Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles

Last Updated on November 18, 2020 by Kathryn Donangelo

These soft and chewy Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles are made with pumpkin, spice and coated in a cinnamon sugar mixture.  It’s hard to have just one of these cookies!

PIN Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles to try later!

Snickerdoodles are one of my favorite cookies! I especially love these Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles because they are made with pumpkin which makes them slightly cake-like and they have tons of cinnamon and spice!

These Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles has all of the original flavors of a snickerdoodle plus hints of real pumpkin and warm Fall spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.

You can use the leftover pumpkin from this recipe to make these Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Muffins!

I love the texture of these cookie because they are thicker than your average snickerdoodle. They are full of warm pumpkin spices and are extra soft (but not too soft) and they are moist from the pumpkin.

It’s so important to blot out some of the excess moisture from the pumpkin puree. This will give the cookies the rich delicious pumpkin flavor and it will prevent the cookies from being too soft and spreading while baking. 

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO MAKE PUMPKIN SPICE SNICKERDOODLES

• Canned pumpkin (use the leftover pumpkin puree from this Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Muffin recipe!)
• Unsalted butter
• Brown sugar
• Granulated sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Egg
• All-purpose flour
• Salt
• Baking soda
• Baking powder
• Pumpkin spice
• Cinnamon
• Cornstarch

HOW TO MAKE PUMPKIN SPICE SNICKERDOODLES

1. Place the pumpkin puree in a small bowl and blot it down with several paper towels to remove excess moisture. You will be surprised how much water gets absorbed! Measure out 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugars and vanilla until smooth. Add in the pumpkin puree and egg- whisk until no lumps remain.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and corn starch. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir by hand until cookie dough is formed. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 days.
4. When ready to bake cookies, preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat mats. In a shallow dish or small bowl, combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon together.
5. Use a small ice cream scoop, or portioning out 2 tablespoons of cookie dough per cookie. Roll into a ball and then roll into the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat the entire dough ball. Arrange cookies on the baking sheets and press down on the cookie with your hand as the cookies will only spread a tiny bit when baking.
6. Bake the cookies for 8-9 minutes. They will seem underbaked but they will cook more as they cool. Place the baking sheets on a wire rack or cool surface to cool for a few minutes. Then remove the cookies from the baking sheet and place on wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

THESE PUMPKIN SPICE SNICKERDOODLE COOKIES ARE

• Full of pumpkin flavor but not an overwhelmingly amount. Imagine your favorite snickerdoodle cookie with a hint of pumpkin pie flavor!
• Easy to make and doesn’t require a mixer– you mix this dough with a whisk and a spoon! 
• Full of pumpkin pie flavors that takes these cookies to the next level from the pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice. Dunk these cookies in a cold glass of milk and you have the most perfect Fall dessert!

TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST PUMPKIN SPICE SNICKERDOODLE COOKIES

• I love under baking these cookies a bit because they make these cookies extra chewy, moist and everything you want in a snickerdoodle! Instead of baking them for 9 minutes, I bake them for 8 minutes.
• Make sure to chill your dough for at least thirty minutes in the refrigerator before baking. This helps firm up the dough and pumpkin puree.
• You could add chopped pecans or milk or white chocolate chips or chunks to the cookie dough or add them to the top of these cookies to amp them up even more!
• Press down on the cookie dough balls before baking. The cookies won’t spread very much during the baking process so by pressing on them gives them the cookie shape.
• Make the cookie dough in advance by leaving the cookie dough in the fridge for up to 3 days. The dough will be firm so make sure to bring the cookie dough to room temperature and then continue on to Step #4 in the instructions.
• Measure out all of your ingredients properly. It is absolutely necessary because too much or too little of one ingredient can change this recipe such as adding too much flour can make the texture too firm. I highly recommend leveling all of the dry ingredient. 

LEFTOVERS

Store on counter: These cookies will stay fresh for up to 4 days when stored in an airtight container or on a plate tightly wrapped with plastic wrap. Make sure to store in a cooled area since they container some moisture from the pumpkin.

Store in the freezer: To freeze these cookies, place them in a large ziplock bag or airtight container. Cookies can be stored frozen for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, simply defrost on the counter for an hour or two.

LOOKING FOR OTHER FALL DESSERT RECIPES? TRY THESE!

• Apple Cinnamon Crisp
• Baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts
• Healthy Pumpkin Oat Muffins
• Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins
• Healthy Pumpkin Pie Bars
• Baked Pumpkin Spice Apple Oatmeal
• Skinny Pumpkin Chai Tea
• Pumpkin Spice Granola

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Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles

These soft and chewy Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles are made with pumpkin, spice and coated in a cinnamon sugar mixture. It's hard to have just one of these cookie!

5 from 10 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 9 minutes

Total Time: 54 minutes

Servings: 2 dozen

Author: Kathryn Donangelo

Equipment

• Large mixing bowl
• Medium mixing bowl
• Small shallow bowl
• Whisk
• Wooden spoon
• Paper towels
• Small ice cream scoop
• 2 Baking sheets
• Silpat mat or parchment paper

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 cup 100% canned pumpkin puree (see notes)
• ▢ 1/2 cup unsalted butter; melted and slightly cooled
• ▢ 1/2 cup brown sugar; packed
• ▢ 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 whole egg
• ▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1/4 tsp. salt
• ▢ 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• ▢ 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• ▢ 1 1/4 tsp. pumpkin spice*
• ▢ 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• ▢ 2 1/2 tsp. corn starch

Cinnamon sugar coating

• ▢ 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Instructions

• Place the pumpkin puree in a small bowl and blot it down with several paper towels to remove excess moisture. You will be surprised how much water gets absorbed! Measure out 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree and set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugars and vanilla until smooth. Add in the pumpkin puree and egg- whisk until no lumps remain.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and corn starch. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir by hand until cookie dough is formed. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 days.
• When ready to bake cookies, preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat mats. In a shallow dish or small bowl, combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon together.
• Use a small ice cream scoop, or portioning out 2 tablespoons of cookie dough per cookie. Roll into a ball and then roll into the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat the entire dough ball. Arrange cookies on the baking sheets and press down on the cookie with your hand as the cookies will only spread a tiny bit when baking.
• Bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes. They will seem under baked but they will cook more as they cool. Place the baking sheets on a wire rack or cool surface to cool for a few minutes. Then remove the cookies from the baking sheet and place on wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

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Notes

1. Make sure to use pumpkin puree which is 100% pumpkin, not pumpkin pie mix. 
2. *To make your own Pumpkin Pie Spice, simply combine 3 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, 2 tsp. ground ginger, 1 tsp. ground cloves, 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg. This is a great spice to have around, especially during this time of year! 
3. Store on counter: These cookies will stay fresh for up to 4 days when stored in an airtight container or on a plate tightly wrapped with plastic wrap. Make sure to store in a cooled area since they container some moisture from the pumpkin. 
   Store in the freezer: To freeze these cookies, place them in a large ziplock bag or airtight container. Cookies can be stored frozen for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, simply defrost on the counter for an hour or two.