Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
These easy pumpkin snickerdoodles are melt-in-your-mouth and so cute! The cookie dough comes together within 10 minutes and is flavored with pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice, and cinnamon sugar to really celebrate Fall.
Servings: 12 pumpkin cookies
Calories: 103kcal
Equipment
- 1 small plate for rolling dough in cinnamon sugar
- 1 small bowl for dying dough
- 1 large mixing bowl for mixing cookie dough
- 1 small cookie scoop 1-2 tablespoon capacity
- 1 skewer or toothpick or back of knife
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin spice
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt (1:1)
Wet ingredients:
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled to room temperature
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 tablespoon vanilla paste or extract
- ½ teaspoon cocoa powder*** for pumpkin stems
For rolling:
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
Make the pumpkin cookie dough:
- In a large mixing bowl, use silicone spatula to stir together ½ cup unsalted butter and ⅔ cup granulated sugar until combined.
- Add ¼ cup pumpkin puree and 1 tablespoon vanilla. Mix until smooth. If you'd like a deeper orange color, add a few drops of orange food coloring. (I did not use any food coloring).
- Dump in all of the dry ingredients: 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin spice, 1 teaspoon cream of tartar, ½ teaspoon baking soda, and ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt. Mix until no dry spots remain.
- Transfer about 2 tablespoon of dough into another bowl. Add ½ teaspoon cocoa powder***, mixing until the brown color is uniform. This will be for the pumpkin stems.
Shaping the pumpkins:
- Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
- On a small plate, mix ¼ cup granulated sugar and ½ tablespoon cinnamon. Set aside.
- Use cookie dough scoop to gather dough (1-2 tablespoons). Roll into cinnamon sugar and place on lined baking tray, spacing cookies about 3-4 inches apart.
- Use skewer to gently press 3 lines into the dough ball to create pumpkin lines. Take about ½ tsp of brown dough and shape into a pointed cylinder. Place right above the pumpkin to create the stem.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until edges are set and middles look mostly baked. Cool cookies on pan for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Baking tips:
- Weigh your ingredients! One of my favorite kitchen tools is a kitchen scale because it’s more accurate than measuring by volume. If you use cups, spoon the flour in gently, then level it with a knife or spatula.
- Bake a test cookie first. When trying a new design, expect some wonky cookies at first—maybe the dough is pressed too far down or the cookies spread more than you hoped. I always like test one cookie first, then adjust before baking the rest of the dough to get the results I want!
- Room temperature: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freezing instructions: Store cooled cookies in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. You can also freeze cookie dough balls. Bake as usual, just add 2-3 minutes to the baking time!
- Reheating instructions: Allow frozen cookies to thaw at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Or, reheat in the microwave at 10-second intervals.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 cookie | Calories: 103kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 0.2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 145mg | Potassium: 51mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 774IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 0.1mg
