Irresistible pumpkin snickerdoodles are classic snickerdoodle cookies with a cozy fall twist! They’re soft, chewy cookies flavored with pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice.
Perfect Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies
It’s the wedding of the season, and you’re all invited. To be married: my favorite-ever snickerdoodle cookies and my favorite fall flavor, pumpkin spice. These pumpkin snickerdoodles cookies are full of warm spice and rich pumpkin puree, with soft, chewy middles. Snuggle up with a pumpkin cookie and a cup of coffee or a cozy pumpkin spice latte in the fall, or devour them year-round. This marriage of deliciousness is destined to go the distance!
Why You’ll Love This Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Recipe
- Soft and chewy. Crispy on the outside with buttery, gooey centers, these cookies are everything I love about a classic snickerdoodle, with a festive pumpkin spice makeover.
- No chilling required. There’s no need to chill the cookie dough before baking. These pumpkin snickerdoodles are quick and easy, ready for the oven in minutes.
- Made with real pumpkin puree. The flavor in these snickerdoodles comes from real pumpkin! It’s a great recipe to make if you have leftover pumpkin puree from, say, homemade pumpkin pie.
Key Ingredients
What are these easy pumpkin snickerdoodles made of? I’ve added notes to the key ingredients below. Be sure to scroll to the recipe card for the full recipe amounts and details.
- Butter and Sugar – Unsalted butter and granulated sugar form the base for the cookie dough. Take the butter out of the fridge ahead of time so that it softens. This makes it easier to cream with the sugar.
- Pumpkin Puree – Make sure that you’re using 100% pure canned pumpkin, and not canned pumpkin pie filling (see below). These two ingredients are not the same and aren’t interchangeable in baking.
- Eggs
- Vanilla – For the best flavor, use real vanilla extract and skip the artificial vanilla.
- Flour and Salt
- Pumpkin Pie Spice – Traditional recipes call for cinnamon, but this pumpkin snickerdoodle recipe calls for pumpkin spice.
- Baking Soda
- Cream of Tartar – A must-have ingredient for snickerdoodle cookies. Cream of tartar reacts with the baking soda for puffed, chewy cookies with snickerdoodles’ signature tanginess.
- Sugar Coating – You’ll roll the cookies in a mixture of sugar and pumpkin spice.
What’s the Difference Between Pumpkin Puree and Pumpkin Pie Filling?
While both are sold in cans at the grocery store, there is a BIG difference between canned pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin puree is 100% pure pumpkin. Meanwhile, pumpkin pie filling has additives such as water, sugar, spices, and thickeners. Be sure to use 100% pure pumpkin for this recipe.
How to Make Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
I think the thing I love most about this recipe is that the dough calls for ZERO chilling. It makes an already simple recipe that much easier! Here’s how to get your pumpkin snickerdoodles ready for the oven:
- Make the cookie dough. Begin by beating the butter and sugar together, and add the eggs, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract. Next, in a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and then slowly add them to the wet ingredients. Mix to form the dough.
- Portion and coat with sugar. Using a large cookie scoop, portion the dough into balls and, one by one, roll the cookies in a mixture of pumpkin spice and sugar. Place the coated dough balls on a lined baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie.
- Bake. Finally, bake the cookies at 350ºF for 13-15 minutes. Afterward, leave the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for a bit before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.
Tips for the Best Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Here are some final tips for successful pumpkin snickerdoodles (once you’ve made these, you’ll want to bake them all the time!):
- Not all pumpkin purees are created the same. Some canned pumpkin is more watery or thinner than others, which can affect the texture of these pumpkin cookies. This recipe was tested with Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin.
- Line the baking sheet. Remember to line your baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. This helps to keep the bottom of the cookies from browning too quickly, and it also prevents the cookies from spreading too much.
- Don’t overbake the cookies. The secret to soft, tender snickerdoodle cookies is to take them out of the oven while they’re slightly underbaked. It’s OK if they’re still soft in the center, as these cookies continue to set up on the baking sheet as they cool.
Can I Prepare the Cookie Dough In Advance?
Yes! You can prepare the cookie dough up to 2 days in advance and refrigerate it until you’re ready to bake. I recommend portioning the dough into balls before chilling, as the cold dough will be difficult to scoop.
Alternatively, you can freeze the dough balls ahead of baking. Flash-freeze the cookie dough for 30 minutes, then transfer the balls to an airtight container (use parchment paper between the layers). Freeze the dough for up to 3 months, and thaw at room temperature. Afterward, roll the balls in the sugar mixture and bake as directed. See the section further on for details on how to store the baked snickerdoodles.
Easy Variation Ideas
Feel like changing up the flavors in these pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies? Try these ideas:
- Cookie Bars – Turn this recipe into pumpkin sugar cookie bars!
- Frosting – Who can resist a frosted cookie? Try my brown butter frosting or this creamy cream cheese frosting for a hint of tang.
- Add-ins – Try different add-ins like toffee bits, chocolate chips, Reese’s Pieces, M&Ms, or chopped pecans or walnuts.
How to Store and Freeze
- To Store: Once they’ve cooled completely, transfer these pumpkin snickerdoodles to an airtight container and keep them at room temperature for 3-5 days.
- Freezer: Transfer the baked, cooled cookies to an airtight container and freeze them for up to 3 months. You may want to place a piece of parchment paper between the layers, as these cookies are soft and tend to stick together. Let the cookies thaw at room temperature before eating.
More Easy Pumpkin Recipes
- Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes
- Pumpkin Donuts
- Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Pumpkin Muffins
- Pumpkin Ice Cream
- Pumpkin Quick Bread
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 13 minutes
- Total Time: 43 minutes
- Yield: 20 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Pumpkin snickerdoodles are soft, tender, and a little bit chewy. These classic snickerdoodle cookies are flavored with pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice for a cozy fall twist!
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups (380g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (61g) pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 2 large egg
- 2 teaspoon (10ml) pure vanilla extract
- 3 ½ cups (420g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
For the coating
- 3 tablespoons (36g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a large baking sheet with a silicone liner or parchment paper.
- In a stand mixer, combine the butter with the sugar and beat on medium speed until well creamed together. Add the pumpkin puree, eggs and vanilla extract. Mix into the batter until the eggs are well beaten.
- In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Slowly add into batter and beat on medium low speed until well combined and dough forms.
- For the coating, in a small bowl, combined the sugar and pumpkin pie spice and stir to combine. Use a large cookie scoop and scoop cookie dough into the sugar and roll to coat the cookie.
- Place the cookies about 2 inches apart on a prepared baking sheet. Bake at 350° F for 12-15 minutes. Allow cookie to cool on the baking sheet for several minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Baking time: At 12 minutes, these cookies will be slightly underbaked in the middle, may sink a little bit and will be perfectly soft and moist. At 15 minutes, these cookies will be drier, and thicker, less moist in the middle. Each oven time will vary for baking but bake according to your preferences.
- The dough is sticky: The dough will be a little sticky but should still be perfectly scoopable with a cookie scoop. I recommend scooping the dough directly into the sugar coating and rolling. Once it’s rolled in the sugar, it’s much easier to handle.
- Pumpkin puree is 100% pure pumpkin with no additives. Whereas pumpkin pie filling has additives such as water, sugar, spices, and other ingredients. Be sure to use 100% pure pumpkin for this recipe.
- Storing:
- At room temperature: Once cooled, store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: Baked cookies can be frozen once cooled. Place a piece of parchment paper between the layers and freeze in an air-tight container
- Freezing dough: Scoop the dough (but don’t roll in the sugar mixture). Flash freeze for 30 minutes, then transfer to an airtight container with a piece of parchment paper between layers. Thaw in a single layer to room temperature. Roll in the sugar mixture and bake as instructed.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cookies
- Calories: 245
- Sugar: 22.1 g
- Sodium: 157.1 mg
- Fat: 9.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 36.8 g
- Fiber: 0.6 g
- Protein: 2.7 g
- Cholesterol: 43 mg
I made the pumpkin snickerdoodle’s and they were excellent; everyone loved them. I will make them again for Thanksgiving and probably Christmas. They were so easy to make. Love your recipes! My batter was sticky so could not roll them in the sugar/spice but after putting them on the cookie sheet before baking I sprinkled the coating on them and they were great.
Awesome recipe! I used a smaller cookie scoop ( 2 teaspoons size), so I could make more cookies. The batch made about 50 or so using the smaller scoop. I baked a test batch and found that 10 minutes was the perfect bake time. They came out just a tad underbaked so that they were soft when cooled. I also added a bit more sugar to the coating, because I wanted the outside to be lighter in color. This didn’t really change the flavor at all. I made some of them per the recipe, so I could taste them side by side.
Also – if you don’t mind the risk of eating raw eggs and raw flour, this is one of the best raw cookie doughs I have ever had. It tastes like a combo of eggnog and pumpkin pie. So good!
Awesome recipe! I used a smaller scoop (2 teaspoon size) so I could have more, smaller cookies. I baked a test batch and found that 10 minutes made them come out perfect. Just a tad underbaked in the middle so they were soft when cooled. I also added more sugar to the coating, because I wanted them to be a little bit lighter color on the outside. I really don’t think it changed the flavor much at all (I made some using the standard recipe too, for comparison).
Side note: If you are comfortable risking eating raw eggs and flour, the raw dough is one of the best I’ve ever eaten. it kind of tastes like eggnog meets pumpkin pie. Amazing!
Hi Lisa- Thank you so much for the feedback and detailed notes!! I appreciate it!
Thinking of incorporating cinnamon into the recipe. Would you recommend it?
Sure! It can only enhance the flavor, 1/4-1/2 teaspoon along side the pumpkin pie spice