Pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies bring pumpkin flavor and cinnamon sugar to your fall baking. Find your next favorite treat for cookie swaps and coffee breaks!
These pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies have buttery, cinnamon-sugar edges that give way to soft, chewy centers filled with pumpkin, vanilla, and warm fall spices.
Each bite starts with a delicate sugary crunch, followed by mellow brown sugar sweetness and that little tang you expect from a proper snickerdoodle!!
Ingredients
For the Cookie Dough
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (170 g)
- ½ cup canned pumpkin purée (122 g), blotted down to approximately ¼ cup (60 g)
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (125 g)
- ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar (about 85 g)
- 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (225 g)
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
For the Cinnamon-Sugar Coating
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 g)
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
You may have a little coating left over, which makes rolling easier and helps you cover each dough ball evenly.
Yield: Approximately 24 cookies
Servings: 12 servings, with 2 cookies per serving
How to Make Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies
Spread ½ cup pumpkin purée over a plate lined with several layers of sturdy paper towels, keeping it in a broad layer rather than a thick mound.
Press additional paper towels gently over its surface, lift them away, and repeat with fresh towels as they become saturated, until pumpkin looks noticeably thicker and holds soft ridges when pushed with a spoon.
Aim for approximately 60 g after blotting, or roughly ¼ cup, and scrape it into a small bowl. You’re removing water, so don’t add more purée to replace what disappears!
If paper sticks, peel it back slowly while holding pumpkin in place with a spoon.
Melt butter in a microwave-safe bowl using short bursts, stirring between each, or melt it gently in a small saucepan over low heat.
Transfer to your mixing bowl and let it cool for about 10 minutes, until it feels barely warm rather than hot; you can measure your remaining ingredients while you wait.
There’s no need to brown butter for this recipe, since browning removes additional water and changes how dough behaves.
Add granulated sugar and brown sugar to cooled melted butter, then whisk for about 30 to 45 seconds, until evenly combined with no large brown sugar lumps.
Expect a thick, slightly grainy mixture rather than anything fluffy, and resist turning this into an arm workout, because you only need to combine ingredients.
Whisk in blotted pumpkin, egg yolk, and vanilla until mixture looks smooth and evenly orange, scraping around your bowl so no streaks of butter remain.
If pumpkin is still refrigerator-cold, let it sit out briefly before adding it, since very cold ingredients can cause melted butter to firm into little flecks.
In a separate bowl, whisk flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves thoroughly, paying attention to any small clumps of baking soda.
Add dry ingredients to your pumpkin mixture and fold with a flexible spatula, scraping from underneath and turning dough over itself until flour disappears.
Stop once dough is uniform; it should look soft and feel a little tacky, but it should not resemble pourable batter. I’d resist adding extra flour at this point, because chilling will make a substantial difference.
Cover your bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes, until dough is firm enough to scoop and roll without coating your hands in a thick sticky layer.
If your kitchen is especially warm and dough still feels loose, give it another 10 to 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, position an oven rack in the middle, preheat to 350°F (175°C), and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Stir coating sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl.
Scoop dough into approximately 30 g portions, about 1½ tablespoons each, and roll gently between your palms.
Coat each ball generously in cinnamon sugar, turning it until no sticky patches remain, then arrange on a prepared baking sheet with at least 2 inches between portions.
Fit 12 on a standard half-sheet pan, or fewer if your pan is smaller, because crowded cookies quickly become one large family reunion.
Press each coated dough ball gently into a thick puck approximately ½ inch tall, keeping portions consistent so they bake at a similar pace.
Bake one sheet at a time for 11 to 13 minutes, rotating once near the end if your oven browns unevenly.
Keep remaining dough refrigerated while your first batch bakes. Start checking at 11 minutes: edges should look set, tops should have small cracks, and centers should look soft and mostly matte, with no wet-looking patch in the middle.
Their orange-brown color can hide browning, so watch texture as well as color.
Remove cookies when their edges hold their shape but centers still look tender, rather than waiting for every surface to become firm.
Leave them on their baking sheet for 10 minutes, during which they will settle slightly and become easier to lift, then transfer carefully to a cooling rack for another 5 minutes or longer.
A cookie that bends while piping hot needs more cooling time, so give it a moment before deciding it needs more baking.
Bake your second batch on a cool baking sheet using the same timing and visual cues, allowing an extra minute if dough has become especially firm in your refrigerator.
If you’re reusing one sheet, let it cool completely before placing fresh dough on it, because a hot pan starts melting butter before cookies reach your oven.
Enjoy one once it can hold together comfortably, then let remaining cookies cool fully before storing!
Serving Suggestions
- Serve these pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies slightly warm with cold milk, hot coffee, or a mug of lightly sweetened chai. Cinnamon sugar already brings plenty of sweetness, so an unsweetened drink makes a particularly good partner.
- For a dessert plate, pair two cookies with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream and a few toasted pecans. Let cookies cool first so ice cream doesn’t immediately turn into a puddle, unless you’re already holding a spoon and have accepted your delicious situation!
- They also make a lovely addition to a fall cookie tray alongside crisp apple slices and dark chocolate pieces. Keep fresh fruit separate until serving so its moisture doesn’t soften your cookies.
A plate of pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies brings together everything you want from a fall cookie: buttery edges, soft pumpkin centers, fragrant spices, and cinnamon sugar that leaves a few sweet crumbs on your fingertips.
Give pumpkin its quick blot, keep an eye on those last minutes in your oven, and let your cookies settle before taking a bite. That first warm, chewy mouthful is worth a little patience!
Hungry for more feel-good meals? Explore these 21 Anti-Inflammatory Breakfast Recipes for a nourishing start and 10 Anti-Inflammatory Dinner Recipes for delicious evenings that make healthy eating easy!
