Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
These Snickerdoodle Pumpkin Cookies are super soft and chewy (not cakey!), made with real pumpkin, and coated in cinnamon and sugar. The perfect cookie recipe for fall!
I have to admit, I’ve never really loved pumpkin cookies very much. I love pumpkin and cookies, but the problem with them is that they tend to be cakey and not really taste like cookies. I’d much rather just eat a piece of pumpkin cake.
I’ve had these Pumpkin Snickerdoodles on my mind for a while now, so a few weekends ago I set out to finally figure out how to make pumpkin cookies that weren’t cakey. I wanted to create a pumpkin cookie recipe that was soft, chewy, and loaded with pumpkin flavor.
And let me tell you, these Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles deliver all of that. Not only are they super soft and chewy, but these cookies have actual pumpkin in them too. If you love pumpkin and snickerdoodles, then this is one recipe you have to try this fall!
What You’ll Need For This Recipe
This recipe starts out with some of your usual snickerdoodle cookie ingredients, but it features some special ingredients to transform these into soft pumpkin cookies. Here’s what you’ll need to make these easy pumpkin cookies:
- All-purpose flour: Spoon and level the flour when measuring it to avoid making cakey cookies.
- Pumpkin pie spice & ground cinnamon: If you don’t have any pumpkin pie spice on hand, here is the recipe I like to use to make my own.
- Baking soda: Helps the cookies rise.
- Cream of tartar: The cream of tartar is what gives snickerdoodles a little bit of a tangy taste and also reacts with the baking soda to help the cookies rise.
- Salt: You need a little salt in the cookie dough to balance out the sweetness.
- Unsalted butter: I recommend using unsalted butter since the amount of salt in salted butters can vary between different brands.
- Sugar: I used a mixture of brown sugar and granulated sugar, both to add sweetness and a little moisture to these pumpkin spice snickerdoodles.
- Egg yolk: This recipe doesn’t call for a whole egg, just the egg yolk. I promise that’s not a mistake. One of the main reasons pumpkin cookies tend to turn out cakey is because pumpkin adds moisture to the batter. In order to avoid this problem, I removed some moisture from the batter by just using an egg yolk instead of the whole egg.
- Vanilla extract: Use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.
- Pumpkin puree: Be careful to buy pure pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling.
How to Make Snickerdoodle Pumpkin Cookies
To make the cookies, start by whisk together the flour, spices, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Set it aside while you prepare the wet ingredients.
In a separate bowl, cream together the unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Then, mix in the egg yolk, vanilla, and pumpkin puree. Next, add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix them together until just combined.
Once you make the cookie dough, it’s important to let the dough chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Chilling the cookie dough helps to prevent the cookies from spreading too much in the oven. Once the cookie dough is chilled, scoop it out and roll each ball of cookie dough in a cinnamon sugar mixture, then bake them.
The result? Perfectly soft and chewy pumpkin cookies. Not a cakey pumpkin cookie anywhere in sight!
FAQ’s
How to Store These Cookies
Store cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 1 week.
Can I Freeze These Cookies?
Cookie dough balls may be frozen for up to 3 months. Roll in the cinnamon sugar coating just before baking and bake from frozen for an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Baked cookies will also freeze well for up to 3 months, thaw to room temperature before serving.
Baking Tips
- When measuring your flour, don’t scoop it out of the container with the measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour around, spoon it into your measuring cup, and level it off with the back of a knife.
- Make sure to use pumpkin puree in these cookies and not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin puree will just have pumpkin listed as the only ingredient on the back of the can.
- Be sure to chill your cookie dough for at least 30 minutes so your cookies don’t spread too much in the oven.
More Pumpkin Desserts to Try!
- Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes
- Baked Pumpkin Donut Holes
- Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Pumpkin Roll
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups (190 grams) all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (115 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) light brown sugar
- 1 egg yolk room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup (60 grams) pumpkin puree
For the cinnamon sugar coating:
- 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar for 1 to 2 minutes or until well combined. Mix in the egg yolk and vanilla extract, then mix in the pumpkin puree, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Cover tightly and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.
- Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator. Using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets, making sure to leave a little room between each one.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon for the coating. Roll each ball of cookie dough in the cinnamon sugar coating and place back on the baking sheets.
- Bake for 10 to 13 minutes or until the cookies are set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Easy recipe ~ I followed others and added more pumpkin purée and pumpkin pie spice. I also added 1oz of bourbon which really helps make the flavors pop
They are delicious, but they did not come out chewy, like I had hoped. They came out cakey. They look like like little mounds. They were not flat. They didn’t spread.
Sorry to hear they didn’t turn out quite right, Ellen. Did you make sure to spoon and level your flour? And did you make sure to use baking soda not baking powder? Sometimes even small changes, like over mixing your butter and sugar can cause cookies to turn out cakey as well.
I grow my own pumpkin and process it. Always have lots in the freezer and wanted a cookie that is not caky. This is it! I did several things differently.
1. I used 1 tbsp. of dough instead of two. Baking time is 10 min. rotating the cookie sheet half way through
2. For the second batch, I made, I added about 1 &1/2 tsp orange zest with the flour. That put these cookies right over the top.
3. I prepped the night before. Put the frozen butter and sugar in a bowl. Put together the dry ingredients along with the orange zest and left on the counter, along with the egg. The pumpkin, I measured out, added the vanilla and stowed in the frig
Easy, peasy when I got up, the next morning. One last tip. After the dough has come together, use a wooden spoon to be sure the butter, at the bottom of the bowl is fully incorporated. Love this recipe!!!!
My cookies came out as Ellen described. Cakey, didn’t spread. Reminded me a little of biscochos. I thought it might have been the type of flour I used but I made sure to adjust it to meet the ratio. I also added extra pumpkin but I feel like it didn’t really come through. A little sad but I know they’ll get eaten anyway.
Adding extra pumpkin will add more moisture to the cookie dough and cause them to be cakey. If you used a different type of flour that will affect the cookies as well. If you’re looking for a cookie that’s not cakey, I’d recommend following the actual recipe.