Pumpkin Snickerdoodles Recipe

Pumpkin snickerdoodles are a soft, spiced version of the classic snickerdoodle cookie, made with real pumpkin and rolled in a sweet cinnamon sugar coating. They are the perfect treat for potlucks, family gatherings, or an after-school snack. Simple to make and full of gentle fall flavor, they may just become the cookie you reach for all season.

Sometimes it makes me nervous to change an American classic. Regular snickerdoodles have been around a long time, and their hallmark is the cinnamon and sugar on the outside. These cookies have only a mild pumpkin flavor, so they are still the real thing, and dropping each ball of dough into that sweet mixture is what sets them apart. They stay fresh in an airtight container for several days, so they are an easy make-ahead dessert and a fun kitchen project to do with children. The rolling step is a little messy, but it pays off when these little cookies come out of the oven.

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Ingredient Notes + Variations

• It’s fine to use salted butter or unsalted butter.
• Canned pumpkin puree or homemade real pumpkin puree can be used. Do not use pumpkin pie filling or pumpkin pie mix. 

• The cream of tartar is an important ingredient. It gives the cookies their distinctive tangy flavor, and helps them rise.
• Semi-sweet chocolate chips, or white chocolate chips can be added for extra flavor and texture. 
• This snickerdoodle cookie recipe can be easily doubled.

How To Make

• In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, combine the room temperature butter, white granulated sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin, egg, and vanilla extract.
• Beat for 1 minute. (If you don’t have a stand mixer, a hand mixer will work fine.)
• In a separate bowl whisk together the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and cream of tartar.
• Slowly add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture.
• Mix until combined but do not over mix. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Combine 1/2 c. sugar and 1 t. cinnamon in a small bowl.
• Using a small cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough and roll into balls.
• Drop the balls in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, and roll around until the ball is covered.
• Place the cookie dough balls on an ungreased baking sheet. 
• Once the cookie dough balls are on the cookie sheet, lightly flatten each one with the bottom of a small glass.
• Bake time is 10 minutes. Cookies are done when you see crispy edges and cracks.
• Cool the baked cookies completely on a parchment paper covered cooling rack.
• Can be stored in an airtight container for several days.

Tips For Perfect Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

• Reach for pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. The filling is already sweetened and spiced, and it will throw off both the flavor and the texture.
• Spoon your flour into the measuring cup and level it off rather than scooping. Packed-in flour is the most common reason snickerdoodles come out dry.
• Be generous with the cinnamon sugar when you roll each ball of dough. That coating is what gives a snickerdoodle its signature taste, so a light dusting is not quite enough.
• A cookie scoop keeps the dough balls the same size, which helps the whole batch bake evenly and look tidy on the plate.
• Let your baking sheet cool between batches. A warm pan starts to soften the dough before it reaches the oven, and that is when cookies spread too far.

There is something about the first batch of pumpkin cookies that tells me fall has truly arrived. I love that these keep the cinnamon sugar the old-fashioned way, while letting a little pumpkin come along for the season. They are simple to make, forgiving if you are new to baking, and just right for a slow afternoon at home.

If you enjoy these, my snickerdoodle bars are a natural next bake, and my classic chocolate chip cookies are the ones I reach for all year long. When you are setting a bigger table, these desserts round out a Thanksgiving or fall dessert spread nicely. However you serve them, I hope they bring a little slice of happiness to your kitchen. Thank you for being here.

More Snickerdoodle Recipes

• Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
• Snickerdoodle Bread
• Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Skillet Cake

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles Recipe

By: Ann Drake

Pumpkin snickerdoodles are a soft, spiced version of the classic snickerdoodle cookie, made with real pumpkin and rolled in a sweet cinnamon sugar coating.

4.58 from 14 votes

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Refrigeration time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 32 cookies

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Ingredients

 

½ x1x2x3x

• ▢ 1/2 cup butter (softened)
• ▢ 1/2 cup white sugar
• ▢ 1/4 cup brown sugar
• ▢ 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• ▢ 1 egg
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ▢ 2 cups all purpose flour
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Rolling Mix:

• ▢ 1/2 cup white sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

• In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter, white and brown sugars, pumpkin, egg, and vanilla.
• Beat for 1 minute.
• In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and cream of tartar.
• Slowly add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture.
• Mix until combined but do not over mix. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl.
• Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Combine 1/2 c. sugar and 1 t. cinnamon in a small bowl.
• Scoop the cookie dough and roll into balls.
• Drop the balls in the sugar/cinnamon mix and roll around until the ball is covered.
• Place the cookie dough balls on a ungreased cookie sheet.
• Once the balls are all on the cookie sheet, flatten each one with the bottom of a small glass.
• Bake 10 minutes.
• Cool completely.
• Can be stored in an airtight container for several days.

Nutrition Label

Nutrition Facts

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles Recipe

Serving Size

 

1 cookie

Amount per Serving

Calories

89

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

3

g

5

%

Cholesterol

 

13

mg

4

%

Sodium

 

74

mg

3

%

Potassium

 

30

mg

1

%

Carbohydrates

 

14

g

5

%

Fiber

 

0.4

g

2

%

Sugar

 

8

g

9

%

Protein

 

1

g

2

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Shop & Source

• KitchenAid stand mixer
• Gold cookie sheet
• Spice jars
• Spice jar labels
• Glass mixing bowls
• Metal measuring spoons
• Small cookie scoop

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