Pumpkin is one of my favorite fall flavors to cook with. It adds color and flavor to a dish and takes a recipe from ordinary to extraordinary. Last year I made tasty Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, and this fall I wanted to try out a new Pumpkin Cookie. I came up with this recipe for Pumpkin Date Cookies.
This recipe uses pumpkin and apple sauce in place of most of the butter, so it is very moist and chewy. The insides of the cookie have a cake like texture. I added dates and pecans along with spices to give the cookies a nice burst of flavor.
Because the dough is so moist this cookie takes a while to bake. I had to keep checking the cookies and putting them back in make sure they were cooked all the way through. My oven in on its last legs and doesn’t always heat evenly, but it took over 15 minutes for me to bake the cookies. They won’t get crispy, but they will start to brown around the edges and on the bottom when they are done.
Looking for more fall cookie ideas? Try Heath Bar cookies, Pumpkin Reeses cookies, or Cake Mix cookies. Or if you love pumpkin make some pumpkin cheesecake cookies!
Cookies Make the Perfect Gift
I love to share homemade cookies with my friends and family! Food is a great way to bring people together during the holiday season, either in person or from a distance.
Why not bake some cookies this year and put together a cookie gift box for your friends? Here are some cookie recipe ideas for gift giving!
Pumpkin Date Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup apple sauce
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup dates chopped
- 1/2 cup pecans chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Combine the butter and sugar in a mixer until creamy.1/4 cup butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar
- Add the apple sauce, pumpkin and vanilla and mix.1/2 cup apple sauce, 1 cup pumpkin puree, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Add the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg and cinnamon and mix until combined.1 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Fold in the dates and pecans.1/2 cup dates, 1/2 cup pecans
- Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes until center of cookie is firm.
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Nutrition Information
Nutrition facts are estimates.
Great trio of flavors with pumpkin, date, and pecan.
My husband loves dates. Me, not so much. But, I would make these in a minute for him! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
These sound like pumpkin pie in a cookie! Very nice and sound delicious!
These sound very good. I might convince myself that they are healthy enough to have for breakfast– there is a lot of goodness inside these cookies!
Applesauce in baked goods is awesome! I love how moist and flavorful it makes things. And since I adore date but loathe nuts, I’ll just double up on the dates. Lovely recipe–thanks for sharing!
A nice combination. Thank you for the nice recipe.
Dates are such a great way to sweeten up a cookie and adding applesauce always makes baked goods so moist. I bet these just melt in your mouth.
can these recipes be made with pumpkin pie mix instead of the puree
I replaced the brown sugar with coconut sugar and the regular flour for Bobs Red Mill 1:1 Baking Flour. This is a fantastic recipe! I have made these 3 times already and my non GF friends are trying to steal these cookies! Thank you!!
My mom used to make these, and frost them with a simple powdered sugar frosting, using a couple Tbsp of orange juice concentrate for the liquid. Delicious!!!