Copycat Crumbl Caramel Pumpkin Cookies

Pumpkin season deserves more than a plain old pie. These Copycat Crumble Caramel Pumpkin Cookies are big, soft, and loaded with cozy spice, then topped with a swirl of caramel cream cheese frosting that will make you want to hide them from your family. They taste like fall in cookie form, and if you’ve ever stood in line at Crumbl for the pumpkin ones, you know exactly why you need this recipe.

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Fall is all about slowing down, cozy sweaters, and that unmistakable smell of pumpkin spice drifting from the kitchen. These Copycat Crumbl Caramel Pumpkin Cookies capture that mood perfectly: warm, comforting, and just a little indulgent. Whether you’re baking them for a weekend get-together, a school event, or just to make your house smell like autumn, they’re everything you want in a seasonal treat.

Here’s the best part: you don’t need a bakery case or a special order to pull these off. Just a mixing bowl, some pantry staples, and the patience to let them cool before piling on that silky caramel frosting. (Hardest step of the whole recipe, if you ask me.)

Ingredients

For the cookies:

• Unsalted butter – You can use salted butter and skip the additional salt in the cookie dough.
• White sugar
• Brown sugar – You don’t need to pack it. These cookies are plenty sweet.
• Egg – Or an extra large egg. These cookies aren’t fussy.
• Pumpkin puree – Don’t use pumpkin pie filling. You want to be sure to use pure pumpkin puree. Freeze the rest for another recipe.
• Vanilla – I almost always bake with artificial vanilla extract. These cookies don’t need pure vanilla. 
• Flour – No need to sift. Just measure and level with a knife.
• Salt 
• Baking powder – Make sure your baking powder hasn’t expired or the cookies won’t rise properly.
• Pumpkin pie spice – I buy fresh pumpkin pie spice every year to get the most flavor from it.
• Ground cinnamon

For the frosting:

• Salted butter – To make the best frosting, your butter should be super soft but not liquid.
• Cream cheese – I’ve been known to pop cream cheese into the microwave to soften. As long as it’s not runny, it’ll be fine BUT don’t add hot cream cheese to the butter.
• Caramel sauce – I use ice cream caramel sauce.
• Vanilla
• Powdered sugar – No sifting needed. Don’t worry, the little lumps will blend out.
• Pumpkin pie spice

How to Make Copycat Crumbl Caramel Pumpkin Cookies

Scroll down for the full recipe card with exact measurements and printable instructions.

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. A good quality rimmed baking sheet helps the cookies bake evenly without browning too much on the edges.

Cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until smooth. I love my stand mixer for this because it does the heavy lifting, but a hand mixer works in a pinch. Keep a silicone spatula nearby to scrape down the sides.

Beat in the egg, pumpkin puree, and vanilla until fluffy. A flex-edge beater attachment is a great add-on for your mixer;  it scrapes as it mixes so nothing gets stuck on the sides.

Add the flour, salt, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon. Mix until just combined. I use a stainless steel dry measuring cup to make sure the flour is accurate. Too much and the cookies lose that soft bakery texture.

Scoop large portions of dough with a #16 cookie scoop (about ¼ cup each) and drop onto the prepared sheets. Using a scoop keeps them uniform, just like Crumbl.

Bake for 10–12 minutes, until the edges are just beginning to turn golden. I always rotate my pans halfway through baking for even results.

Cool completely on a wire cooling rack. It’s tempting to frost right away, but trust me; warm cookies will turn your frosting into a puddle.

Beat the butter and cream cheese together in a stand mixer until smooth and creamy.

Add the caramel sauce, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Start mixing on low, then turn up to medium and beat for a couple of minutes until fluffy. A fine-mesh sieve is great for sifting powdered sugar if it looks clumpy.

Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. If you don’t have one, a zip-top bag with the corner snipped off works, but a proper piping bag gives you that bakery spiral.

Pipe the frosting over each cooled cookie in a spiral, then finish with a dusting of pumpkin pie spice using a small spice shaker.

Chef Jenn’s Tips

• Use an ice cream scoop for cookies that look like they came straight from Crumbl’s lineup.
• If your dough feels sticky, chill it for 20 minutes so the cookies don’t spread too much.
• Warm your caramel sauce just a touch before adding to the frosting, it blends in like a dream.
• Don’t have a piping bag? Snip the corner off a zip-top bag. Works like a charm.
• These cookies are big, so don’t crowd the sheet pan. Give them room to breathe.

Recommendation

Serving Suggestions

These cookies are fall’s answer to cupcakes. Serve them with mugs of spiced cider, a big pot of coffee, or as the star of a dessert board surrounded by apple slices, candied pecans, and fudge. They’ll disappear fast so consider doubling the recipe if you’re baking for a crowd.

Storage

Store cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week. Freeze unfrosted cookies for up to two months, then thaw and frost when you’re ready to serve.