Pumpkin Spice Linzer Cookies Recipe - We are not Martha (2024)

These Pumpkin Spice Linzer Cookies are filled with pumpkin cinnamon buttercream and are the perfect pumpkin-shaped fall cookie!

I never want to sit in a car ever again. Ever. OK, that's not totally true because I've obvi got places to go and people to see, but after driving alllll the way from Boston to Richmond, VA, and back again, my butt hurts.

Other than not having to be behind the wheel, the only thing that can make a 12-hour car ride semi bearable is cookies.

That's why I always try to remember a simple rule: Always keep a Tupperware of cookies in the front seat. For drive-time emergencies and all that.

You can consider this recipe major follow-through from my post back in June when I made Lavender Lemon Cookies and said, "Come fall, I’m already planning to make little pumpkin linzer cookies with a cinnamon pumpkin butter filling. You can hold me to that." I literally said that.

And I also literally have not stopped thinking of pumpkin linzer cookies since June. And now I'm here to deliver.

🍪What are linzer cookies?

Firs thing first, do you know what a linzer cookie is? If you've never had them homemade, you may know the ones with raspberry jam in the red bag from Pepperidge Farm. They've been around forever!

In any event, linzer cookies are a traditional Austrian pastry that is often associated with Christmas and holiday baking. It is named after the Austrian city of "Linz."

The cookies are characterized by their two-layer sandwich-like structure, where a sweet and crumbly almond-based dough is used for both the top and bottom layers, and a small cutout window in the top layer reveals a jam or fruit preserves filling underneath.

Of course, you can make linzer cookies any time of year and Halloween linzer cookies are just as good as Christmas ones! You can also fill them with anything you want.

❤️ Why you'll love this recipe

If you're as excited about pumpkin season as I am, you're going to love that these cookies are both packed with pumpkin flavor and look absolutely adorable.

But even better? They're super easy to make! I don't make a lot of "cute" baked goods because they never seem to actually come out cute for me, so if I can make these cute cookies, you can, too!

🗒 Ingredients

There are two components to these cookies- the cookie dough and the pumpkin cinnamon buttercream. Here's everything you need (but be sure to check out the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient amounts and recipe instructions):

• Unsalted butter
• Pumpkin puree
• Granulated sugar
• Large egg yolk
• Vanilla extract
• All-purpose flour
• Almond flour
• Cinnamon
• Ginger
• Nutmeg
• Salt

And here's everything you need for the pumpkin cinnamon buttercream:

• Unsalted butter
• Pumpkin puree
• Ground cinnamon
• Confectioners' sugar

🎃 How to make pumpkin spice linzer cookies

The pumpkin cookie dough comes together quickly and after chilling it, it's pretty easy to roll out and cut into shapes. Since these are pumpkin spice linzer cookies, I highly recommend making them in the shape of pumpkins, but if you wanted to make a more traditional linzer cookie shape or a ghost or a heart, anything goes.

I got a set of three pumpkin cookie cutters on Amazon, which aren't available anymore, but this set of pumpkin cookie cutters should work, too.

The dough does need to chill for a bit before you cut out the shapes and then the shapes need to chill again once they're on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

While the cookies are baking, you can make the super easy filling. Which just happens to be a super pumpkin-y pumpkin buttercream with cinnamon that I would have eaten with a spoon if I didn't have cookies to make.

But instead, I diligently filled my pumpkin-shaped cookies and waited until all twelve were complete before licking the bowl clean.

And then I allowed myself one cookie and I allowed Chris one cookie, before packing up the rest of thepumpkin spice linzer cookies for our road trip. But omg they were good. They had the perfect amount of crunch and the best intensity of pumpkin spice flavor.

See Also

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I almost has to ask Chris to hide the cookies from me before we left on our trip. But I knew that instead of hiding them, he'd probably just eat them all. Between the two of us, we probably require some sort of childproof cookie jar (that's gotta exist, right??).

And guess what? I then idiotically packed the Tupperware full of cookies in the very back of the car, under a giant bag of dog treats. But that's OK because it meant that when we got to Chris's family's house, we still had a full Tupperware to share with everyone.

And I was much happier sharing these pumpkin spice linzer cookies with family than sitting in a car stuffing my face with them while singing "Satisfied" from Hamilton with powdered sugar covering my face.

⏲️ How to store

These pumpkin linzers should be stored in an airtight container. If you're going to stack the cookies, place a layer of parchment paper or wax paper between layers.

They should be fine at room temperature for a couple days, but if you want to keep them longer or it's really hot where you are, I recommend putting them in the fridge due to the filling.

🍂 More fall cookies

I love eating cookies year-round, but there's something extra satisfying and comforting about a batch of cookies in the fall. Here are some more of my favorite recipes:

For a Christmas linzer cookie recipe, check out these Reindeer Linzer Cookies!

You better believe I'll be making these pumpkin linzer cookies again before the season is over. But for now, I'm starting to plan my holiday linzer cookie recipe.. I'm thinking either candy cane or cranberry, but will obviously update you soon!

What are your favorite road trip snacks?

If you're looking for more fun pumpkin treats, be sure to check out my Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls and Pumpkin Eggnog Danish.

📖 Recipe