This pumpkin pie cookie cake is a sugar cookie cake that’s all dressed up for Thanksgiving. With frosting made to look like pie filling and crust, it’s as fun to look at as it is to eat. It’s the perfect treat for someone who loves cookies or just wants to enjoy the tradition of pumpkin pie without the actual pie.
I’m loving how fun this pumpkin pie cookie cake is! So festive and simple all at the same time. I was inspired by a cookie cake I saw at our local grocery store and thought it would be fun to recreate it with two different size options. The instructions below include how to make it as a 9-inch cookie cake (with is thicker), as well as in a 12-inch pizza pan (which turns out thinner). Each has a slightly different look that’s kind of natural for it’s size. And you could make either, depending on how many you want to serve or how thick you like your cookie cake.
The cookie cake itself is my easy sugar cookie cake, but I reduced the recipe a bit to make it work well for frosting as a pie, and so that it’d fit in the pizza pan. The buttercream is a classic vanilla buttercream. The only tricky part of this cookie cake is to get the colors right. The brown is more straightforward, but getting a pumpkin pie-looking orange took a little more attention. I worked slowly, add just a little orange or brown at a time, to make sure it didn’t go too far one way or the other. Eventually I settled on the color and I love how it turned out. It definitely says pumpkin pie!
Pumpkin Pie Cookie Cake Highlights
- Fun and festive – Nothing says Thanksgiving like pumpkin pie. But not everyone loves or feels like pumpkin pie. This cookie cake lets you incorporate the tradition – in cookie form!
- Soft and chewy – Most importantly, this cookie cake is delicious to eat. It’s soft, chewy and stays that was for several days. Just be sure not to over bake it!
- Easy, prep ahead – The cookie cake is simple to put together and can easily be made a day ahead, which is a huge plus at this busy time of year.
Ingredient Notes
You likely have most of the ingredients for this cookie cake on hand. Here are a few things to keep in mind about them. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Flour – Be sure to measure it properly so you don’t end up with a dry cookie cake. I like to use a food scale, but you can also use the spoon and level method. Don’t pack the flour into the cup.
- Salt – Amplifies the flavors already present. Without it, your cookie will be bland.
- Butter – I use unsalted butter and add my own salt. If you use salted, you may want to leave out the salt in the recipe to keep your cake from being too salty. The butter should be at room temperature.
- Sugar – You’ll need regular granulated sugar, with a little bit of brown sugar for a hint of flavor and a chewier texture. Don’t leave out the brown sugar – it really does make a difference.
- Egg white – This is a smaller version of my full-size sugar cookie cake, so it didn’t need the whole egg. Just the white!
- Powdered sugar – I know people often like to use as little sugar as possible, but you won’t want to reduce the amount of powdered sugar here. It adds volume to the buttercream. If you reduce it, you won’t have enough to decorate each part.
- Heavy whipping cream – I use heavy cream in the buttercream, but if you don’t have any on hand, you can also use milk. You just won’t need as much, as it’ll thin out the buttercream more quickly.
- Gel icing colors – I know the picture shows Americolor brown gel icing color, but after taking the picture I remembered that their brown tends to have a redness to it that I didn’t want. So I do recommend Wilton brown for this. Orange should be fine with either brand.
How To Make Pumpkin Pie Cookie Cake
This is a pretty straight forward cookie cake to make. The trickiest part is getting the buttercream colors right. The detailed printable instructions can be found in the recipe card below.
Make the cookie cake
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch cake pan or a 12-inch pizza pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
Combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
Add dry ingredients and mix until the dough is just well combined.
Press the cookie dough evenly into the prepared cake pan.
Bake, then allow to cool fully in the pan before removing it.
Make the buttercream and decorate
Beat the butter until smooth, then add about half of the powdered sugar and mix. Add vanilla extract and a tablespoon of cream and mix until well combined. Add remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
Divide the buttercream into 3 bowls. Leave one white, color one light brown and color the other pumpkin pie orange. Add small amounts of color at a time. You can always add more, but you can’t remove it once you add it.
Spread the orange buttercream evenly onto the top of the cookie cake. Create cut lines, if adding.
Using tip Wilton 1M, pipe the buttercream in a tight zig-zag motion around the outer edge of the cookie cake.
Using tip Wilton 863, pipe whipped cream onto the center of the “pie” or onto individual slices. Serve!
Tips for Cookie Cake
- Measure carefully – I always use a food scale, which is going to be most accurate. But if you don’t have one, the correct way to measure flour is to spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it with a knife to avoid packing the flour.
- Chose colors wisely – I do recommend Wilton brown for the crust. The Americolor brown gel icing color can have a redness to it that isn’t ideal here. Orange should be fine with either brand.
- No piping tip? No problem! – If you don’t have piping tips and don’t want to invest in them, you could add your buttercream to a ziplock bag and cut off the corner. Do the same piping motion for the crust. It will have a little bit different look, but it should still look like a crust.
- Cool completely – If you remove the cake from the pan before fully cooled, it’s more likely to break. Let it cool completely first.
How To Store Cookie Cake
- Storage – Store cookie cake in an air-tight container, if you have one that’s big enough. Otherwise, cover with clear wrap. You can use toothpicks to prop the clear wrap away from the buttercream. Best if eaten within 4-5 days.
- Freezing – If you’d like to freeze your cookie cake, you can do that. You could freeze it prior to frosting it, or freeze it with the buttercream. The buttercream just may not look quite a perfect after being wrapped for freezing. To freeze, wrap it in two layers of plastic wrap (and a layer of foil, if you want extra protection). Freeze for up to 3 months, then thaw in the fridge before using. If freezing with the buttercream, flash freeze it for 1-2 hours before wrapping, to help keep the design in tact.
More Great Thanksgiving Treats
Pumpkin Pie Cookie Cake
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Ingredients
Cookie Cake
- 1 ¾ cups (228g) all-purpose flour (measured correctly)
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons (140g) unsalted butter (room temperature)
- ½ cup (104g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons (28g) light brown sugar
- 1 large egg white
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Buttercream for 9-inch Cookie Cake
- ¾ cup (168g) unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 3 cups (345g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- Orange gel icing color
- Brown gel icing color
Buttercream for 12-inch Pizza Pan Cookie Cake
- 1 cup (224g) unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 4 cups (460g) powdered sugar
- 1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3-4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- Orange gel icing color
- Brown gel icing color
Instructions
Make the cookie cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 9-inch cake pan or a 12-inch pizza pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugars together in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until light in color and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. You should be able to see the change in color and texture and know it’s ready.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until the dough is just well combined. Do not over mix. Once it’s well combined, use a rubber spatula to help it come together to form a more cohesive ball, if needed.
- Press the cookie dough evenly into the prepared cake pan. For a 9-inch cake pan, bake for 13-16 minutes, or until lightly brown around the edges. For a 12-inch pizza pan, bake for 7-10 minutes or until just lightly brown around the edges.
- Allow to cool completely in the pan. It will firm up as it cools.
- Once cool, quickly invert the cookie onto a cooling rack. Quickly place another cooling rack, or your serving platter, on the bottom of the cookie (which is now facing up) and invert again, so that the cookie cake is upright. Set aside.
Make the buttercream (same process for both versions)
- To make the buttercream, add the butter to a large mixer bowl and beat until smooth.
- Add about half of the powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth.
- Add the vanilla extract and a tablespoon of cream and mix until well combined and smooth.
- Add the rest of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add more cream or water to get the right consistency.
Color the buttercream and decorate
- Divide the buttercream into 3 bowls. For the 9-inch cookie cake, color 1 cup (264g) light brown for the crust, set aside ¼ cup (66g) and leave it white for the swirl, color the rest (about 190g) orange for the pie filling. For the 12-inch pizza pan cookie cake, color 1 ½ cups (396g) light brown for the crust, set aside 6 tablespoons (99g) and leave it white for the swirls, color the rest (about 225g) orange for the pie filling.
- Add gel icing color to your desired shade. Add small amounts at a time. You can always add more, but you can’t remove it once you add it. I did a touch of brown for the “crust” and a little orange and a little brown for the pie filling.
- For both size cookie cakes, spread the orange buttercream evenly onto the top of the cookie cake, leaving about a ½ inch around the edge. Use a knife or pastry cutter to create “cut” lines on the “pie”. You can make as many “slices” as you’d like.
- Add the buttercream for the crust to a piping bag fitted with an open star piping tip. I used Wilton 1M. Pipe the buttercream in a tight zig-zag motion back and forth around the outer edge of the cookie cake.
- Add the buttercream for the whipped cream to a piping bag fitted with an open star or French star piping tip. I used a French star tip, Wilton 863. Pipe swirls, or dollops, of whipped cream into the middle of the cookie cake, or onto each slice.
- Serve. Store cookie cake in an air-tight container, if you have one that’s big enough. Otherwise, cover with clear wrap. You can use toothpicks to prop the clear wrap away from the buttercream. Best if eaten within 4-5 days.
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
