Soft, cakey pumpkin cookies topped half-and-half with spiced chai and espresso glaze. They are a fall upgrade to the New York classic.
Pumpkin black and white cookies with espresso and chai frostings! I love a classic black and white cookie and I sure do love to do a twist on the classic black and white cookie (check out my strawberry matcha black and white recipe). Since pumpkin cookies are naturally so cakey, this felt like a perfect fit.
If the classic black and white cookie and a pumpkin spice latte had a very delicious baby, this would be it. As I write this, I realize I could have called these pumpkin spice latte black and white cookies, or pumpkin chai latte cookies? Alas, they are just pumpkin black and white cookies because that title is just too long. Anyway, these pumpkin black and white cookies are soft, cakey, and have perfect crackle frosting. They’re just like the kind you’d pick up from a deli bakery case, but with way more flavor. The base is tender pumpkin cookie dough, lightly spiced and baked until golden and domed. Once cool, flip them over and glaze one half with a creamy chai-spiced icing and the other with a glossy espresso glaze.
They keep beautifully for a few days, just wrap them in parchment so they don’t stick to each other. Bonus is that they are cute enough to look like something straight out of a café pastry case.
Equipment
- 1 Cookie Sheet
- 1 Hand mixer or standmixer
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 251 grams
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar 200 grams
- 1/2 cup canola oil 98 grams
- 1 cup pumpkin puree 227 grams
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Frosting
- 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder plus more to taste!
- 3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar 385 grams, plus more as needed
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 3 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons boiling water
- 1/2 teaspoon chai spice plus more to taste!
Instructions
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until the mixture looks smooth and slightly paler, about 1 minute. Whisk in the oil, pumpkin, and vanilla until evenly combined. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until incorporated.
- Use a scant 1/4-cup measuring cup or 1/4 cup cookie scoop to portion the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 3 inches between each mound.
- Bake one sheet at a time until the tops are set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 14 to 16 minutes. Let the cookies rest on the sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting
- In a very small bowl or ramekin, combine the instant espresso and half of the milk. Mix to dissolve the espresso and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the confectioners’ sugar, half of the milk (1.5 tablespoons), corn syrup, vanilla extract, salt, and boiling water. Whisk until smooth. Separate the frosting into two bowls. To one bowl, add the chai spice and mix until smooth. To the other bowl, add the bloomed espresso powder. Since every brand of confectioners’ sugar behaves differently, add 1 to 2 tablespoons more water if the frosting seems thick. It should run off a spoon slowly. Taste both frostings, both espresso and chai are strong so the recipe calls for the smallest amount for stronger flavor increase by 1/4 teaspoon at a time. If increasing the espresso, make sure to dissolve the additional in 1 teaspoon of water first.
- Flip the cooled cookies so the flat side is facing up. Using an offset spatula, spread the espresso frosting over half of each cookie. Continue frosting all cookies with the espresso frosting in the same way. Clean or wipe off the offset spatula and spread the chai frosting over the other half of the cookie. Continue until all cookies have an espresso side and a chai side. Let the frosting set before enjoying.
These were great! So easy to make, too. The only change I made was to swap out the espresso with maple, as we’re not a big “pumpkin and coffee together” family. But the maple worked beautifully with the pumpkin cookie and chai frosting. Thanks for sharing this one on IG!
I love that you made it your own!! Maple and chai sounds delicious. So happy you liked them. 🙂
Do I need to add the corn syrup to the frosting or can I substitute it for something else?
Hi Michaela! The corn syrup is a classic part of black and white cookies that gives the frosting a shine and helps it set with a crackly top! You can totally leave it out, but you may end up having to adjust the other amounts of ingredients in the glaze (like adding more confectioner’s sugar or more milk) to make it a consistency that you can frost with. Let me know how it goes if you try it!
To keep longer, should we freeze the uncooked dough or the baked cookies?
this dough is more of a “batter” so don’t freeze the uncooked cookies! Instead, freeze the unfrosted baked cookies, wrapped tightly in cling wrap and then placed in a plastic bag. To let them thaw, just take them out of the freezer and let them sit at room temperature. Just frost them before eating after thawing!
I was so excited to try these after seeing them on Instagram, but man, they did not turn out at all. The dough was so runny. Like cake batter consistency. It just ran when I scooped it onto the pan. I weighed everything according to the recipe so I’m not sure what happened. I know different canned pumpkins can be more wet so maybe that was it. But I ended up with a bunch of pumpkin pancakes, which were delicious but not at all the desired outcome. Super bummed!
Hi Grace! I am so so sad to hear this and want to figure out why! I also use canned pumpkin, Libby’s and do the recipe by weight. The batter should look how is does in the video, more like a muffin batter. Any other substitions or bake time changes?