Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
These easy pumpkin snickerdoodles are melt-in-your-mouth, slightly chewy, and so cute! The dough is flavored with reduced pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice, and pumpkin spiced-infused sugar to really celebrate the Fall. :)
Servings: 12 pumpkin cookies
Calories: 202kcal
Equipment
- 1 small plate for rolling dough in pumpkin sugar
- 1 small bowl for dying dough
- 1 medium plate or tray, for freezing dough
- 1 large mixing bowl for mixing cookie dough
- 1 Medium cookie scoop 1 ½ tablespoon capacity
- 1 skewer or toothpick or back of knife
- Piping bags for decorating. can also use toothpicks!
Ingredients
Pumpkin puree:
- 1 can pumpkin puree
Dry ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt (1:1)
Wet ingredients:
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin spice can use store-bought!
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar light or dark
- ⅓ cup reduced pumpkin puree
- ½ tablespoon vanilla paste or extract
- orange food coloring
For the pumpkin stems:
- ½ teaspoon cocoa powder
For rolling:
- ⅛ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin spice can use store-bought!
For decorating:
- chocolate melted; can use milk or dark!
Instructions
Reduce the pumpkin puree:
- In a small pot over medium heat, add 1 can pumpkin puree. Cook for 10-15 minutes until it thickens and is reduced by about 20%. It should yield about 1 ½ cup (340 g) of pumpkin puree
- Let cool. You will only need ⅓ cup (70 g) for this recipe, so feel free to freeze the remaining in an ice cube tray and use whenever! Some ideas include pumpkin lattes, cinnamon rolls, and bread!
Since pumpkin puree is mostly water, you will cook it down to really concentrate the flavor!
Make the pumpkin cookie dough:
- Melt ½ cup unsalted butter and 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin spice over the stove or in the microwave. Let cool to room temperature, about 5-10 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, use silicone spatula to stir together pumpkin spice-infused butter, ½ cup granulated sugar, and ¼ cup brown sugar until combined.
- Add ⅓ cup reduced pumpkin puree and ½ tablespoon vanilla. Mix until smooth. For a vibrant orange color, add a few drops of orange food coloring.
- Dump in all of the dry ingredients: 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon cream of tartar, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon baking powder, and ½ teaspoon fine sea salt. Mix until no dry spots remain.
- Transfer about 1 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.
- Lightly cover doughs and let chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. This will help firm the dough and make it easier for shaping!
The heat blooms the spices, bringing out all of the flavors!
Shaping the pumpkins:
- On a small plate, mix ⅛ cup granulated sugar and ½ teaspoon pumpkin spice. Set aside.
- Use cookie dough scoop to gather dough (1 ½ tablespoons). Roll into slight ovals, then coat with cinnamon sugar. Place on parchment lined plate, and repeat with remaining orange dough.
- Use skewer to gently press 3 lines into the dough to create pumpkin lines. Take about ¼ teaspoon of brown dough and shape into a pointed cylinder. Place on lined plate, repeating with remaining brown dough.
- Freeze for at least 30 minutes. In the last 5 minutes, preheat oven to 350°F/177°C and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
- Transfer frozen cookie dough pumpkins to your lined baking trays, spacing them about 3-4 inches apart.Bake from frozen for 10-13 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.
- If decorating, use melted milk or dark chocolate to draw on jack o'lantern faces. Enjoy!
We will shape and freeze all of the cookie dough so the pumpkins hold their shape when baking! Freeze for a minimum of 30 minutes. For longer-term storage, transfer frozen cookie dough balls to an airtight container. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Bake a test cookie first. When trying a new design, expect some wonky cookies at first—maybe the stems were too short, 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.
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.
- 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.
- 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: 202kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 157mg | Potassium: 159mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 6809IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 1mg
