If fall had a distinct flavor, it would come in the form of these pumpkin snickerdoodles freshly baked from the oven! Each bite gives off a perfect seasonal vibe thanks to the pumpkin puree and cinnamon sugar added to the mix. It’s fall in tasty cookie form!
For someone who doesn’t bake often, fall always tempts me into the kitchen. When the cool weather hits and pumpkin mania starts, I can’t resist trying my hand at baking cookies from scratch. Whether I’m making them for a specific holiday or trying out a copycat recipe, you’ll often find me in the kitchen, happily covered in flour and sugar!
That’s why I’m excited to share with you this easy recipe for pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies! This twist on the classic snickerdoodles makes the ultimate fall dessert for lazy days and cool evenings.
I enjoy these pumpkin cookies with tea or black coffee, but honestly, they’re a great match for any fall drink. The best part? They’re so delicious that people would ask you where you bought them!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredients Needed For Pumpkin Snickerdoodles Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cups flour
- ⅓ cup sugar for rolling
- 1 tsp cinnamon for rolling
Step-by-Step Preparation With Pictures
1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line the cookie sheets with parchment paper or spray them with non-stick spray, then set them aside.
2. Combine the softened unsalted butter, sugar, and brown sugar in a stand mixer bowl. Cream the ingredients until smooth.
3. Add the pumpkin puree, large egg yolks, vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice, salt, cream of tartar, and baking soda to the large mixing bowl. Mix them well.
4. Mix the flour with the wet ingredients. Scrape the sides of the bowl before mixing again.
You’ll end up with a sticky-looking dough, like this:
5. Mix the remaining dry ingredients (sugar and cinnamon) in a separate small bowl for rolling.
6. Scoop out golf-ball-sized doughs from the bowl, then roll them in the cinnamon/sugar mixture.
7. Place the dough on the cookie sheet, leaving plenty of space between them so they can spread.
8. Bake in the oven for about 10-12 minutes or until the edges have turned slightly brown. The center should still be puffy, which will settle once the cookies cooled.
9. Allow the pumpkin snickerdoodles to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack so they’ll finish cooling.
10. Serve and enjoy!
Serving And Presentation
Want to make your pumpkin snickerdoodles even more eye-catching and mouthwatering? Here are a couple of ideas to get your creative juices pumpkin– err, pumping:
- Extra Sweet Treat: For an extra indulgent treat, serve these pumpkin snickerdoodles with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream or cream cheese frosting.
- Dust Them Up: To sweeten these fall cookies, add an extra dusting of cinnamon mixed with granulated sugar.
- Make Them Smile: Pipe melted milk chocolate into a piping bag and draw eyes and a smiling mouth on the cookies.
- Dip Them Good: For an extra decadent touch, serve these cookies with your favorite sweet dipping sauce (like warm caramel or chocolate sauce).
- Serve Them With Drinks: These cookies are amazing when paired with either hot apple cider or pumpkin spice latte. They’re the perfect fall snack combo!
Variation Ideas
Here are a few ways to make this cookie recipe extra special:
- Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies: Give your cookies a bit more sweetness by folding dark or white chocolate chips into them.
- Twice-Spiced Pumpkin Snickerdoodles: Instead of rolling the cookie dough balls in a cinnamon sugar mixture, roll them in a chai spice blend of ginger, nutmeg, and cardamom.
- Make Them Nutty: Add chopped pecans or any nut of your choice to the dough before baking them.
Tips For Success
- Overbaking Is A No-No: Don’t overbake the cookies, or they will not have a soft, chewy center!
- Chill for Chewy Texture: If you have extra time, chilling the dough for at least 30 minutes before shaping it into golf-sized balls will give you extra chewy, extra flavorful cookies. This extra step will keep them from spreading too much as they bake!
- No Fillings Here: Make sure you’re using pumpkin puree for this recipe, not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling has lots of additional sugar, spices, and thickeners added to it, which can affect the outcome of your cookies if you use it instead of pumpkin puree.
- Drain the Puree: Use paper towels or cheesecloth to blot any excess moisture from the pumpkin puree before using it in this recipe. Any extra moisture may make the cookies too soft.
- Scoop Them Up: Use a cookie scoop when making smaller doughs to ensure evenly sized cookies.
Storage
Store: Any extra or leftover pumpkin snickerdoodles can be stored in an airtight container for 3-4 days at room temperature. I like leaving them at the counter so my family can eat them anytime!
Tip! To keep them fresh longer, add a slice of bread to the container. The bread will absorb any excess moisture and keep the cookies soft and delicious.
Freeze: You can also freeze them. Place the cookies in a freezer-safe bag or container, and they’ll stay good frozen for up to 3 months. You can defrost them in small batches in the fridge overnight. Enjoy cold or warm by warming up in the microwave for 5 seconds.
One Last Thing
Fall is one of the most magical seasons for making sweet treats for your family to enjoy. If you’re on the hunt for something seasonal yet fabulous to create, then you need to try these easy, chewy, fluffy pumpkin spice snickerdoodles.
Not only are they so easy to make, but they also turn out so soft and delicious!
So preheat your oven, grab a mixing bowl and some simple ingredients, and prepare to bake up a real fall treat everyone loves!
Your Turn
If you make these pumpkin snickerdoodles, please take a moment to let me know how you liked them by leaving a rating and a comment below on the recipe card.
More Fall Recipes To Try Next
Get Ready to Fall for These Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Cookie Sheets
- Parchment Paper
- Wire Rack
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar lightly packed
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cup flour
- ⅓ cup sugar for rolling
- 1 tsp cinnamon for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line the cookie sheets with parchment paper or spray them with non-stick spray, then set them aside.
- Combine the softened unsalted butter, sugar, and brown sugar in a stand mixer bowl. Cream the ingredients until smooth1 cup unsalted butter, ½ cup sugar, ¾ cup brown sugar
- Add the pumpkin puree, large egg yolks, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, salt, cream of tartar, and baking soda to the large mixing bowl. Mix them well.½ cup pumpkin puree, 2 egg yolks, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice, 1 ½ tsp cream of tartar, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda
- Mix in the flour with the wet ingredients. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl before mixing again. You’ll end up with a sticky-looking dough.2 cup flour
- In a separate small bowl, mix the remaining dry ingredients (sugar and cinnamon) for rolling.⅓ cup sugar for rolling, 1 tsp cinnamon for rolling
- Scoop out golf-ball-sized doughs from the bowl, then roll them in the cinnamon/sugar mixture.
- Place the dough on the cookie sheet, making sure to leave plenty of space between them so they can spread.
- Bake in the oven for about 10-12 minutes, or until the edges have turned slightly brown. The center should still be puffy, but that will settle once the cookies have cooled.
- Allow the pumpkin snickerdoodles to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack so they’ll finish cooling.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Overbaking Is A No-No: Don’t overbake the cookies, or else they will not have a soft, chewy center!
- Chill for Chewy Texture: If you’ve got extra time, chilling the dough for at least 30 minutes before shaping them up into golf-sized balls will give you extra chewy, extra flavorful cookies. This extra step will also keep them from spreading too much as they bake!
- No Fillings Here: Make sure you’re using pumpkin puree for this recipe, not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling has lots of additional sugar, spices, and thickeners added to it, which can affect the outcome of your cookies if you use it instead of pumpkin puree.
- Drain the Puree: Use paper towels or cheesecloth to blot any excess moisture from the pumpkin puree before using it in this recipe. Any extra moisture may make the cookies too soft.
- Scoop Them Up: Use a cookie scoop when making smaller-sized doughs so you’ll end up with evenly-sized cookies.
Nutrition
Tamara Tsaturyan is the owner and writer of Thriving In Parenting, a website focused on providing simple tips for busy parents — easy and healthy recipes, home decor and organization ideas and all things P A R E N T I N G.
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