Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
These pumpkin snickerdoodles are super soft and chewy (not cakey!), made with real pumpkin, and coated in cinnamon and sugar. The perfect cookie recipe for fall!
I have to admit, I’ve never really loved pumpkin cookies very much. I love pumpkin and cookies, but the problem with them is that they tend to be cakey and not really taste like cookies. I’d much rather just eat a piece of pumpkin cake.
So I set out to create a pumpkin cookie recipe that was soft, chewy, and loaded with pumpkin flavor. No cakey cookies anywhere in sight!
And let me tell you, this pumpkin snickerdoodle recipe delivers all of that. Not only are they super soft and chewy, but these cookies have actual pumpkin in them too.
What You’ll Need For This Recipe
This recipe starts out with some of your usual snickerdoodle cookie ingredients, but with a few adjustments to give them lots of pumpkin flavor.
The full ingredient list and instructions are towards the bottom of the post, but I wanted to quickly go over a few key ingredients:
- All-purpose flour: This provides the structure for your cookies. One important note – make sure that you measure your flour with the spoon and level method. If you scoop your flour from the container it can become compacted and cause your cookies to turn out cakey.
- Pumpkin pie spice: If you don’t have any on hand, you can use my homemade pumpkin pie spice recipe instead.
- Cream of tartar: The cream of tartar is what gives snickerdoodles a little bit of a tangy taste and also reacts with the baking soda to help the cookies rise. You can technically leave it out since this recipe uses brown sugar which reacts with the baking soda as well.
- Sugar: I used a mixture of brown sugar and granulated sugar, both to add sweetness and a little moisture to these pumpkin snickerdoodles.
- Egg yolk: This recipe doesn’t call for a whole egg, just the egg yolk. I promise that’s not a mistake! One of the main reasons pumpkin cookies tend to turn out cakey is because pumpkin adds moisture to the batter. In order to avoid this problem, I removed some moisture by just using an egg yolk instead of the whole egg.
- Pumpkin puree: Be careful to buy pure pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling by accident.
How to Make Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
To make the cookies, start by whisking together the flour, spices, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Set it aside while you prepare the wet ingredients.
In a separate bowl, cream together the unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Then, mix in the egg yolk, vanilla, and pumpkin puree.
Next, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix them together until just combined.
Once you make the cookie dough, it’s important to let the dough chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. This will give the butter some time to firm back up and prevent the cookies from spreading too much in the oven.
Once the cookie dough is chilled, scoop it out and roll each ball of cookie dough in a cinnamon sugar mixture, then bake them.
The cookies are done once the tops are set. They will be soft when they first come out of the oven, but they will continue to set up as they cool.
Storage Instructions
Cookies may be stored in an airtight container on the counter for up to 1 week.
Cookie dough balls may be frozen for up to 3 months. Roll in the cinnamon sugar coating just before baking and bake from frozen for an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Baked cookies will also freeze well for up to 3 months, thaw to room temperature before serving.
Baking Tips
- Don’t over mix your butter and sugar! You only need to mix them together for 1 to 2 minutes, just until they’re well combined. If you over mix, it could potentially cause the cookies to have a cakier texture.
- You will have quite a bit of pumpkin puree leftover. You could easily double this recipe to make more cookies or use the extra pumpkin in my pumpkin oatmeal cookies, pumpkin scones, or mini pumpkin pies.
- Be sure to chill your cookie dough for at least 30 minutes so your cookies don’t spread too much in the oven.
Recipe Video
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour spooned & leveled (190 grams)
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened (115 grams; 1 stick)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar (50 grams)
- 1 large egg yolk at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup pumpkin puree (60 grams)
For the cinnamon sugar coating:
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (25 grams)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar for 1 to 2 minutes or until well combined. Mix in the egg yolk and vanilla extract, then mix in the pumpkin puree, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Cover tightly and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.
- Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator. Using a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets, making sure to leave a little room between each one.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon for the coating. Roll each ball of cookie dough in the cinnamon sugar coating and place back on the baking sheets.
- Bake for 10 to 13 minutes or until the cookies are set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Love this recipe! I’ve made it for years now and all of my friends and neighbors look forward to tasting it!
Instead of rolling cookie dough in cinnamon sugar why couldn’t you ese pumpkin spice seasoning and sugar
You can if you want to.
I just baked a batch right now, and they are absolutely wonderful. They came out beautiful.
I wish I knew how to send you a picture
So happy to hear that, Kathy! I don’t have a way to add images here, but you’re welcome to email me a picture or tag me on instagram!
Mine didn’t spread quite as much as yours show in your photo but they are very delicious. Nice size recipe if you have just a little pumpkin puree left over. Thank you for sharing.
These were great I took a bowl full to work and everyone wants the recipe!
The flavor of these cookies is amazing!
I stuck to the scoop & level method but then when I weighed it (for good measure) it was so off! I had to take away a lot of flour. 🤔 and the chilled dough was super sticky so I couldn’t roll them. Just had to kinof plop them on the baking sheet lol. They spread all over!
But…delicious. I will definitely make again and play around with the problems I had. Any thoughts on the dough being so sticky?? And the difference in the cups vs. scale being so inconsistent??
I never recommend scooping the flour from the container because it compacts the flour and you usually end up with way too much. I always recommend spooning the flour into the measuring cup and leveling it off with the back of a knife. The dough is a little sticky (which is one reason I chill it), but you should be able to work with it pretty easily. Was your butter too warm when you mixed the cookie dough together? Or did you happen to use homemade pumpkin puree?
Thank you for your response. I really don’t know what happened the first time b/c I used the spoon and scrape method and used canned pumpkin…I’ve now made this recipe a second time and didn’t have any of the same problems!! The only thing I can think is that my scale was a little off that first time!??? Oh well! 🙂 great recipe and I’m currently making my third batch of these yummies! 🎃
Great recipe! I was a little apprehensive due to some reviews and then my dough was very sticky when making into the balls. I was tempted to add in more flour, but I stuck to the recipe. So glad I did because they were perfect!
Okay first of all, they cane out good taste wise. Its not too sweet of a cookie so no complaints there. But the cookies didnt spread and were cakey. They looked like little domes. And i did follow the exact recipe and made sure to follow ALL the steps and even heated the oven, cooled the butter, spooned and leveled the flour etc. and they still came out cakey!
Did you happen to use homemade pumpkin puree? If there’s too much moisture in the cookie dough, it can cause them to turn out cakey.
These are really good. I think even better than plain snickerdoodles!!
Yummy cookies.. just didn’t turn out like I expected. I follow recipes to a T when baking. For some reason they spread out really nicely, but was not thick and chewy like a snickerdoodle normally would be. Still a bit cakey. But also still delicious 🙃
I have made these several times this season, and everyone loves them! Mine turned out a little cakey, possibly due to over beating the sugar and butter. I made my own pumpkin spice-using your excellent recipe, and I always add a little extra cinnamon for lots of flavor, which I love. I rolled the cookies in sanding sugar with cinnamon and everyone loves the heavier crunch factor when they are cooled down.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe and the clear and helpful baking tips!
My nephew, who is a picky eater said, “This is one of the best cookies I’ve ever eaten!”
These are so yummy! Made them twice already this fall. 🎃❤️
This is a delicious cookie. Thanks for sharing!
My family and I love these cookies so much. Thank you for the recipe!
Made these and they turned out perfect!
How many cookies does these make?
18 cookies, it’s listed in the recipe card right above the ingredients 🙂
These are my new favorite cookies!!! So delicious..only problem is I can’t stay out if them…I’ve made these 3 times now and you do have to follow the recipe to the letter..my second time I wasn’t careful and they turned out more cakey but if you follow it carefully they are the best! Thank you for posting this recipe. Everyone who has tried them goes crazy over them. Great for the holidays!
My cookies came out as Ellen described. Cakey, didn’t spread. Reminded me a little of biscochos. I thought it might have been the type of flour I used but I made sure to adjust it to meet the ratio. I also added extra pumpkin but I feel like it didn’t really come through. A little sad but I know they’ll get eaten anyway.
Adding extra pumpkin will add more moisture to the cookie dough and cause them to be cakey. If you used a different type of flour that will affect the cookies as well. If you’re looking for a cookie that’s not cakey, I’d recommend following the actual recipe.
I grow my own pumpkin and process it. Always have lots in the freezer and wanted a cookie that is not caky. This is it! I did several things differently.
1. I used 1 tbsp. of dough instead of two. Baking time is 10 min. rotating the cookie sheet half way through
2. For the second batch, I made, I added about 1 &1/2 tsp orange zest with the flour. That put these cookies right over the top.
3. I prepped the night before. Put the frozen butter and sugar in a bowl. Put together the dry ingredients along with the orange zest and left on the counter, along with the egg. The pumpkin, I measured out, added the vanilla and stowed in the frig
Easy, peasy when I got up, the next morning. One last tip. After the dough has come together, use a wooden spoon to be sure the butter, at the bottom of the bowl is fully incorporated. Love this recipe!!!!
They are delicious, but they did not come out chewy, like I had hoped. They came out cakey. They look like like little mounds. They were not flat. They didn’t spread.
Sorry to hear they didn’t turn out quite right, Ellen. Did you make sure to spoon and level your flour? And did you make sure to use baking soda not baking powder? Sometimes even small changes, like over mixing your butter and sugar can cause cookies to turn out cakey as well.
Easy recipe ~ I followed others and added more pumpkin purée and pumpkin pie spice. I also added 1oz of bourbon which really helps make the flavors pop