Soft Pumpkin Cloud Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
These cookies are the ultimate fall treat — light, fluffy, and topped with silky cream cheese frosting. Made with cake mix and brown butter for effortless, bakery-worthy results.
We’re not in the pursuit of perfection, we’re in the pursuit of joy - Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
Brown Butter Pumpkin Cloud Cookies w/ Cream Cheese Frosting
Cookie Ingredients
1 box spice cake mix (about 15.25 oz) - *Note, you will not need the items on the back of the box
1 ½ cups pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling)
½ cup unsalted butter, browned and cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
Cookie Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, pumpkin purée, cooled brown butter, and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth — the dough will be thick and slightly sticky.
Scoop rounded tablespoons of dough onto your baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
Bake for 11–13 minutes, or until the tops look set and slightly puffed. Don’t overbake — you want that soft, cloud-like texture.
Let cookies cool completely before frosting. (They’ll firm up a bit as they cool! 5 mins on the cookie sheet, then move to a wire rack)
While you wait, make your frosting 👇🏾
Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients
4 oz cream cheese, softened
4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1–2 tbsp milk or heavy cream, as needed for consistency (optional)
Cream Cheese Frosting Instructions
In a medium bowl, beat together the softened cream cheese and butter until smooth and creamy.
Gradually add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating on low to avoid a sugar cloud.
Mix in vanilla extract and milk/cream, one tablespoon at a time, until your frosting is thick but spreadable.
Spoon frosting into a piping bag (or zip-top bag with the corner cut off) and swirl generously over cooled cookies.
Optional: Sprinkle cinnamon on top of the swirled icing!
Enjoy!
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Fall is my season — the baking, the cozy smells, the way everything feels just a little softer.
But sometimes, between wearing all the hats (mom, wife, friend, creative, human trying to stay sane), I just don’t feel like doing all the things.
There are days when the last thing I want to do after dinner is pull out every measuring cup I own and spend the rest of the night cleaning the kitchen. And honestly? I don’t think I’m alone in that.
So many of us are carrying a lot right now — mentally, emotionally, even physically.
Sometimes you just want a moment of bliss without breaking the bank or making a mess.
A little win that feels like magic but doesn’t require perfection or planning.
That’s exactly why I adore this recipe.
It’s four ingredients for the cookies. That’s it.
These Soft Pumpkin Cloud Cookies come together in three minutes and bake in eleven. You’ll have warm, soft, pillowy cookies before you even realize it — and they are fabulous even without the frosting.
This has quickly become a staple in our home because it’s an easy win. And sometimes, we all need those.
Last night, I whipped these up after dinner while my husband and baby went for a walk. When they came back, the house smelled like brown butter and fall, and I had a tray of cookies waiting.
My husband, who swore he didn’t have much of a sweet tooth lately, said he’d “just try one.”
He ended up having four. 😂
Even the baby was jumping for joy after every bite — And you know I have video proof. 😉
Make these for yourself, your family, or your friends. You truly can’t lose. They’re ridiculously easy, incredibly soft, and feel like a hug in cookie form.
And if you need some extra lovin’, go for the cream cheese frosting. The way it melts into the warm cookie? Heaven on Earth. Enjoy, friends!
With Love,
Ambyr