Pumpkin snickerdoodles, your new go-to cookie full of pumpkin pie spices and real pumpkin!
There is not a single day that can’t be improved upon with a warm, chewy cinnamon cookie. Every time I eat cinnamon, I feel like I just received a hug. It's so warm and comforting!
Snickerdoodles make me smile any day of the year. But pumpkin snickerdoodles?! This is exactly why everyone says Fall is the best time of year.
I took my basic recipe for a small batch of snickerdoodles, stirred in pumpkin and rolled them in my homemade pumpkin pie spice from my homemade pumpkin spice latte recipe. And then I ate every last one by myself.
(If you're not up for making your own pumpkin spice mix, I love this one from Penzey's--it's super pungent and powerful!)
If I can’t confess my dessert sins here, where can I confess? I made another batch of these pumpkin snickerdoodles soon after so I could have other taste-testers verify they were good enough to share here. I may be slightly biased when it comes to warm cookies right from the sheet pan.
It was hard to share.
Pumpkin snickerdoodles, the origins:
Truthfully, I should pack up a triple batch of these cookies and send them to my friend Shenlyn. Remember the wedding cheesecake I made a few months ago? When I was cooking in her kitchen one night, I spotted this amazing vintage cookie sheet pan. I blurted out how much I would love to trade my new cookie sheet pans for this perfectly scuffed vintage specimen. I realize how crazy this sounded in a room full of non-food bloggers, but you guys? You get me. You know how much fun I had photographing these cookies on this pan. With a brand new cookie sheet, I would have been cursing the reflective properties and wanting to take steel wool to it.
Shenlyn packed up this perfect pan and mailed it to me. I practically squealed when I opened the box. Shenlyn is my cookie soul mate. Oh, and ice cream. We like it all. But we really like cookies. Thanks, Shen! xo
Baking tips--pumpkin snickerdoodle recipe:
If the dough feels a bit too soft for you, it's because your butter is too soft. Butter for cookies should be softened for 20-30 minutes on the counter, not room temperature. You should be able to press a finger into the butter and make an indent, but your finger should not go all the way through.
If you forget about your butter and it softens too much, go ahead and make the dough, and chill it for 15 minutes before rolling it out to bake.
I treat these pumpkin snickerdoodles like harbingers of Fall--the minute I eat one, the air cools off and sweater weather appears.
I love that this recipe only makes 10 cookies, because I've found that it's just enough cookies to share. You can eat a few right off the cookie sheet warm, save a few for later, and share a few, too.
I also love that this recipe has real pumpkin in it! I don't have many baking pet peeves (except cake mix, but you know this), it's when something is pumpkin spice flavored but lacks actual pumpkin! This pumpkin snickerdoodle recipe has pumpkin, which makes the cookies wonderfully soft in the center.
If you love these small batch pumpkin snickerdoodles, I have a feeling you would love my small batch easy sugar cookies, too!
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Your favorite snickerdoodle cookie just got ready for fall!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (divided use)
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
- In a medium bowl, beat together with an electric mixer the butter, pumpkin and ½ cup of the sugar. Beat until well-mixed and fluffy, about 1 minute. Next, beat in the egg.
- In a small bowl, stir together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Sprinkle this mixture over the butter and sugar mixture and beat until just combined.
- In a shallow bowl, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Scoop a heaping tablespoon of the dough, roll it in your palm lightly, then roll it in the spice mixture. Space the dough balls evenly on the baking sheet, then bake for 11-12 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet 1 minute, then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 56Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 96mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 0gSugar: 3gProtein: 1g
Kristina @ Love & Zest says
that gorgeous pan was the first thing I thought when I opened your post! jelly, if only I had a friend that would package theirs up and send it to me! Mission to scuff up my shiny pans.
Carol at Wild goose tea says
What a beautiful color these wonderful cookies are. Fall sunshine. Who doesn't love snickerdoodles---especially this flavor enhanced one. Great job in cutting the recipe down.
Amanda says
Best cookie combo ever!
Madison says
We have some amazing, tarnished old bakeware at work and I think about swapping it with my shinier, newer stuff ALL the time.
Jennie @themessybakerblog says
Swoon! I'm going to start improving my day starting...now!
Stacy says
Hi there! These look yummy! I'd like to make 3-4 dozen of these so I'm thinking I need to quadruple the recipe. Is there a trick to that or do I just multiple each ingredient by 4? Four eggs and 4 teaspoons of cream of tartar sounds like a lot so I wanted to check before the baking begins. Thanks :-)
Christina Lane says
Hi Stacy,
I haven't tried quadrupling this recipe, I'm sorry. I just bake for two. If you try it and it works, let us all know :)
Happy baking,
Christina
Laura @ Laura's Culinary Adventures says
What yummy looking cookies! The baking sheet has lots of character :)
Amy @ Amy's Healthy Baking says
I loved your story about the cookie sheet! I was really lucky to find my stained one. When we moved into our rental house 2 years ago, the previous tenants had left this crummy-looking baking sheet in the drawer beneath the oven (plus a muffin sheet without quite so much character), and I was SO excited!! It took me a while to start photographing with it, but I've loved it ever since. :) And these cookies... No way would I share any of them either! Pumpkin is the best, and combined with snickerdoodles... Pure bliss. Already pinned!
Judith says
I doubled this recipe (we have more than two) and it came out great! I am not sure how dense the cookies should be but mine were super light and fluffy, and absolutely perfect with a quick dunk in my coffee. I am in love!
Taylor says
OMG these were so delicious! I didn't have cream of tartar on hand so I followed instructions on how to use extra baking powder instead...not exactly the same but they were still fluffy and full of pumpkin spice flavor!!