Get ready to fall in love with your new favorite fall treat! These soft pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies are a delightful twist on a classic, bringing together the comforting warmth of pumpkin spice with the beloved chewy texture and cinnamon sugar coating of snickerdoodles. They’re perfectly tender, subtly spiced, and utterly irresistible.
Imagine biting into a cookie that’s both wonderfully soft and delightfully spiced, rolled in a sweet cinnamon sugar coating that creates a delicate crust.
Recipe Details
- Flavor Profile: Warm cinnamon, subtle pumpkin, sweet caramel notes from brown sugar.
- Texture: Wonderfully soft and chewy centers with slightly crisp edges.
- Total Active Time: Approximately 25 minutes.
- Chill Time: 1 hour.
- Bake Time: 10–12 minutes per batch.
- Difficulty: Easy. Perfect for bakers of all levels.
What You’ll Need
To create these delightful pumpkin snickerdoodles, you’ll bring together a foundation of classic cookie ingredients with the cozy flavors of pumpkin and cinnamon. You’ll need staple dry goods like flour, leavening agents, and spices, creamy butter and sugars for richness, a touch of pumpkin puree for moisture and flavor, an egg yolk for binding, and of course, that signature cinnamon sugar coating.
Ingredient Notes
Here are some notes on key ingredients that make these cookies so special:
- Canned Pumpkin Puree – Make sure you’re using 100% pure pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling, which already contains added sugar and spices. Blotting it with paper towels is crucial to remove excess moisture, ensuring your cookies have the perfect texture.
- Unsalted Butter – Using softened butter is key for achieving a light and fluffy cookie base. It should be pliable but not melted.
- Light Brown Sugar – The packed light brown sugar adds moisture and a lovely caramel undertone to the cookies, contributing to their chewiness.
- Cream of Tartar – This essential ingredient in snickerdoodles helps activate the baking soda and gives them their characteristic tangy flavor and chewy texture.
- Cinnamon – We use cinnamon in both the cookie dough and the rolling mixture for a double dose of warm, sweet spice.
Add-ins and Substitutions
While these pumpkin snickerdoodles are wonderfully delicious as is, you can always get creative!
- Extra Spices: If you adore a bolder spice flavor, feel free to add a pinch more pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon to the dough itself.
- White Chocolate Chips: For a touch of sweetness and creamy texture, a handful of white chocolate chips can be a delightful addition to the dough.
- Nutty Crunch: A sprinkle of chopped pecans or walnuts folded into the dough can add a lovely textural contrast.
How to Make Soft Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies
Making these delightful cookies is a straightforward and rewarding process. You’ll combine your dry ingredients, cream your butter and sugars, incorporate the wet ingredients, then gently bring everything together to form a tender dough. After a brief chill, you’ll roll them in cinnamon sugar and bake them to golden perfection.
- Begin by whisking together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, one teaspoon of cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice in a medium bowl. This ensures all the dry ingredients are evenly distributed, setting the stage for perfectly balanced flavor.
- In a larger bowl, cream together the softened butter with three-quarters cup of granulated sugar and the packed light brown sugar. Beat until the mixture is light, fluffy, and wonderfully pale in color. This step is crucial for incorporating air, which contributes to the cookie’s tender texture.
- Next, add the blotted canned pumpkin puree, the large egg yolk, and the vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mixture. Beat again until everything is nicely combined and smoothly incorporated.
- Gently fold the whisked dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Continue folding until a cohesive dough just begins to form. Be careful not to overmix at this stage; we want tender cookies! Cover the bowl and let the dough chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour. This chilling period is important for making the dough easier to handle and for developing the flavors.
- Once the dough has chilled, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius). Prepare two large baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper. This prevents sticking and ensures even baking.
- While the oven preheats, prepare your cinnamon sugar coating by combining 1/3 cup granulated sugar with 1.5 teaspoons of cinnamon in a shallow dish.
- Shape the chilled dough into one and a half inch balls. Then, coat each dough ball generously in the prepared cinnamon sugar mixture, ensuring each cookie is well-covered.
- Arrange the coated dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about two inches of space between each one to allow for spreading. Lightly flatten the tops of the balls with the bottom of a glass. This helps them bake more evenly and creates that classic snickerdoodle look.
- Bake for ten to twelve minutes, or until the edges of the cookies look set and lightly golden. The centers should still appear slightly soft.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for five minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. This resting period on the baking sheet is vital for them to firm up properly.
Pro Tip: For perfectly uniform cookies, use a cookie scoop to portion your dough. This ensures all your cookies are the same size, leading to even baking.
Recipe Tips
- Don’t Overmix: Overmixing the dough after adding the dry ingredients can lead to tough cookies. Mix just until combined.
- Blot Your Pumpkin: Seriously, don’t skip blotting the pumpkin puree. Excess moisture will make your cookies spread too much and become greasy.
- Watch for Doneness: Cookies bake quickly, especially in the center. Look for set edges and a slightly soft center; they will continue to bake a bit on the hot baking sheet after you remove them from the oven.
- Even Spacing: Give your cookies room to spread on the baking sheet. Overcrowding can lead to uneven baking and cookies that stick together.
FAQs
- Why are my cookies spreading too much? This is often due to excess moisture in the pumpkin puree or the butter being too soft (almost melted). Make sure to blot your pumpkin very well and use softened, not melted, butter.
- Can I make these cookies without cream of tartar? While cream of tartar is essential for the classic snickerdoodle texture and tang, you can substitute with 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder, though the flavor and chewiness might be slightly different.
- How do I store these cookies? Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3–4 days. Adding a slice of bread to the container can help keep them soft.
Serving Suggestions
These soft pumpkin snickerdoodles are wonderful on their own, but they also pair beautifully with a variety of accompaniments.
- A Tall Glass of Milk: The classic and always perfect pairing.
- Hot Coffee or Tea: The warmth of a hot beverage complements the spices in the cookies beautifully.
- Vanilla Ice Cream: For a delightful dessert, serve a warm cookie with a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream.
- Caramel Sauce: A drizzle of warm caramel sauce over the cookies adds an extra layer of decadent flavor.
Make This Recipe in Advance
You can prepare the cookie dough a day in advance. Once the dough has been made and chilled, you can cover it tightly and store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. When you’re ready to bake, simply let the dough sit at room temperature for about 10–15 minutes to make it easier to scoop, then proceed with rolling and baking. The dough can also be frozen, tightly wrapped, for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before proceeding with the recipe.
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Soft Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: Approximately 24-30 cookies 1x
Description
These soft pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies are a delightful twist on a classic, bringing together the comforting warmth of pumpkin spice with the beloved chewy texture and cinnamon sugar coating of snickerdoodles. They’re perfectly tender, subtly spiced, and utterly irresistible.
Ingredients
2.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree (blotted with paper towels to remove moisture)
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup granulated sugar mixed with 1.5 tsp cinnamon (for rolling)
Instructions
Combine the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, one teaspoon of cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice in a medium bowl and whisk them together.
In a larger bowl, cream the softened butter with three-quarters cup of granulated sugar and the brown sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Add the blotted pumpkin puree, egg yolk, and vanilla extract to the butter mixture and beat until everything is nicely combined.
Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until a dough just begins to form. Cover the bowl and chill the dough in the refrigerator for one hour.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius) and prepare two large baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.
Shape the chilled dough into one and a half inch balls and then coat each ball generously in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Arrange the dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, leaving two inches between each one. Lightly flatten the tops of the balls with the bottom of a glass.
Bake for ten to twelve minutes until the edges look set. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for five minutes before moving them to a wire rack.
Notes
Don’t Overmix: Overmixing the dough after adding the dry ingredients can lead to tough cookies. Mix just until combined.
Blot Your Pumpkin: Seriously, don’t skip blotting the pumpkin puree. Excess moisture will make your cookies spread too much and become greasy.
Watch for Doneness: Cookies bake quickly, especially in the center. Look for set edges and a slightly soft center; they will continue to bake a bit on the hot baking sheet after you remove them from the oven.
Even Spacing: Give your cookies room to spread on the baking sheet. Overcrowding can lead to uneven baking and cookies that stick together.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 10-12 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Calories: N/A
- Fat: N/A
- Carbohydrates: N/A
- Protein: N/A
