Description
Celebrate Halloween with these festive Jack-O’-Lantern Sandwich Cookies featuring spiced pumpkin-flavored dough and creamy vanilla cream cheese frosting. Perfectly shaped with pumpkin faces, these cookies are as delightful to look at as they are to eat.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Cookie Dough
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
- 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- 6 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- Pinch kosher salt
Instructions
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, pumpkin spice, baking powder, and kosher salt until evenly combined to create the spiced base for the cookie dough.
- Cream Butter and Sugars: In a separate large bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until the mixture is creamy and smooth.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Beat in the egg until fully incorporated, then mix in the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract until the batter is uniform.
- Combine Dry and Wet: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and beat just until combined to form the cookie dough. Avoid overmixing.
- Chill Dough: Divide the dough into two discs, wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days to allow the dough to firm up, which ensures easier rolling and cutting.
- Prepare for Baking: Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. On a floured surface, roll out one disc of dough to ¼ inch thickness. Use a pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter to cut out cookies and place them on the prepared sheets. Re-roll scraps and cut additional cookies as needed.
- Freeze Cookies: Freeze the cut cookies on the baking sheets for 15 minutes to help them maintain shape during baking.
- Preheat Oven and Cut Faces: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Using a paring knife, carefully cut pumpkin faces from half of the cookies to create jack-o’-lantern designs. If the dough becomes too warm to handle easily, freeze again briefly before baking.
- Bake Cookies: Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes until they are set but not browned. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool completely on the baking sheets.
- Make Frosting: While the cookies cool, use a hand mixer in a large bowl to beat the softened cream cheese with powdered sugar until smooth and creamy. Mix in vanilla extract and a pinch of kosher salt until well combined.
- Assemble Sandwich Cookies: Flip the whole cookies (without faces) over and spread a layer of cream cheese frosting on the flat side. Top each with a pumpkin face cookie to create the sandwich effect.
Notes
- For best results, ensure the dough is well chilled before rolling and cutting to prevent the cookies from spreading during baking.
- If the dough or cut cookies become too soft while working, place them back in the freezer to firm up.
- Store sandwich cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator to keep the cream cheese frosting fresh.
- Allow cookies to come to room temperature before serving for the best flavor and texture.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 sandwich cookie
- Calories: 250
- Sugar: 18g
- Sodium: 120mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 28g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 40mg
