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These pumpkin snickerdoodles might be the best cookie I have ever made, and I am not being dramatic about it! Brown butter (always the MVP), real pumpkin, a thick, crackly cinnamon-sugar crust, and a super soft center. My family ate the first batch standing at the kitchen counter before I could get them onto a plate!
If you already love my classic snickerdoodles and my brown butter chocolate chip cookies, think of these as the fall version of both. Serve them with pumpkin hot chocolate or a mug of snickerdoodle coffee, and put them on every fall dessert table you set this season.
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Pin ItWhat Makes These Pumpkin Snickerdoodles So Chewy
Dried pumpkin puree. Canned pumpkin is very watery, and all that water is what turns a pumpkin cookie into a little cakey muffin top. A couple of minutes with paper towels turns the puree from wet to a soft play-dough texture, and it changes the cookie’s entire texture.
Brown butter and two egg yolks. There are no whole eggs in this recipe, because egg whites hold moisture and moisture makes cake. Just the yolks keep these rich and gooey through the middle, while the brown butter brings that toasty, caramel flavor I put in almost everything I bake.
A little cornstarch. This is my addition and it is the reason these are still soft on day three. Half a teaspoon is all it takes, and you would never guess it was in there.
Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Ingredients
Unsalted butter, browned. Browning takes six to eight minutes and it is worth standing at the stove for. Those golden specks at the bottom of the pan are pure flavor, so scrape every last one of them into the bowl.
Pure pumpkin puree. I use Libby’s because it is the most consistent can on the shelf, and it runs drier than the other brands, which matters a lot here. Just make sure it says 100% pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling. You will have plenty left over for pumpkin bread.
Dark brown sugar and granulated sugar. The molasses in dark brown sugar is quietly doing all the chewy-texture work, while the granulated sugar keeps the edges crisp and gives you that classic snickerdoodle crackle on top.
Egg yolks. Two of them, and no whites at all.
All-purpose flour. Spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off. Scooping straight from the bag packs in far more flour than you think and you will end up with a dry cookie.
Cream of tartar, baking soda, and cornstarch. Cream of tartar is the tang that makes a snickerdoodle a snickerdoodle. Baking soda gives you a little lift. And cornstarch is the softness insurance policy.
Pumpkin pie spice. I use my homemade pumpkin pie spice because it tastes so much warmer and fresher than anything sitting in a jar, but store-bought works beautifully too.
Cinnamon sugar for rolling. Make more than you think you need, because you are going to want to roll these twice.
How to Make Brown Butter Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Brown the butter. Melt it over medium heat and watch it foam, settle, and then turn golden with toasty bits at the bottom of the pan. Once it smells nutty, pour it into a bowl and chill it in the fridge for at least 10 minutes, until it feels cool to the touch but is still completely liquid.
Dry the pumpkin. Spread the puree onto a plate and press paper towels into it until they come away almost clean. I get asked all the time whether this step is really necessary, and I promise you it is the one thing standing between a chewy cookie and a cakey one.
Whisk the wet ingredients. Whisk the cooled brown butter with both sugars for a full two minutes, until it looks like wet sand, then add the egg yolks and the dried pumpkin and whisk again until everything turns glossy and smooth.
Add the dry ingredients. Flour, cornstarch, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, and pumpkin pie spice all go in together. Stir just until the flour disappears. Don’t over-mix because that’s what makes a tough cookie.
Chill the dough. Ten to fifteen minutes in the fridge is plenty. You are not trying to firm it up completely, just enough to make it easy to scoop and roll.
Scoop and roll. Fifty grams per ball, rolled smooth in your hands, then rolled through the cinnamon sugar until every inch is coated. Go back for a second roll if you want that sparkly bakery-style crust, and I always do.
Bake and cool. Bake six cookies per sheet at 350°F for nine to ten minutes, pulling them when the edges are set and the centers still look a little underdone. Let them rest on the hot pan for five minutes before moving them to a rack, because that is where they finish setting into the chewiest version of themselves. And that is really it.
Eden’s Recipe Tips
Weigh your dough with a kitchen scale if you have one. Fifty grams per ball means every cookie bakes at the same rate and comes out the same size.
Underbake them, always. Cookies keep cooking on the hot pan long after they leave the oven, so pulling them a minute before they look ready is exactly how you get that gooey center. I follow the same rule for my pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.
Roll them twice in cinnamon sugar for a thicker, crunchier, sparklier crust.
Give them room on the pan. Put six per baking sheet, with a few inches between them, or they will spread into each other, and you will end up with one very large cookie.
Turn them into ice cream sandwiches by underbaking slightly, scooping vanilla ice cream between two cookies, and freezing for 30 minutes. It is the same trick I use for my snickerdoodle ice cream sandwiches, and it never fails me.
How to Store Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
These keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to four days and they stay genuinely soft the whole time, which is the cornstarch quietly doing its job.
If you want to bake them fresh later, scoop the dough into balls and refrigerate them for up to 24 hours, then let them sit out for a few minutes so they are soft enough to roll in the cinnamon sugar.
For longer storage, freeze the plain dough balls in a freezer bag for up to two months. Thaw them slightly, roll in cinnamon sugar, and bake for an extra minute or two. Baked cookies freeze well too, and a day-old cookie comes right back to life with two or three minutes in a 300°F oven.
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles FAQs
This almost always comes down to pumpkin that was not dried, because canned puree carries a surprising amount of water, and that water steams in the oven and puffs the cookie right up. Blot it until the paper towels come away nearly dry. Also check your flour. Spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off, because scooping straight from the bag packs in more than you think, and even a few extra tablespoons will puff these up.
You really do, and it takes about two minutes. Spread it thin, press it with paper towels, scrape it back into a pile, and press it again until it feels like soft play dough. That one small step is the difference between a chewy cookie and a little pumpkin muffin top.
It gives snickerdoodles their signature tang and keeps the crumb tender and soft. Leave it out entirely and what you have is a cinnamon sugar cookie, which is still lovely, but it is not really a snickerdoodle anymore.
You can, and the easiest swap is 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or white vinegar stirred into the wet ingredients. You need double the liquid acid to match the cream of tartar, so a full teaspoon it is. The texture holds up nicely, though you will lose a little of that classic tang that makes these taste like the real thing.
Absolutely, and I do it constantly, so there is always cookie dough waiting. Freeze the plain dough balls without the cinnamon sugar for up to two months, then let them soften slightly, roll them in the cinnamon sugar, and add one to two minutes to the baking time.
The edges will look set while the centers still look a little wet and underbaked, and that is exactly where you want to pull them. They finish setting on the hot baking sheet, so if the middles already look done in the oven, they have gone a minute too far.
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I cannot wait for you to make these! If you bake them, please come back and leave a comment and a star rating below! It genuinely helps other readers find the recipe, and I love hearing how they turned out. You can find all of my cookie recipes right here!
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Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, browned
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, dried (see below)
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon, for rolling
- 1/8 cup granulated sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- Brown the butter. Melt 1/2 cup unsalted butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. It will foam, then settle, then turn golden with toasty brown bits at the bottom, about 6 to 8 minutes. Stir often so it does not burn. When it smells nutty, pour it into a bowl and scrape in every brown bit, then chill in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes. It should feel cool but still be completely liquid.
- Dry the pumpkin. Spread 1/2 cup pumpkin puree onto a plate and press paper towels into it to soak up the liquid. Scrape it back into a pile, spread it out, and press again with fresh towels until it feels like soft play dough. This keeps the cookies chewy instead of cakey.
- Whisk the butter and sugars. In a large bowl, whisk the cooled brown butter with 1/2 cup dark brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar for 2 minutes, until it looks like wet sand.
- Add the yolks and pumpkin. Whisk in 2 large egg yolks and the dried pumpkin puree until the mixture is glossy and smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp cornstarch, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp cream of tartar, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice. Add to the wet ingredients and stir just until no streaks of flour remain.
- Chill the dough. Refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes, just until it is firm enough to scoop. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C), line two baking sheets with parchment, and stir together 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 2 tsp ground cinnamon in a small bowl.
- Scoop and roll. Scoop 50 gram portions of dough (a medium cookie scoop works well) and roll into smooth balls. Roll each one through the cinnamon sugar until fully coated. Roll a second time for a thicker, crunchier crust.
- Bake. Arrange 6 cookies per baking sheet, spaced a few inches apart. Bake at 350°F for 9 to 10 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers still look slightly underbaked. Do not overbake. They finish setting as they cool.
- Cool. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. The edges will be lightly crisp and the centers soft and chewy.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My family devoured these! They are chewy and so good!!