one cookie come fall.
But when I went looking for pumpkin shortbread cookie recipes, I realized a pumpkin/shortbread hybrid was easier said than created.
Here’s the thing about cooking with pumpkin: pumpkin holds a ton of moisture. That’s why cooking with it gives you the softest, moistest breads, cakes, cookies in the world.
Here’s the thing about shortbread: It’s exactly the opposite. The only liquid in classic shortbread is the water content of the butter because your end goal is a cookie that falls somewhere between crunchy and crumbly NOT soft and fluffy.
So adding pumpkin to shortbread gives you a bit of a problem.
To get the correct shortbread texture and use pumpkin, you have to remove some of the moisture from the ingredients. I initially thought about cooking the pumpkin until it was reduced, but that meant a fairly long cooking time that I didn’t want to build into the recipe. But, by a stroke of luck, while researching a different recipe, I discovered that you can actually just literally squeeze the moisture out of canned pumpkin.
Seriously. It’s easy. And only takes a few paper towels and about 30 seconds. Win!
Squeezed Pumpkin Puree, Browned Butter and Pumpkin Puree, Dough (1/2 batch)
The second thing I knew I was going to have to do was cook some of the water out of the butter. This means browning it over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes while some of the water evaporates, and you are left with butter that is dark, aromatic, and beautiful. Plus, the browned butter gives these cookies a rich, nutty base flavor. Double win!
If you’ve never browned butter before, I’ve embedded a how-to video from America’s Test Kitchen below the recipe. The process isn’t hard, but sometimes it’s nice to have a visual reference.
Once you have your pumpkin and butter prepared, these cookies come together in a flash and are so worth the little extra trouble at the start.
I’m a huge fan of these pumpkin shortbread cookies. They are full of pumpkin flavor and have just the right balance between crunchy and crumbly, sweet but not too sweet, and spiced but not overwhelmingly so. I drizzled the cookies with a bit of melted chocolate for added visual interest in the photos (and I put instructions for it in the recipe) but they don’t really need it.
These cookies are just as tasty naked. 😉
This recipes uses 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree, which about 1/7 of a standard 15-ounce can. You can check out my post What to Do With Leftover Pumpkin Puree for some ideas on what to do with the other 6/7s.
For more pumpkin recipes, try Pumpkin Donuts With Maple Glaze, Small-batch Pumpkin Cupcakes, and this Small Pumpkin Cake.
Pumpkin Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
Pumpkin Shortbread Cookies
- 1/4 cup (61g) pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup (4oz) salted butter cubed
- 1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons (45g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ginger
Chocolate Drizzle
- 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chopped (high-quality chips are fine)
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Instructions
Pumpkin Shortbread Cookies
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
- Scoop pumpkin puree onto a very clean dish towel or a couple layers of paper towels, fold towel over the puree, and press down firmly, squeezing moisture out of. Flip the puree onto a dry spot and repeat once or twice more until most of the moisture has been removed and you can pick the puree up in a ball.
- Melt butter in a medium, heavy-bottomed, light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook, swirling the pan frequently, until butter becomes a medium nutty brown color. Do not leave the butter unattended as the milk solids will burn easily. Remove from heat.
- Add prepared pumpkin puree to the butter and whisk vigorously until well-combined (it will bubble and pop, so be careful).
- In a large bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients. Pour pumpkin and butter mixture over the top and use a rubber spatula to stir the ingredients until well-combined.
- Place the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll out to about 1/4-inch thick. Place in the refrigerator while you clean up, about 5 minutes.
- Remove dough from the refrigerator and cut out 30 to 40 1 1/2-inch rounds. Use a metal spatula to transfer rounds to prepared baking sheet. Gathering scraps and re-rolling (between your sheets of parchment paper) as necessary.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the tops of the cookies lose their shiny, under-cooked look.
- Cool completely on the tray, at least 20 min.
Chocolate Drizzle
- In a small, microwave-safe bowl, combine chopped chocolate and oil. Microwave on medium for 30 seconds. Stir. Continue to microwave in 15-second increments if necessary, until your chocolate is smooth. Use a spoon to drizzle chocolate or transfer chocolate to a small plastic bag and snip a very small piece of the corner so you can "pipe" lines.
- Chocolate will set in about 1 hour, or transfer cookies to the refrigerator and it will set almost immediately.
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OneBirdieMa says
Don’t know yet about rating the recipe BUT is the word “loses” missing from the sentence near the end about baking until the cookies their shiny look?
Tracy says
Thanks for catching that!! Fixed it.
Nina Gilbert says
This recipe looks like exactly what I need to complement a chocolate mousse I’m making for Thanksgiving. Question: I’m nervous about the salted butter. I see this note at Cook’s Illustrated about browning salted butter:
“…salted butter also foams more than unsalted butter as it melts, which makes it hard to judge the color change. So while it’s possible to brown salted butter, there will be no browned-milk-solid flavor benefit from it and it’s actually more difficult to avoid burning salted butter compared with unsalted.”
Have you tried this with unsalted? I do plenty of cooking and baking, but this will be my first browned butter. Thank you!
Tracy says
Hi, Nina, I don’t think I’ve ever made these with unsalted butter, but it shouldn’t be a problem. Just add about 1/4 teaspoon salt to the flour, and you’ll be good to go. Love the idea of serving these with a chocolate mousse!
Nina GIlbert says
Perfect! Thank you. Love that these are crisp—contrasting texture to the mousse.
Nina says
It worked! It worked! Very classy little cookies. Even though I forgot to add any salt at all.
I must adjust this recipe used up more paper towels than any recipe I’ve ever made. But it’s pretty brilliant and I think I’ll make them again sometime. Thank you!
Tracy says
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Nina! A clean towel or two would probably work just fine in place of paper towels. This is an older recipe, and I definitely try to use fewer single-use products these days!
Susan Knaebel says
Always bring my old fashioned shortbread cookies to family dinners. This Thanksgiving, they’re getting Pumpkin Shortbread Cookies. Been looking for a holiday dessert that could ride a few miles & show up lookin’ good – these are the ones! (good thing I don’t eat while driving)
Tracy says
Hope everyone enjoys them, Susan!!
Michelle says
I’d like to make these and I already have pumpkin spice so I was wondering what the proportion would be for that vs cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and ginger separately?
Tracy says
I’d do a lightly heaping teaspoon of pumpkin spice to replace all the spices here.
Holly says
I was able to find salted butter in the fridge, I guess my mom bought some when she went to the store. I have never browned butter before and we don’t own a light bottom pan so it was not easy at all but I think I did all right. It did not bubble when I added the dry pumpkin but again, it turned out ok. I put chocolate on some and some without. Besides the fact my mom is going to kill me when she gets home from work for baking again (I made your pumpkin donuts and mm cookies a few days ago) I’m happy with the outcome! Thank you for the recipe. In my defense, I wouldn’t want the can of pumpkin to go bad. That would be wasting money 🙂
Tracy says
Oh good! Glad you were able to make it work (and impressed you successfully browned butter in a dark pan–I burn it every time I try that). 🙂
Holly says
I’d like to make these and really don’t want to go to the store to get salted butter. Can I use margarine and add salt to the recipe? If so, how much should I add? Thank you!
Tracy says
Hi, Holly, unfortunately, I don’t think margarine will work for these cookies. What makes browned butter brown is the cooked milk solids in the butter, which margarine lacks. Sorry!
V says
mmmmmmm so yummy, thx for the recipe!
Tracy says
So glad you enjoyed them!!
Amy says
These look great! I’d like to make them a few days ahead- do you think they need to be refrigerated or will they keep at room temp?
Tracy says
Hi, Amy, they can be kept at room temperature. 🙂
Angela says
These are easy, Fantastic cookies. I made a double batch and brought them to work as a welcome fall treat to share with the small company I work for. They were gone in minutes and People were asking for the recipe. I used a powdered sugar glaze drizzle crisscrossed with a salted caramel drizzle for a dramatic look. Big hit. New favorite fall treat. Thank so much for this recipe!
Tracy says
Thanks, Angela! I’m so glad you all enjoyed them, and I LOVE your topping idea!!
MEESH says
Hi these sound great, I would like to try this making my own puree. Any recommendations??
Tracy says
Thanks! I’ve never tried this recipe with homemade puree, but I would think it would work, just really make sure to squeeze out all the liquid. If you do try, please report back with how it goes!
Neta Livne says
This looks delicious! Can’t wait to try them 🙂
The problem is, we don’t have pumpkin puree in Israel 🙁
I’ll try making it at home, and will try this, for sure.
Thank you
Tracy says
Thanks, Neta!
sue | theviewfromgreatisland says
Three of my FAVORITE things in one cookie ~ I wish I could reach right in and grab one!
Tracy says
I wish I could share through the screen!! 😉 Thanks, Sue!
Renee says
I simply love the idea of browned butter and pumpkin together! I definitely want to try these cookies!
Tracy says
You should!! 😉 Thanks, Renee!
Corina says
I never knew you could make pumpkin shortbread either! I’ll have to restock on kitchen roll as I just love shortbread and it’s my favourite biscuit to make at home.
Tracy says
Thanks, Corina!
Platter Talk says
Pumpkin shortbread. Oh DO behave! I love shortbread & I love pumpkin. Great combo. Thanks.
Tracy says
Well, thank you. 😉
Jagruti says
These pumpkin shortbread looks marvellous ..so tempting, Surely I will bake it too..bookmarking it. Thanks for sharing !
Tracy says
Thanks!!