Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles are the Perfect Fall Cookie

This riff on a classic cookie is pumpkin, spice, and everything nice.

By
Mark Beahm
Mark Beahm
Mark Beahm
Mark is the head baker at Hjem Kensington, a Danish café in London. He has been developing recipes for home bakers for the last two years.
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Published September 23, 2023
Mark Beahm
On a small plate, a stack of pumpkin spice snickerdoodle cookies with pumpkin spice sugar mixture (the top cookie is missing a bite). In the surroundings, a cooling rack with more cookies and a pink and white kitchen towel.

Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

As a New Englander, I hesitate to mess with one of our classic recipes. But a sugar cookie covered in cinnamon sugar is just begging for an autumnal upgrade. It’s not much of a jump to combine snickerdoodles and pumpkin spice, but I wish I had made that leap much sooner. 

These pumpkin snickerdoodles are soft with a light chew and loaded with pumpkin flavor. They're quick and easy to make, with no special equipment or fancy techniques. You can easily double the recipe for a bake sale or cookie swap.

How to Make Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles

You can't just add pumpkin purée to a recipe and expect it to work. Pumpkin contains a lot of water, which can drastically change the texture of baked goods. In the case of cookies, extra liquid makes them cakier.

To counteract this, I made a few changes that aren't typical of a traditional snickerdoodle recipe. This pumpkin version starts with melted butter instead of creaming softened butter with sugar. I've added some brown sugar, which not only complements the pumpkin but also makes a chewier cookie. I also opted for an egg yolk in place of a whole egg.

These changes result in a cookie full of pumpkin flavor that’s still soft and chewy. I left in the cream of tartar, which gives snickerdoodles their characteristic tang. For even more pumpkin flavor, the typical cinnamon and sugar coating is swapped for pumpkin pie spice.

Pumpkin spice snickerdoodle on a cooling rack

Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

Tips and Tricks 

These pumpkin snickerdoodles couldn't be simpler, but I still have some tips for creating the best texture and heightening their cozy flavor:

  • Don’t skip the chilling step. Chilling the dough makes shaping the cookies and coating them in sugar much easier. It also limits how much the cookies spread in the oven.
  • For an extra chewy cookie, you can use a paper towel to blot the pumpkin purée and absorb excess water before making the dough.
  • To add even more toasty fall flavor, try browning the butter instead of just melting it. Brown butter has an irresistible nutty flavor that pairs beautifully with pumpkin and baking spices.

Make Them Ahead

You can make the cookie dough ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. 

The dough also freezes well for up to 2 months. To freeze, scoop the cookies onto a baking sheet that will fit in your freezer. Place the tray in the freezer until the dough has frozen solid. Transfer the frozen dough to a zip-top freezer bag. To bake from frozen, roll the dough in the spiced sugar and add 1 to 2 minutes to the baking time.

Storage Instructions

Store pumpkin spice snickerdoodles in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Once they are a few days old, I like to revive them by dipping them in my coffee or black tea.

The baked cookies can also be frozen for up to 2 months.

Pumpkin spice snickerdoodle cookies with pumpkin spice sugar mixture (one cookie is missing a bite) on a cooling rack.

Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

More Pumpkin Desserts

Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles

Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 11 mins
Chill Time 30 mins
Total Time 56 mins
Servings 24 servings
Yield 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

For the cookies

  • 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

  • 1/2 cup (120g) pumpkin purée

  • 1/2 cup (107g) light brown sugar

  • 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar

  • 1 large egg yolk

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the pumpkin spice sugar mixture

  • 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar

  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Method

  1. Combine the dry ingredients:

    In a medium mixing bowl, start assembling the cookie dough. Whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt.

    Bowl of dry ingredients whisked together for pumpkin spice snickerdoodle cookies recipe

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
  2. Combine the wet ingredients:

    In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, pumpkin purée, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla extract until fully combined and smooth.

    Bowl of wet ingredients whisked together for pumpkin spice snickerdoodle cookies recipe

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
  3. Make the batter:

    Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a wide rubber spatula until just incorporated and no dry streaks of flour remain. At this point, the dough will seem soft.

    Dry ingredients added to bowl of wet ingredients, and on the counter next to the bowl, a rubber spatula for pumpkin spice cookie recipe

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
    Using a rubber spatula, the dry and wet ingredients are folded into each other for pumpkin spice snickerdoodle cookie recipe

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
    Pumpkin spice snickerdoodle cookie dough in a bowl with a rubber spatula

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
  4. Chill:

    Cover the bowl and chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. The dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Chilling the dough makes it easier to scoop and shape and improves the flavor and texture of the cookies.

  5. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

    Arrange racks in the bottom and top third of the oven. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

  6. Make the pumpkin spice sugar mixture:

    In a shallow bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar and the pumpkin pie spice.

    Pumpkin spice and sugar whisked together to make pumpkin spice sugar mixture for fall cookie recipe

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
  7. Shape the cookies:

    Use a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop or a heaping tablespoon to portion the cookie dough. You should get about 24 cookies.

    Roll each scoop of cookie dough in the palms of your hand to round out and smooth it. Drop it into the sugar mixture, rolling around to coat.

    Evenly space 12 cookies on each baking sheet, about 3 inches apart.

    Hands rolling and shaping pumpkin spice cookie dough into a small cookie dough ball, and in the background, more cookie dough balls on a piece of parchment paper, a bowl with pumpkin spice sugar mixture, and a parchment paper lined baking sheet

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
    Hand rolling balls of snickerdoodle pumpkin spice cookie dough rolled in a bowl of pumpkin spice sugar mixture. To the left of the bowl, more pumpkin spice cookie dough balls, and to the right of the bowl, a parchment paper lined baking sheet with sugar covered cookie dough balls.

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
    Balls of pumpkin spice sugar mixture covered pumpkin spice snickerdoodle cookies on a parchment paper lined baking sheet

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
  8. Bake:

    Place a pan on each rack in the oven and bake for 11 to 12 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and back to front halfway through. The edges of the cookies will be set and the tops will look puffed and cracked.

    Baked pumpkin spice snickerdoodle cookies on a parchment paper lined baking sheet

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
  9. Cool and serve:

    Let the cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

    Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

    Love the recipe? Leave us stars and a comment below!

    Pumpkin spice snickerdoodle cookies cooling on a wire rack

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
    Pumpkin spice snickerdoodle cookies topped with pumpkin spice sugar mixture on a cooling rack

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
135 Calories
6g Fat
19g Carbs
2g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 24
Amount per serving
Calories 135
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 6g 8%
Saturated Fat 4g 19%
Cholesterol 31mg 10%
Sodium 72mg 3%
Total Carbohydrate 19g 7%
Dietary Fiber 0g 2%
Total Sugars 10g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 0mg 1%
Calcium 11mg 1%
Iron 1mg 4%
Potassium 65mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.