If you love traditional New York-style black and white cookies, you’ll flip for these Pumpkin Black and White Cookies! Pillowy soft and cakey pumpkin spice cookies glazed with half vanilla, half chocolate!
The weather is slooooooowly starting to cooperate with my fall fantasy and I am savoring every day where the temperature gauge doesn’t go beyond 90 degrees F. One day soon, I hope! – we’ll be savoring breezy, cool and cozy fall mornings. I am jittery with excitement over wearing sweaters and putting away god-awful shorts. I am so jealous of everyone else in the country or world who can cuddle up with a scarf and boots because summer has its hot, dead hands still on Sacramento.
Anyway, despite the fact that it is still socially acceptable to wear swimwear and crop tops (ugh), I am fully embracing the fall foods in full force. I have already baked with pumpkin and apples, I’ve had four caramel apples, I’ve purchased actual pumpkins, and I’ve ordered my favorite autumn squash soup from Panera. (Side note: if you haven’t tried it yet, you MUST! It is my all-time fave and it is so good!).
Now it is time to unleash allllll the fall recipes for you to enjoy, because hopefully you don’t live in the devil’s armpit and you’re enjoying the leaves change and fall attire!
When I was brainstorming recipe ideas to make this fall, I was drawn to doing a seasonal black and white cookie. These classic cookies are staples across most NYC delis but aren’t as common in other parts of the country for some reason. I’m here to change that with these Pumpkin Black and White Cookies!
These cookies have a cakey and pillowy soft pumpkin spice cookie base that gets frosted with chocolate (black) and vanilla (white) icing so you don’t have to choose sides! They’re surprisingly simple to make and stay soft for DAYS – if they’ll last that long! I love that these have a warm and cozy pumpkin spice flavor to them, thanks to pumpkin puree and plenty of pumpkin pie spice in the cookie dough. It truly tastes divine with the vanilla and chocolate icings!
Pumpkin Black and White Cookies are soon to become your new favorite fall cookie!
Pumpkin Black and White Cookies
These Pumpkin Black & White Cookies are DIVINE! Pillowy soft and cakey pumpkin spice cookies glazed with chocolate and vanilla icing a la NYC black and white cookie style!
Servings: 12 cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- 10 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree NOT pumpkin pie filling
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
For the Glazes:
- 5 cups confectioners’ sugar sifted
- 7 Tablespoons whole milk divided
- 2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
- 3 Tablespoons cocoa powder sifted
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and granulated sugar together with the paddle attachment for 2 minutes or until light and fluffy and pale in color. Add in the egg and vanilla and mix well, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice together. Add in 1/3 of the flour mixture to the wet mixture, mixing on low speed until just barely incorporated, then add in half of the pumpkin puree, mixing well. Repeat, alternating with flour mixture and pumpkin puree and ending with the flour mixture last until a soft dough comes together. The cookie dough is a cross between cake batter and cookie dough consistency, so don’t be alarmed that it isn’t as stiff as traditional cookie dough.
Using a 1/4 cup cookie dough scoop, portion out mounds of dough 3″ apart on the baking sheets (6 cookies per sheet). Bake for 15-18 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking time to ensure even cooking, or until cookies are set. Cool the cookies completely on the baking sheets.
For the glaze: In a large bowl with the sifted confectioners’ sugar, add in 6 Tablespoons of the whole milk, the corn syrup, vanilla extract, and salt and whisk until a smooth glaze forms. Portion out 1 cup of the glaze and place it in a separate smaller bowl. To the smaller bowl, add in the remaining 1 Tablespoon whole milk and the sifted cocoa powder and stir to combine.
Take an offset spatula and scrape up some of the vanilla icing. Spread it on one side of the flat underside of the cookie. (You frost the cookies upside down technically). Allow the vanilla glaze to set briefly, about 15 minutes. Then use another offset spatula to repeat with the chocolate glaze on the other side of the cookie. Allow chocolate glaze to set, about 20 minutes, before serving or storing.½
Notes
If you don’t have jarred and prepared pumpkin pie spice, a homemade blend will work! Just use 1 & 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg and 1/4 tsp ground cloves.
Super soft and cakey, these irresistible glazed pumpkin spice cookies will be a fall must have from here on out!
Have a super sweet day!
xo, Hayley
