These pumpkin spice snickerdoodles are the perfect warm and cozy fall cookie!
★ Why You'll Love this Recipe ★
The cookie is soft and chewy, flavored with earthy pumpkin, sweet vanilla, and warm spices–all rolled in a crisp spiced sugar coating.
These snickerdoodles pair well with any hot tea but go especially well with chai. Make these cookies on a cool and crisp fall day, or add them to your holiday baking list.
Pumpkin snickerdoodles make an excellent post-dinner Thanksgiving snack or serve them for a fall or Halloween party.
★ Ingredients You'll Need ★
You don't need a long list of ingredients to make these delicious, from-scratch pumpkin spice snickerdoodles!
Here's everything you'll need:
- Flour gives the cookies structure. Make sure to measure using the spoon and level method as adding too much flour can result in dry, crumbly cookies.
- Pumpkin pie spice enhances the flavor of the pumpkin and adds the warm spiced flavor to the cookie.
- Baking soda helps the snickerdoodles rise slightly so they stay soft and chewy once baked.
- Cream of tartar activates the baking soda and helps give the snickerdoodles their distinctive flavor.
- Salt helps balance out the sweetness of the cookies.
- Butter is the base of our cookies–it adds richness and helps hold our dough together.
- Sugar sweetens the cookies.
- Pumpkin puree adds the earthy pumpkin flavor and slight orange color to the cookies. This healthy ingredient also add a dose of vitamin A, potassium and iron!
- Egg helps bind the cookie dough together.
- Vanilla enhances the sweetness and flavor of the snickerdoodles. Be sure to sure pure vanilla extract, not imitation for the best flavor.
★ How to Make these Cookies ★
The process for making these cookies is simple. Here's a snapshot of what's involved. You can get the full recipe, further down.
- Whisk dry ingredients.
- Cream butter and sugar.
- Add pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla extract.
- Optional: chill dough.
- Combine sugar and spice.
- Scoop dough and form into balls.
- Coat dough balls in spiced sugar.
- Place dough on cookie sheet, then flatten.
- Bake.
That's it! Easy yet delicious homemade pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies!
★ Tips & FAQs ★
Do I need to chill my cookie dough?
This step is optional. If you're short on time, you can skip it.
However, chilling your dough ensures that the butter is firm so it does not melt too quickly and thin out your cookie.
If you find that your snickerdoodle cookies are spreading too much when baked, chill your dough for 1 hour prior to scooping and baking.
How to soften your butter.
You want to make sure your butter is softened, not melted. Again, if you use melted butter, your cookies with thin too quickly and won't have that nice thick and chewy texture snickerdoodles are known for.
The best way to soften your butter is to let it sit out at room temperature for at least one hour. If you forget, you can microwave the butter and half power, in 15-second intervals, flipping the stick as needed until it is softened.
Storage
These cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
These pumpkin snickerdoodles will last longer if you put them in the fridge or freezer. They can be store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Snickerdoodle cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Freezing Before Baking
Snickerdoodle cookie dough can be frozen before baking. Complete all the steps including flattening the dough balls, then move dough to an air tight container and freeze.
Before baking, simply place each flattened dough ball on your baking sheet and bake as directed. You may need to add 1-2 minutes of bake time to accommodate defrosting.
If you prefer the taste and texture of fresh-baked cookies, this might be a better way to store your cookies vs. freezing them after baking.
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This easy recipe for Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodle Cookies was featured on South Your Mouth!
Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, divided
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)
- 1 ¼ cups sugar, divided
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.
- In another larger bowl cream together softened butter and 1 cup of sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes using an electric mixer.Add pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed. Slowly mix in dry ingredients. Mix just until the dough comes together. Optional: Cover and chill dough for 1 hour.*
- In a small bowl, stir together remaining ¼ cup of granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice to use as a coating.
- Use a cookie scoop to gather 1.5 tablespoon-sized portions and roll them into smooth balls.
- Roll each ball in the spiced sugar the add to baking sheet, at least 2” apart.
- Flatten each dough ball slightly with the bottom of a glass, a spatula or the palm of your hand to create a ½” thick disc.
- Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes or until edges are set, and the cookies are just starting to turn golden brown. For soft, tender cookies, make sure not to overbake! Remove cookies from oven and let cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring them, using a thin metal spatula, to a wire rack to cool completely.
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