Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies
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Pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies– These giant cookies are the ultimate Thanksgiving cookie. They’re big and thick, with crunchy, chewy edges and soft, gooey centers (think pumpkin pie vibes!).
Pumpkin butter gives these cookies the best flavor and texture (that’s hard to get with pumpkin puree). They’re perfectly spiced and pumpkin-y.
This cookie dough is made with gourmet cookie ingredients like salted butter and bread flour and chills in the freezer for the ideal tall, thick, bakery-style cookie. Rolled in cinnamon sugar for warm, cozy, snickerdoodle flavor.
These pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies are a fun, fall bake or addition to your Thanksgiving dessert table. They will easily become a fall favorite!
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- Big, thick cookies (crisp outer edges & soft, doughy centers)
- Ultimate fall cookie: gooey pumpkin pie vibes
- Cozy mashup of pumpkin + snickerdoodle
- Made with pumpkin butter for better texture (and keeps longer that pumpkin puree!)
- Fun addition to Thanksgiving dessert table
- Keep dough frozen and bake as needed
Notes from the test kitchen:
Fun fact–I opened up my own in-home cookie bakery two years ago and this was one of the first cookies I sold! I tested this recipe over and over when I was developing it at that time. My customers loved these pumpkin pie cookies, so I’m excited to share the recipe with my readers now.
Ingredients
Salted butter: If you’re a frequent flyer here, you know that I love salted butter over unsalted any day. All of my cookies recipes are made with it for that ideal savory, buttery flavor. See notes below in “tips for success” on butter temperature.
Granulated sugar: Classic cookie ingredient that gives structure, tenderness, and sweetness.
Light brown sugar: Provides structure, tenderness, sweetness, AND a little caramel-y flavor as result of the caramelization.
Pumpkin butter: I like using pumpkin butter versus pumpkin puree because it is more concentrated pumpkin flavor, without all the moisture. Plus, it has delicious pumpkin pie spices added to it. SO good (and for more than just these cookies). I have found it at Walmart and Trader Joe’s.
Eggs: For binding, structure, moisture, and richness/flavor.
Vanilla extract: Adds warm, sweetness and classic cookie flavor. Use pure if you can, but if you don’t have any imitation will do just fine.
Bread flour: I love using bread flour in my cookies because of the higher protein content; it gives the perfect density and chew to the cookies.
Pumpkin pie spice: Enhances the pumpkin flavor from the pumpkin butter and complements the cinnamon sugar.
Baking soda, baking powder, and salt
Cinnamon sugar (for rolling)
Equipment (affiliate links)
- Sheet pans – These “quarter” sheet pans work perfect for storing frozen cookie dough and these regular, half sheet pans are great quality for baking.
- Kitchen scale – The best way to accurately measure flour in baked goods.
- Silicone spatula – These are my favorite silicone spoonulas–perfect for baking.
- Glass mixing bowl
- Handheld mixer – A trusty hand mixer is a great investment and lasts for years.
- 1/3 cup cookie scoop – My go-to scoop for the perfect, large cookies
- Parchment paper
- Measuring cups and spoons
How to Make Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Cream butter, sugars, and pumpkin butter. I like to use a large glass mixing bowl and a handheld mixer, but you can also use a stand mixer for this. Mix on low for about two minutes until creamed.
- Add egg and vanilla. Mix on low for about a minute until smooth and slightly fluffy.
- Add bread flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. The best way to measure the bread flour is to weigh it or to spoon it carefully into a measuring cup and level it off with a butter knife. Try to sprinkle the other ingredients on evenly over top so that they mix in as evenly as possible. Mix on low until incorporated. This dough is very thick (should not be dry) and should not be sticky.
- Scoop dough and roll in cinnamon sugar. With a 1/3 cup cookie scoop (slightly overfilling), portion out the dough into 12 balls. Roll each dough ball in the cinnamon sugar mixture, then place on a parchment lined quarter sheet pan.
- Let dough chill in freezer. Cover and place cookie dough in the freezer for at least two hours, ideally overnight. Keep frozen until ready to bake.
- Bake at 350˚F. Once oven is preheated, take cookie dough out of the freezer and place onto two parchment lined half sheet pans. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until edges just start to brown. Let cool completely before enjoying.
Notes & Tips
Tips for Success
- Use pumpkin butter, not pumpkin puree. Pumpkin butter is made with pumpkin puree, but it also contains sugar, lemon juice, and spices. Pumpkin puree alone causes cookies to be more cake or muffin-like. Since the pumpkin butter is reduced with sugar, it helps make these cookies crispy on the outside edges and soft, dense, and gooey on the inside.
- Make sure your butter is cool, yet soft. This helps the cookies stay tall and not spread too much when ready to bake. The best way to ensure this is to start with cold butter and microwave in 10 second increments until it’s *just* soft enough to work with. For me this takes 20 seconds total.
- Weigh your bread flour. Flour can easily get packed down when scooping a measuring cup into a bag of flour, leading to over-measuring and dry cookie dough. The best way to ensure the recipe turns out well is to measure flour by weighing it on a kitchen scale. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, use a spoon to carefully overfill a measuring cup, then use a butter knife to level it off.
Modifications for Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies
Additions
- White chocolate chips would be really tasty as a mix-in for these cookies.
- Frost them with a vanilla cream cheese frosting–almost like the whipped cream on pumpkin pie vibes!
- If you’re feeling really extra: stuff them with cheesecake filling! To make cheesecake filling, mix softened cream cheese with a little sugar. I would recommend baking them closer to 22-24 minutes so that they have less doughy and gooey centers.
- Add some extra spices to the cinnamon sugar to make these into chai-inspired pumpkin cookies. Use the chai spice mixture recipe from my chai cookie bars.
Substitutions
No, I have not tested this recipe with pumpkin puree. For more explanation of the differences, see “tips for success” above.
No, this recipe has only been tested with bread flour. All purpose flour has a different composition and will alter the results of this recipe.
Storage
These pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies store well at room temperature in an airtight container for up to three days. Store them in the refrigerator for up to five days or in the freezer for up to three months.
Another option is to keep the dough in the freezer for up to three months if you don’t want to bake all of the cookies at once. I love to do this and just pull out to bake them as needed.
Other Recipes You Might Like…
- Try my most popular cookie recipe: Honey Butter Cornbread Cookies
- For more fall snickerdoodle cookie vibes: Chai Cookie Bars
- And for another pumpkin recipe: Ridiculously Easy Pumpkin Muffins
Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup salted butter (1 ½ sticks) cold
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup pumpkin butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 4 ¼ cup bread flour (spooned and leveled) 550 grams
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Cinnamon Sugar for Rolling
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Add the butter to a large glass mixing bowl and heat in the microwave in 10 second increments until just softened. This should take about 20 seconds total. Do melt the butter.
- To the butter, add the sugar, brown sugar, and pumpkin butter. Mix with a handheld mixer on low speed until creamed together, about two minutes.
- Add the eggs and vanilla; mix on low until smooth and fluffy, about one minute. Scrape down the sides with a silicone spatula.
- Add the bread flour (making sure to measure correctly), baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Mix on low until just combined. The dough should be thick and not sticky.
- In a small cereal bowl, add 1 ½ tsp cinnamon and 1/4 cup sugar. Mix with a small spoon until evenly combined.
- Using a 1/3 cup cookie scoop (slightly over-filled), portion the dough into 12 balls. Roll each portion between your palms to smooth and round into a perfect ball.
- Roll the dough in the cinnamon sugar mixture, then place on a small baking sheet or 9"x13" pan lined with parchment paper. Cover and set in the freezer for at least two hours, overnight if possible.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350˚F. Prepare two sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Once oven is preheated, take the cookie dough out of the freezer and place six dough balls on each sheet pan.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until the edges just start to brown. The cookies will look underbaked, but will continue to bake and set after removing from the oven–do not over bake! Let cookies cool completely before enjoying.
Video
Notes
Did you try this recipe? Make sure to give it a rating and leave a comment below and tag Table Nutrition in your photos on social media!
