Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies

Perfectly spiced pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies with soft, chewy center and crunchy, sugar coated outsides! Look no further for a chewy pumpkin snickerdoodle!

If I am being honest, I dream of fall baking year-round! And these easy pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies are at the top of my list. They are soft, chewy, and never cakey. Made with pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice mix, they are perfectly pumpkin and marvelous for all your fall get-togethers!  

Autumn is one of my favorite times of the year, particularly when it comes to flavors, scents, and decor. And as you start off your autumn baking be sure to make these pumpkin bars or this creamy pumpkin cheesecake! If you still have some pumpkin puree leftover, I definitely suggest making this pumpkin bread; it’s better than Starbucks.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Unsalted Butter: Browning the butter cooks the butter solids to create a nutty flavor and allows extra moisture to evaporate. Make sure you brown extra butter and make these brown butter chocolate chip cookies. You can also use melted butter and reduce the amount to 93g. 
• Dark Brown Sugar: Dark brown sugar adds moisture and a slight molasses flavor that complements the pumpkin. You can substitute light brown sugar or use granulated sugar exclusively. 
• Egg Yolks
• Pumpkin Puree: I use Libby’s pumpkin puree because it is consistent. Use whichever brand you prefer. Just be sure to grab pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie mix.
• I would not suggest substituting homemade pumpkin puree due to the varying moisture content. Canned pumpkin puree is tightly controlled within a certain percentage. Too much liquid will make these cookies cakey.
• Cream of Tartar
• Pumpkin Spice: I make large batches of my pumpkin spice recipe and use it for all my fall baking, from this pumpkin cake to my healthy pumpkin muffins! It has perfect ratios of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and cloves. You can use store-bought pumpkin spice mix or just cinnamon and coat the cookies in cinnamon sugar. 

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations for Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies

• Add some chocolate chips! Mix in some white chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips into the dough. You can also use chopped dark chocolate for some extra melty chocolate pockets. 
• Top it with some buttercream or frosting. Top the baked and cooled pumpkin cookies with some cream cheese frosting! You can also use this caramel Swiss meringue buttercream or this chocolate buttercream frosting recipe.  
• Snickerdoodle bar cookie. Press the snickerdoodle dough into a 9×9 or 9×13 baking dish, covering it with the pumpkin spice and sugar mixture. Bake until the center has puffed and is looking matte. Allow to cool fully before slicing. 

Professional Tips

• Do not store the cookie dough in the freezer for longer than 1 month. Baking soda reacts instantly when combined with an acid, the cream of tartar in this case, and produces carbon dioxide. Once this reaction is complete, the gas will dissipate, and the dough will not rise in the oven. Trust me, I learned that the hard way with the best snickerdoodle recipe. 
• Brown the butter fully. Slow and steady is key here. We need all that extra moisture in the butter to evaporate out. You are looking for that toasty buttery hazelnut smell that will tell you your beurre noisette is ready. If you brown too quickly, less water will evaporate, resulting in a cookie that spreads more.
• Allow the brown butter to cool. Make the brown butter ahead of time, like you would with these brown butter brownies. The brown butter needs time to cool to 90°F so that it does not cook the yolks when added to the batter, allowing the dough to properly emulsify and create the perfect texture. 
• Cooling your butter also prevents the cookies from spreading too much when baked. 

How to Make Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies

Use these instructions to make these perfect seasonal snickerdoodles! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Brown the butter:

Step 1: Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter has fully melted, reduce the heat to medium low and continue to cook, stirring frequently (photo 1). The butter will clarify, and then the solids will begin to brown. 

Stirring during the browning process allows the solids to brown more evenly and deepen the brown butter aroma and flavor. If not, the solids that first settle to the bottom will burn before the butter has a chance to turn a lovely golden brown color. 

Step 2: Remove browned butter once dark golden and smelling of toasted hazelnuts (photo 2). Pour into a clean bowl and allow to cool to between 90°F–93°F.

I placed the bowl in the refrigerator, stirring occasionally, to speed up this process. 

Make & bake the cookies: 

Step 3: Whisk dry ingredients (flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, salt) in a separate bowl (photo 3).

Step 4: Whisk browned butter with sugars. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the browned butter with sugars (photo 4). Whisk in yolks, followed by vanilla and pumpkin puree (photo 5). 

Step 5: Stir in the dry ingredients with a stiff silicone spatula or wooden spoon (photo 6). I do not recommend using a whisk. 

Step 6: Scoop dough using a rounded tablespoon or a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop onto a parchment-lined baking sheet (photo 7). Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour before baking. 

If you are planning on freezing them, I like to chill the dough wrapped in plastic wrap and then divide it into balls. Then I can shape them nicely into round balls before freezing. 

Step 7: Preheat the oven to 325°F convection (with the fan) or 350°F conventional (no fan). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Step 8: Mix sugar topping by whisking or stirring granulated sugar and pumpkin spice in a small bowl (photo 8).

Step 9: Roll the chilled dough into balls and drop in the pumpkin spice sugar mixture. I like to do 3 at a time. Roll the dough to coat by swirling the bowl, and then place it about 2 inches apart on a prepared baking sheet (photo 9 & 10). 

Step 10: Bake cookies in the preheated oven for 5 minutes, rotate, and continue baking for 5 minutes. They puff and crack in the center, but they aren’t set (photo 11). Resist the temptation to overbake. 

Step 11: Let cool completely on a wire rack (photo 12). The centers should sink after cooling. 

Recipe FAQs 

I hope you enjoyed this autumn cookie recipe. Check out our other delicious pumpkin dessert recipes like this perfectly spiced pumpkin bundt cake or this super easy pumpkin dump cake recipe!