Take a bite out of these pumpkin spice snickerdoodles for a little pillowy bite of fall-flavored heaven. Made with pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice, these cookies are a wonderful autumn-themed treat.
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You're going to love these Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles for all the right reasons. We're big fans of chewy thin, snickerdoodle cookies, but something about these small puffy cookies feels right.
Maybe it's the warm spices, maybe it's the melt-in-your-mouth goodness, or maybe it's just because we love pumpkin. If you love pumpkin too, then make sure to check out our No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake and Pumpkin Banana Bread.
If you're in it for the snickerdoodle flavor then make sure to check out our Snickerdoodle Popcorn and Snickerdoodle Zucchini Bread.
Jump to:
- 💛 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- 🛒 Ingredients
- 🔀 Substitutions & Variations
- 🥣 Recipe Add-Ins
- 💰 Budget-Friendly Tips
- 🥄 Instructions for Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles
- 👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
- ❄️ Storage, Freezer & Make Ahead
- 🥗 Side Dishes or Pairing Ideas
- ❓ Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles FAQs
- 🍽️ More Recipes You'll Love
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
💛 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Simple ingredients. Using very simple pantry staple ingredients and canned pumpkin puree, we create a delicious batch of cookies for fairly cheap. Any grocery shopping needed will be minimal.
- Basic steps. These cookies are very simple to make, and very beginner friendly as well. If you know how to use an electric mixer and cookie scooper, you've already mastered the skills needed to whip up this cookie recipe.
- You can make the dough in advance! Chill the dough for an hour or up to 2 days in advance if you want fresh cookies from the oven for a special event or gathering.
🛒 Ingredients
Butter- For added moisture and richness, use a stick of butter. You can use unsalted or salted butter, depending on what you have on hand.
Cream of tartar- Giving the cookies the traditional "snickerdoodle" flavor.
Pumpkin puree- For real pumpkin taste, you can use fresh pumpkin puree or canned. Do not use pumpkin pie filling, it is not the same. Save some puree for our Sourdough Pumpkin Roll.
Spiced sugar coating- You will need a combination of granulated sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and ground cinnamon for a delicious coating around each cookie.
See the recipe card below for full ingredients and instructions.
🔀 Substitutions & Variations
Pumpkin pie spice: Make your own by mixing 5 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 teaspoon ginger, and ¼ teaspoon cloves or allspice. Stir together, use what you need, and store the rest for up to 3 months.
🥣 Recipe Add-Ins
Want to add a little something "extra" to the cookies? Feel free to add in up to one cup of white chocolate chips or caramel bits, cinnamon chip morsels, or even butterscotch chips for a more indulgent feel.
Our Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Cookies can confirm that white chocolate and pumpkin are a perfect pairing.
💰 Budget-Friendly Tips
Use leftover pumpkin puree. These Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles only needs a small amount of pumpkin, making it perfect for using up what's left from other fall bakes like Pumpkin Hand Pies or Pumpkin Banana Bread.
Make your own pumpkin pie spice. Instead of buying a pricey jar, mix cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves from your pantry. It's cheaper and works exactly the same.
Skip the add-ins. White chocolate chips, caramel bits, or cinnamon chips are optional and can be omitted to keep the recipe as frugal as possible without losing flavor.
🥄 Instructions for Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles
Step 1: Add your butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl (Image 1).
Step 2: Cream together until light and fluffy (Image 2).
Step 3: Add in the egg, pumpkin puree, and vanilla (Image 3).
Step 4: Mix until combined (Image 4).
Step 5: Add in the cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and spices (Image 5).
Step 6: Mix until distributed (Image 6).
Step 7: Add in the flour (Image 7).
Step 8: Mix until the flour has just been incorporated (Image 8). Do not overmix. The dough will be soft. Make sure to have scraped down the sides of the bowl as well.
Step 9: Cover the dough bowl with plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge for at least one hour or up to 2 days.
Step 10: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside temporarily. (Do NOT grease the cookie sheets, or else the cookies will spread and not turn out correctly).
Step 11: Mix the sugar and spices needed for the sugar coating in a small bowl.
Step 12: Scoop the cookie dough into rounded tablespoonfuls and place into the sugar coating (Image 9).
Step 13: Roll into balls and when fully coated in sugar, place the balls of dough 2 inches apart on your prepared baking sheet (Image 10).
Step 14: Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes until the tops are just set and no longer glossy (Image 11).
Step 15: Allow cooling for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely (Image 12).
Step 16: Repeat with the remaining dough until all of the cookies have been baked. Enjoy.
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
- Chill Dough. After filling a baking sheet with cookies in the oven, return the dough bowl to the fridge until ready to bake the next batch.
- Prep Ahead. Roll dough balls in sugar and place on a baking sheet or plate while waiting for the first batch to bake. Refrigerate the plate/tray. When the baking sheet is emptied of cooled cookies, grab the chilled dough balls for baking.
- Spread Tip. For cookies that spread more during baking, gently flatten them with the bottom of a glass before placing them in the oven.
- Scaling. You can double this Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles recipe to make a larger batch if desired. To do this, simply double the ingredients as listed. You will need to chill the larger batch of dough for about 1.5 hours.
❄️ Storage, Freezer & Make Ahead
Storage: Store cooled Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. They stay soft and chewy but are best within the first two days.
Freezer: Freeze the baked cookies or the unbaked dough balls for up to 3 months. Bake frozen dough straight from the freezer, just add 1-2 extra minutes to the bake time.
Make Ahead: You can make the dough up to 2 days in advance. Keep it refrigerated, then roll in sugar and bake when ready.
🥗 Side Dishes or Pairing Ideas
Enjoy these Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles with a warm drink like hot chocolate, chai tea, or a pumpkin spice latte. They also pair well with vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce, or a simple glass of cold milk.
- Sourdough Thumbprint CookiesRecipe $4.01 / Serving $0.13
- Sourdough Pumpkin RollRecipe $3.78 / Serving $0.38
- Apple Cider Cupcakes with Caramel FrostingRecipe $10.68 / Serving $0.45
- 10 Minute Salted Caramel SauceRecipe $2.02 / Serving $0.25
❓ Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles FAQs
This is a leavening agent used in snickerdoodles because it helps to give them that unique tangy sour taste that the cookies are known for. It's slightly more acidic than baking powder, and it works wonderfully in many recipes.
Nope. If you want your cookies to be more cake-like and dome shaped you can leave your cookies as balls on the baking sheet. They will not flatten and spread very much. If you want thinner cookies, flatten them with your hand a little before baking.
While I have not personally tested it with this recipe, vinegar or lemon juice is often swapped for the cream of tartar in other recipes and should be a fine replacement here as well. Replace 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or white vinegar with every ½ teaspoon of tartar. So for this recipe, you will need 2 teaspoons of lemon juice or vinegar instead of cream of tartar.
🍽️ More Recipes You'll Love
- Homemade Pumpkin Spice Coffee CreamerRecipe $2.59 / Serving $0.08
- Pumpkin Hand PiesRecipe $4.19 / Serving $0.52
- Pumpkin Swirl CheesecakeRecipe $8.24 / Serving $1.03
- Easy Pumpkin CupcakesRecipe $7.68 / Serving $0.32
🐝 If you tried this Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and share your buzz in the 💬 comments below. I'd truly appreciate it!
📖 Recipe
Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
Cookies
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened - ($0.99)
- ½ cup granulated sugar - ($0.18)
- ¼ cup light brown sugar - ($0.11)
- 1 large eggs - ($0.15)
- ¼ cup pumpkin puree - ($0.22)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract - ($0.01)
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar - ($0.24)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda - ($0.01)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt - ($0.01)
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice - ($0.04)
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon - ($0.02)
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour - ($0.20)
Spiced Sugar Coating
- ¼ cup granulated sugar - ($0.09)
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice - ($0.08)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon - ($0.08)
Instructions
- Cream. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add Wet. Mix in the egg, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract until fully combined.
- Season. Add the cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon. Mix until evenly distributed.
- Add Dry. Stir in the flour just until incorporated, scraping down the sides as needed. The dough will be soft.
- Chill. Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour, or up to 2 days.
- Preheat. Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Do not grease the pan.
- Coat. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and spices for the coating. Scoop the dough into rounded tablespoon portions, roll in the sugar mixture, and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
- Bake. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the tops are set and no longer glossy.
- Cool. Let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Chilling. Keep the dough chilled between batches to prevent excess spreading.
- Prep Ahead. Dough balls can be rolled in sugar and refrigerated while earlier batches bake.
- Texture. For slightly flatter cookies, gently press the dough balls with the bottom of a glass before baking.
Nutritional Information
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Comments
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