Home Recipes Desserts Pumpkin Pie Thumbprint Cookies

Pumpkin Pie Thumbprint Cookies

Name: Pumpkin Pie Thumbprint Cookies
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 16
Ingredients: 4 oz. butter softened; 2 oz. cream cheese softened (I used reduced fat); 1/3 c. sugar; 1 egg; 1 tsp. vanilla; 1 3/4 c. all purpose flour I used spelt flour; pinch of salt; 1/2 tsp. baking powder; 1 c. canned pumpkin not pumpkin pie filling; 1/4 c. sugar; 1 egg; 1 tsp. cinnamon; 1/2 tsp. ground ginger; dash of ground cloves

(15 votes)
125 Comments3 minutes
February 13, 2023
Andi GleesonJump to Recipe

Desserts

You need a batch of Pumpkin Pie Thumbprint Cookies in your life. These lightly sweet shortbread cookies filled with spiced pumpkin were inspired by Pop Tarts. Pull up a chair, and I’ll tell you why.

Pumpkin Pie Thumbprint Cookies - These simple, lightly sweet cookies taste like Fall!

I know I’ve told you a whole bunch of times that my kids (and now my cat!) wake up early. Really early. Lately it has been taking its toll on me. I can get by on 5 or 6 hours of sleep for a day or two, but when it’s interrupted sleep and goes on for several days, I turn into a mess. I feel grumpy, teary, and sleepy all at the same time and am desperate for a nap all day. The trouble is, I have too much to do to nap, so I keep pushing on through the sleep deprivation as best I can. By Friday of last week, I knew I needed to catch up on sleep a bit. Sleeping in on Saturday sounded dreamy, and by sleeping in, I mean staying in bed past 7 am. My boys are 7 and 3, so I decided they could fend for themselves one morning. I wanted to make it as easy as possible for them to be self sufficient for a couple hours, so I bought a rare treat: Pop Tarts. These weren’t just any old Pop Tarts mind you but Limited Edition Pumpkin Pie Pop Tarts! On Friday night, I coached my oldest about getting his little brother to the bathroom, feeding the cat, distributing Pop Tarts, and watching cartoons the next morning. I asked them to let me sleep until the decadent hour of 7:30am. It worked! Mostly. There were some unfortunate cat interruptions, but the kids didn’t come get me until 7:05, surely a record at our house. Once I got up, I looked at that box of pumpkin Pop Tarts enviously. I wanted one of those “breakfast pastries” (that aren’t at all like cookies) so badly I could taste it, except I couldn’t actually taste it, which was the sad part. Since they are made with wheat and wheat and I broke up a few months ago, all I could do was stare at that colorful box while eating some gluten-free cereal. Then I got the idea that I could make my own pumpkin Pop Tarts! Then I felt a little baffled about how to easily make them wheat free, and my friend Paula from Call Me PMc already did Homemade Pumpkin Pop Tarts last fall. After some day dreaming about pumpkin, I came up with this thumbprint cookie idea. I made mine with spelt flour, which is my baking BFF, but you could use regular flour if you can eat wheat like a normal person. I hope you enjoy these pumpkin cookies as much as we did. I dare say they are even better than Pop Tarts!

Here are a few tools I love for this recipe:

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Here’s even more pumpkin goodness for you:

Pumpkin Muffins with Caramel Glaze - Get an easy breakfast recipe and find out what FODMAP foods are and why they matter if you have gluten intolerance! - wearychef.com — Pumpkin Muffins with Caramel Glaze

Marbled Pumpkin Pound Cake — Pumpkin Muffins with Caramel Glaze

Andi Gleeson

Andi Gleeson is a passionate blogger and mom based in San Francisco who focuses on easy and delicious dinner recipes.

125 comments

Terrific recipes, easy & delicious! THANKS

Thanks so much, Pauline!

I really dont celebrate mine.

That’s too bad, Michael. I hope you at least enjoy a good dinner, but I like to do that every day of the year :)

Born Day after Christmas, so I am usually ready for a break from all the Celebrating… Im OK with it LOL…

I hope you at least eat some cake :) Thanks, Michael!

My birthday, my father’s birthday, and my mother in laws birthday are all within 5 days of each other…and always land right at father’s day weekend. We started hosted a big Father’s Day Birthday Bash for both sides of my family at our house every year. It’s a lot of work since it is always at least 25 people (and that’s just when it’s all direct family) but this way everyone gets celebrated with no hurt feelings.

That’s fun to have one big bash, and in the end it’s probably less work than having get togethers for three birthdays and Father’s Day!

For my birthday I usually go out to dinner once with just my husband and I usually go out once with my Mom and other family members. My birthday is ten days after Christmas, so I don’t really do a lot of celebrating. We also try to go away for a long weekend around my birthday, somewhere within driving distance (like St Augustine, FL or Sarasota, FL).

It’s tough having a birthday so close to Christmas, but two birthday dinners and a weekend away all sound so nice! Glad you get a little spoiled too :)

Going out with my mom to our special birthday restaurant

Sounds nice, Ronald!

Oh! I love thumbprint cookies and REALLY love the pumpkin pie idea! Sounds delish!

Thanks so much, Patricia! Glad to connect with you today :)

Birthdays tend to be hit or miss…depending on finances. Lots of warm fuzzies, but not much else to count on.

At least you can count on that! Feeling loved is a gift for sure.

most of the time i have few bottles with friends :)

Sounds like a good party, Raymond :)

Junk food and a dvd binge watch.

That could be any Friday night for me ;) Thanks for stopping by, Tamara!

I love anything made with pumpkin.

I usually celebratre by going out to dinner with my husband

Sounds like a lovely way to celebrate to me :)

I usually pick a restaurant to go to when I celebrate my birthday – whether it be brunch, lunch, or dinner. I also usually pick some kind of activity that I want to do for the day (hiking, shopping, movie, etc).

I love a full-day celebration, Sherry-Lynne. Sounds like you’ve got it just right!

I put in for my day off at work and celebrate by going shopping.

I celebrated like that last year, and it was so nice! Thanks for stopping by, Laurie :)

My family takes me out to my favorite restaurant for my birthday celebration.

I love a good birthday dinner too, Linda :)

Family comes over and we eat and have birthday cake together.

Dinner and cake is as good as it gets, Rose :)

We don’t celebrate much for my birthday because it is too close to Christmas, but my husband does buy me presents and sometimes we go out for supper to celebrate it.

That is tough to have a December birthday! A gift and dinner sounds great though :)

I celebrate my birthday with my family over a meal at a favorite restaurant. We change the location for each birthday typically.

That sounds great, Michele! I am bad about going to the same places over and over, but changing it up sounds better :)

Generally, I don’t really do anything for my birthday. My parents and kids call me, and I might fix myself a nice dinner, but that’s about it.

Hi, Anne. You should treat yourself to a nice cake or other dessert too! Thanks for stopping by, and good luck in the giveaway :)

I buy a cake from a local cake shop, celebrate and have dinner with my family at home.

Sounds good to me, Sarah! Thanks for entering, and good luck!

I celebrate my birthday by going to a nice restaurant and having a nice dinner

That sounds like a perfect evening, Mary.

We have cake and ice cream with family.

It’s not a birthday without cake if you ask me, Angela :) Good luck in the giveaway!

Yes, will make those cookies!

Hi, Kathy. I think you’ll love the cookies. Thank you!

Nice!

Thanks, Walter!

this year at 63 I stayed home alone and broke and very tired

I’m sorry to hear that, Joe :( I hope #64 is much happier! Good luck in the giveaway.

Chicken dinner with friends–every year!

I love birthday traditions like that, Paige. We celebrate almost every birthday with a shrimp boil, and we’re always looking forward to the next one!

I DONT

I ate a whole birthday cake myself!!!

Ha! That’s my kind of party, Timothy! :)

To be honest, haven’t truly celebrated a birthday in years. If the timing is right my other 1/2 & I will consider a live show or high end dining experience anywhere close to one of our b-days the celebration. By the way, great collection of unique pumpkin recipes. They have all just moved to the top of my “must try list”.

Thanks! I’m happy you found some recipes you’d like to try. I agree that you’ve gotta celebrate when you can! I’ll take a live show or high end dining any time I can get it ;)

For my birthday, we have a family dinner with food of my choosing :) and CAKE!

Sounds like a good party to me, Ashley! Good luck in the giveaway :)

I thank God for putting me on this earth and I cherish every single moment of “my day”.

That is very inspirational, Donna. I’ll have to keep that in mind when I’m having a bad day and remember all the things I should be grateful for!

I always celebrate by just going shopping and going out to eat.

Sounds good to me, Jose!

I celebrate birthdays with cake & ice cream.

That makes the birthday, Frank! Good luck in the giveaway :)

How do you celebrate your birthday?

sound to sleep

A good night’s sleep sounds like a gift to me, Kelly!

I celebrate by taking a long nap, a hot bath and reading a good book.

A relaxing birthday sounds wonderful, Annalisa!

I usually celebrate with a nice dinner out with family and friends.

Sounds perfect, Greg! Thanks for entering :)

I have 2 friends that on each of our birthdays we go out for a girls lunch, good food, good friends and lots of laughs.

That sounds so fun, Janet! Are their birthdays around the same time? I have one friend who has the same birthday as me, so we always go out to lunch together.

usually carry out or dine in at a restaurant

Yes, a night off cooking is definitely in order!

We go to a beach side restaurant for my birthday.

That sounds so nice, Sharon!

I don’t celebrate my birthday anymore. My husband and I may go out to eat, but as I get older I don’t like my birthday anymore!

You should use it as an excuse for a nice dinner at least! Thanks for entering the giveaway, Yvette. Good luck!

I celebrate my birthday by eating food I like. :) I live in a large house with lots and lots of little boys, who find my vegetarian and healthy inclinations apocalyptic and somewhat freakish. So, on my birthday, my mother makes me whatever food I want, which usually consists of a waffle or pancake with chia seeds or something else healthy for breakfast, a salad or sammich for lunch with my favorite fruit, and whatever suits my fancy for dinner (it changes every year- last year I had Whole Wheat Rigatoni with greens for dinner- it was delish and super fast) and usually a Key Lime Pie for dessert (I’m kind of boring that way). It’s the thing I’ll probably miss the most as I head off to college.

Oh that’s so nice you get meals catered to your tastes all day! You deserve that! My husband prefers key lime pie to birthday cake too. I made a key lime poke cake last year that was a good compromise. Good luck in the giveaway, Jessica!

dinner with family, this year’s (50) was amazing! My first Cheesecake Factory experience!
Love your recipes.
Thank you for the giveaway.

Thanks, Annie! I just went to Cheeecake Factory recently, and it was the first time in a long while. I love their big menu and BIG slices of cheesecake of course!

I spend the day trying to forget it’s my birthday…again!

Haha, just think of it as an excuse to eat cake and you’ll be happy about your birthday!

hi, usually i celebrate with a family dinner, then cake & ice-cream

Sounds good to me, Theresa!

I am an 81yr old great grandmother and live alone with my 2 cats. All 7 of my children live in other states so birthdays are no fun with all the kids no longer underfoot. However I bake cookies for friends children and it makes me happy to be able to do so.

I’m sorry you don’t live near your children, Eliza! I hope you at least enjoy a nice dinner on your birthday. Take care :)

We always go out with my boys to dinner. And this year I’ll be running in a 10k. :)

Oh good for you, Dezi! I keep saying I’m going to work up to running a 5K. It hasn’t happened yet. I don’t think I could even run 1K! ;)

My birthday is the day after my grandmas so mine has never really been celebrated. We would always focus on hers and not the last 4 years since she’s been gone and we could focus on mine it’s too much to deal with as we are focusing on it being hers and her not being her to celebrate with any longer. We always shared the same cake so I never even had my own cake. My b/day is also June 14th so it’s also the Army’s birthday so I get to celebrate with some of the most awesome men and women on the planet…along with one of the best role models ever (my grandma).

Hi, Renee. That must be hard to celebrate your birthday now that your grandma is gone since the two of you always celebrated together. I hope each year gets a little easier and you can start to enjoy your cake!

Taking the day off!

That sounds great, Jennifer! My kids never give me a day off ;)

I let my family surprise me :)

That’s fun, Claudia! I hope they treat you well every year :)

I always go out on the town to eat and have drinks with friends

That sounds fun, Kiera. I need to go out on the town with friends. That hasn’t happened much since we had kids!

I’d like to make these cookies and send them to my grandmother. Do you think they’d be okay after three or four days in the mail?

Hi, Nancy! I think they should be OK. I would pack them with long-lasting ice packs and send them Priority Mail, so they would probably get to where they are going in a couple days and still taste fresh.

I get to have breakfast in bed.

That sounds relaxing, Renee!

Birth DAY? Heck, in these parts we celebrate for a week of two! Having fun, taking the time to do special things, eating treats, and drink ing delicious concoctions. Life’s short…..give thanks and enjoy!

That sounds good, Kiki! This year my husband’s birthday was on a Tuesday, so we had little celebrations the weekend before and after and on the day of. I like making it a week-long event!

I think I tasted a pop tart once???? But I know I love shortbread cookies and pumpkin. I also love to make thumb print cookies. This is a new one for me. I pinned it.

I grew up eating unfrosted Pop Tarts toasted with a little butter spread on top. So. Good. It’s hard to even find the unfrosted ones anymore! Homemade cookies are better for me anyway :)

dinner with family

Birthday dinner is definitely my favorite part of the day. Who am I kidding? That’s my favorite part of every day! Good luck in the giveaway, Nikki :)

This is such a great idea Andi! I’m totally giggling at the idea of you pouring milk on your gluten free cereal while you eye the poptarts. So sad! Great solution :)

Thanks, Karen! I’m glad the gluten free cereal scene sounded as pathetic as I intended ;)

I keep birthdays pretty low-key. Out to dinner, mainly.

Sounds good to me, Holly! I hope you get cake at the end :)

I usually go out to dinner with family.

That’s a perfect way to celebrate, Jean!

I celebrate my birthday by choosing a nice restaurant for my family to take me.

That sounds perfect, Rusty!

I haven’t done anything too major for my birthday in a long time. I usually spend it with loved ones and eat cake. Thank you for the great cookie recipe. I know someone who is going to LOVE these! :)

Eating cake is the best part of a birthday, so it sounds like you’ve got your priorities straight ;) Glad you like the cookies, Isabella. Thank you!

We celebrate our birthdays with good food, cake & ice cream!

As long as there is good food it sounds like a good time to me!

I celebrate my birthday by spending it with my friends and family, but my favorite part from celebrating is eating cake :)

Yes for sure! I love birthday cake too, Ivana!

Birthdays are a crap shoot for me. Sometimes we go camping, if it falls on Memorial Day weekend. Otherwise we don’t do anything too special.

I hope you at least get a good dinner and dessert, Kathleen!