These small-batch pumpkin snickerdoodles are ready to eat in less than 30 minutes. They’re chewy, pumpkin-y, and full of cinnamon snickerdoodle flavor.
Heya, friends. It’s that glorious time of year when we use fall as an excuse to stuff pumpkin into everything. Why yes, I would like some pumpkin in my lattes, my donuts, my pancakes, and my cake.
And today, let’s put some pumpkin in snickerdoodles.
Pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies are everything great about the classic snickerdoodle cookie. They’re chewy with slightly crispy edges, rolled in spicy-sweet cinnamon sugar, and are just a little tangy. But this version has extra fall spices and pumpkin flavor, which makes them that much more irresistible and perfect.
Ingredients
- Baking staples: Most of the ingredients in these cookies are baking staples you probably always have in your cupboard, all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, granulated and brown sugar, and vanilla extract.
- Cream of tartar: Cream of tartar is a classic snickerdoodle ingredient. It gives the cookies that signature snickerdoodle tang and also helps activate the baking soda to help the cookies rise. You can find it with the spices in the spice aisle, and it is a useful ingredient to keep stocked in your kitchen. BUT if you don’t have any, you can omit it.
- Fall spices: These cookies use a combo of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg for added fall flavor. If you have pumpkin pie spice, you can replace these spices with 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice.
- Butter: This recipe calls for unsalted butter, but you can substitute salted butter with no problems. Just cut the salt in the recipe by half, down to 1/8 teaspoon.
- Egg yolk: Because these are small-batch cookies and there’s so much liquid in the pumpkin puree, you only need an egg yolk. Using a whole egg will make these cookies too moist, and they won’t bake up properly. For ideas on what to do with that leftover egg white, check out my post What to Do With Leftover Egg Whites (I recommend a small batch of pumpkin cupcakes).
- Pumpkin puree: Pumpkin puree is pure, pureed pumpkin (don’t mix it up with pumpkin pie filling, which is pureed pumpkin with sweeteners and spices). You can usually find it in the baking aisle near the canned pie fillings. This recipe won’t use up an entire can of pumpkin puree, so see my post What to Do With Leftover Pumpkin Puree for storage tips and recipe ideas for the leftovers.
How to Make Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
- To make your cookies, combine cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl and set aside.
- Whisk together all your dry ingredients in a small bowl, and in a medium bowl, combine all the wet ingredients.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until just combined. Scoop rounded spoonfuls of the dough (this should make 8 cookies), and roll into balls.
- Roll the balls in cinnamon sugar and place the cookies on the cookie sheet.
- Use the fleshly part of your palm to gently smash the cookies down to 1/2-inch thick. Don’t skip this step or your cookies will be too thick and won’t look like the ones in the photographs.
- Bake until the cookies look set, allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, and enjoy!
FAQ
How to Store Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Can I freeze pumpkin snickerdoodles?
Yes! These cookies freeze well. Freeze baked cookies in a freezer bag and keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.
To eat, remove from the freezer and let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes to defrost.
Can I double this recipe?
Yes! This recipe doubles with no preparation changes needed. To change the yield, in the recipe card below, hover over the serving size or click if you’re on mobile, and slide the slider.
More Fall Recipes
- Classic Pumpkin Bread
- Small-batch Pumpkin Cookies With Cream Cheese Frosting
- The Best Dutch Apple Pie
- Pumpkin Pancakes
- Small No-bake Marshmallow Pumpkin Cheesecake
Baking Tips
As always, with small-batch recipes, flour measurement is very important for the best results. Be sure to measure your flour by weight or using the spoon and sweep method (stir the flour in your container to fluff it up and then spoon it into your measuring cup, sweep excess off with the flat of a knife). Too much flour and your cookies won’t spread properly.
Small-batch Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
Cinnamon Sugar
- 2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Cookies
- 1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour measured by weight or using the spoon and sweep method*
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon *
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
- Pinch of ground nutmeg
- 4 tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled*
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) brown sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons (30g) canned pumpkin puree
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
- In a small bowl, stir together sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, and spices. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine melted butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar, and whisk until well-combined. Add egg yolk, canned pumpkin, and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth.
- Switch to a spoon and stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Scoop rounded spoonfuls of dough (this should make 8 cookies) and roll your dough into a ball.
- Roll dough balls in the cinnamon-sugar mixture until completely covered.
- Place dough on the prepared cookie sheet and use the palm of your hand to smash the dough to 1/2-inch thickness.
- Bake for 10 to 13 minutes, until the cookies look set.
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, until cool enough to handle and transfer to a cooling rack.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission if you make a purchase using them. There is absolutely no additional cost to you.
sunshine says
I rated this five stars because the cookies are terrific! However, there was no way I could verify that they would last five days on my counter 🙂
Tracy says
LOL I’m so thrilled to hear it!!
Kim says
This is the second cookie recipe of yours I tried recently (I mostly have done your muffins and cakes) and they have spread significantly. Like nearly transparent. They taste good, but I am wondering what I am doing wrong. Could it be that I’m not cooling the melted butter enough before incorporating?
I do use an GF flour mix because of my husband, so that could also be the issue. But I’ve been GF baking for about 15 years and not really had this issue before.
All that being said – these are so delicious! Definitely my new favorite snickerdoodle.
Tracy says
Hi, Kim, definitely let your butter cool so it’s not HOT before using, but if it’s just a bit warm, it shouldn’t be a problem. It’s probably the GF flour. I don’t bake or test my recipes with gluten-free flour, but I recently had a reader tell me she needed to let the dough for a different cookie recipe sit for 30 minutes when she used GF flour, so I’d give that a try and see if it makes a difference. Please report back if you give it a try!
Kim says
Thank you for the advice – I’ll give it a try!
Although there is something satisfying eating a cookie the size of my face. 🙂
Tracy says
Lol, agreed!
Kim says
I made a second batch and let the dough sit for 30 minutes. The dough was definitely improved for the sitting. They still spread A LOT – although a little less than the first batch. But the dough was a lot easier to handle.
They are fantastic!
Neva Smith says
This recipe looks yum! I have some cooked and mashed sweet potato left over from a bread recipe. Can I use this in place of the pumpkin puree?
Tracy says
Hi, Neva, it would probably work, but I can’t guarantee it since I’ve never done it before. You might also have to adjust the amount of liquid in the dough. If the cookie dough is coming out dry/sandy, you can add just a bit of milk or water. Start with 1/4 teaspoon, just enough so the dough comes together. If you try it, please let me know how it goes. I’d be curious to see how they turn out!
Neva Smith says
Thank you for the suggestion. I will let you know how they turn out!