Take a bite out of these pumpkin spice snickerdoodle cookies for a little pillowy bite of fall-flavored heaven. Made with pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice, these cookies are a wonderful autumn-themed treat.
You're going to love these cookies 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.
Why This Recipe Works
- Simple ingredients. Using very simple pantry staple ingredients and come 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.
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🥘 Ingredients
For the cookies, you will need:
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.
Granulated sugar- This will make our cookies nice and sweet.
Light brown sugar- Adds a depth of flavor and chewy edges.
Egg- The binder needed to keep the cookies together.
Vanilla extract- A flavor enhancer.
All-purpose flour- This makes up the gluten structure that is needed for the base of this recipe.
Cream of tartar- Giving the cookies the traditional "snickerdoodle" flavor.
Baking soda- To help the cookies leaven as they bake.
Pumpkin pie spice- For added warmth and flavor.
Ground cinnamon- Because cinnamon is a staple flavor, we want to feel more pronounced.
Salt- A natural flavor enhancer, meaning this makes the cookies taste even better.
Pumpkin puree- For real pumpkin taste, you can use fresh pumpkin puree or canned.
For the spiced sugar coating, you will need:
Granulated sugar- To coat the cookies, you'll need some white sugar.
Pumpkin pie spice- Add a little more depth of flavor to the spiced coating by adding in some pumpkin pie spice.
Ground cinnamon- Snickerdoodles are traditionally rolled in cinnamon sugar, so we need a little more cinnamon.
For specific quantities, see the recipe card below.
🍽 Equipment Needed
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🔪 Instructions
Check out how to make pumpkin spice snickerdoodles with these simple step-by-step instructions:
Cream the butter and sugars in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
Add in the egg, pumpkin puree, and vanilla. Mix until combined.
Add in the cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and spices. Mix until distributed.
Now mix in the flour until the flour has just been incorporated. Do not overmix. The dough will be soft. Make sure to have scraped down the sides of the bowl as well.
Cover the dough bowl with plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge for at least one hour or up to 2 days.
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).
Mix the sugar and spices needed for the sugar coating in a small bowl.
Scoop the cookie dough into rounded tablespoonfuls and place into the sugar coating. Roll into balls and when fully coated in sugar, place the balls of dough 2 inches apart on your prepared baking sheet.
Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes until the tops are just set and no longer glossy.
Allow cooling for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Repeat with the remaining dough until all of the cookies have been baked. Enjoy.
🧾 Substitutions
Pumpkin pie spice. You can DIY your own pumpkin pie spice by mixing together 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon (or 5 teaspoons) along with 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, and ¼ teaspoon of ground cloves or allspice. Mix together and then use as much as directed. Save the rest for future recipes for up to 3 months.
🍴 Recipe Tips
Chill Dough
After you have a filled baking sheet of cookies in the oven, return the bowl of dough to the fridge to keep it chilled until ready to bake the next batch.
I like to roll the dough balls into the sugar and place them onto a baking sheet or plate while I wait for the first batch of cookies, and then place that plate/tray in the fridge. When the baking sheet is emptied of its cooled cookies, I can just grab and place the ready to bake balls of dough.
If you would like your cookies to spread more as they bake, flatten them slightly with the bottom of a glass before placing them into the oven.
👩🏻🍳 Storage
Room temp
These cookies taste best when they are fresh and warm from the oven, but you can keep them stored in an airtight container for up to 3 or 4 days at room temperature.
Freezer
You can freeze the cookie dough balls after shaping and before baking, or you can freeze baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Just add an extra minute or so to the baking time to bake frozen cookie dough.
🥣 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.
📖 Scaling
You can double this 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.
💭 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 great pumpkin recipes to check out soon
- Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes
- Easy Pumpkin Spice Coffee Cake
- Layered Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake
- No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Pumpkin Hand Pies
- Pumpkin Brioche French Toast
📖 Recipe
Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
For the cookies
- ½ cup Butter, softened ($0.75)
- ½ cup White sugar ($0.11)
- ¼ cup Light brown sugar ($0.09)
- 1 Large egg ($0.08)
- ¼ cup Pumpkin puree ($0.19)
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract ($0.01)
- 1 teaspoons Cream of tartar ($0.10)
- ½ teaspoon Baking soda ($0.01)
- ⅛ teaspoon Salt (a pinch) ($0.01)
- ½ teaspoon Pumpkin pie spice ($0.05)
- ¼ teaspoon Ground cinnamon ($0.02)
- 1 ½ cups All-purpose flour ($0.12)
For the spiced sugar coating
- ¼ cup White sugar ($0.06)
- 1 teaspoon Pumpkin pie spice ($0.10)
- 1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon ($0.10)
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
- Add in the egg, pumpkin puree, and vanilla. Mix until combined.
- Add in the cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and spices. Mix until distributed.
- Now mix in the flour until the flour has just been incorporated. Do not overmix. The dough will be soft. Make sure to have scraped down the sides of the bowl as well.
- Cover the bowl of dough with plastic wrap and keep it stored in the fridge for at least one hour, or up to 2 days.
- 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 properly).
- In a small bowl mix together the sugar and spices needed for the sugar coating.
- Scoop the cookie dough into rounded tablespoonfuls and place into the sugar coating. Roll into balls and when fully coated in sugar, place the balls of dough 2 inches apart on your prepared baking sheet.
- Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes until the tops are just set and no longer glossy.
- Allow to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Repeat with the remaining dough until all of the cookies have been baked. Enjoy.
Notes
Recipe Tips
- After you have a filled baking sheet of cookies in the oven, return the bowl of dough to the fridge to keep it chilled until ready to bake the next batch.
- I like to roll the dough balls into the sugar and place them onto a baking sheet or plate while I wait for the first batch of cookies, and then place that plate/tray in the fridge. When the baking sheet is emptied of its cooled cookies, I can just grab and place the ready to bake balls of dough.
- If you would like your cookies to spread more as they bake, before placing them into the oven, flatten them slightly with the bottom of a glass.
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