Pumpkin Snickerdoodles are soft and chewy pumpkin spice cookies. These tasty cookies get an extra bump of flavor from brown butter and plenty of pumpkin pie spice. The cookies are easy to make – no mixer, no chilling required.
Pumpkin snickerdoodles are the fall version of classic snickerdoodles cookies. This is the perfect cookie recipe for this time of year. These tasty cookies get plenty of flavor from brown butter and a generous amount of pumpkin pie spice. The cookies have a lovely soft and chewy texture.
The cookies are as easy as they are delicious! This recipe is similar to my popular chocolate chip cookie recipe that is also made with melted butter. There’s no mixer and no chilling required, and the cookies can be made from scratch in less than an hour!
“Wow, these are so good!! The browning of the butter (and letting it cool) took at little extra time but otherwise this was an easy recipe. They taste amazing!!! I’m taking them to a cookie bake off at work today, and I’m sure they’ll be very popular.” – Kristen
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Butter: I use salted butter in this recipe. If you use unsalted butter, increase the salt to 1/2 teaspoon.
- Brown sugar: Light brown sugar or dark brown sugar will work. Dark brown sugar will give you richer flavor.
- Pumpkin puree: I recommend using canned pumpkin puree. If you’re using homemade pumpkin puree, you may need to strain it to thicken it up before using. Be sure to use pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
- Egg yolks: Egg yolk helps to make the cookies rich and chewy.
- All-purpose flour: It’s important to properly measure the flour. To do so either weigh it or sift/stir it to break it up. Then lightly spoon into the measuring cup and level.
- Pumpkin pie spice: You can use store bought or make homemade pumpkin pie spice.
How to make pumpkin snickerdoodles
Here you’ll find instructions and step-by-step photos showing how to make this recipe. The full recipe, including ingredients, is given below.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
Step 2: Brown the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. The butter will melt, foam, then it will turn amber golden brown. When it smells nutty, remove from heat.
Step 3: Pour the browned butter and any browned bits into a large mixing bowl. Let the butter cool to room temperature.
Don’t chill the butter. It needs to be about 70F, but it shouldn’t be solid or chilled.
Step 4: Once the butter is at room temperature, whisk in the sugars until well-combined.
Step 5: Whisk in the egg yolks, vanilla, and pumpkin puree until well-combined.
Step 6: Add the flour, pumpkin spice, salt, and baking soda. Stir in just until combined. Don’t overmix.
Step 7: In a shallow dish, stir the sugar and cinnamon together until combined. Using a shallow dish will make it easier to roll the balls of dough in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Step 8: Using a medium cookie scoop (1.5 tablespoons), scoop up the dough. Roll each ball of dough in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Step 9: Place the cookie dough balls 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
Step 10: Bake for 8-11 minutes, or until the edges are set. The centers should look soft and slightly underdone in the cracks.
Step 11: Let the cookies cool for about 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Recipe Tips!
- Browning butter: When browning butter, it’s important to use a light or silver pot. If you use a dark saucepan or pot, it will be difficult to see the color changes as the butter cooks.
- Once the butter begins to melt, stir it occasionally to prevent any of the solids from burning as the butter browns.
- Don’t let the butter cool in the saucepan. It can continue to cook from the residual heat and overbrown.
- The temperature of the melted butter is important! If the butter is too hot, it will cause greasy cookies that bake out. If the butter is chilled, the other ingredients won’t whisk in properly.
- Mixing: I highly recommend mixing these cookies by hand. There’s no need for a hand mixer, and mixing the cookie dough by hand will help to avoid overmixing.
Storage
Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. The cookies will keep for 3-4 days when properly stored.
More pumpkin recipes!
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Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup butter
- ⅔ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup canned pumpkin purée
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Cinnamon Sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Brown the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. The butter will melt, foam, then it will turn amber golden brown. When it smells nutty, remove from heat.1 cup butter
- Pour the browned butter and any browned bits into a large mixing bowl.
- Let the butter cool to room temperature. It should take about 25 minutes depending on the temperature of your kitchen. Don't chill the butter. It needs to be about 70F, but it shouldn't be solid or chilled.
- Once the butter is at room temperature, whisk in the sugars until well-combined.⅔ cup brown sugar , ½ cup granulated sugar
- Whisk in the egg yolks, vanilla, and pumpkin puree until well-combined.2 large egg yolks, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ cup canned pumpkin purée
- Add the flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda, and salt. Stir in just until combined. Don't overmix.1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon salt
- In a shallow dish, stir the sugar and cinnamon together until combined.1/4 cup granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- Using a medium cookie scoop (1.5 tablespoons), scoop up the dough.
- Roll each ball of dough in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Place the scoops of dough 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 8-11 minutes, or until the edges are set. The centers should look soft and slightly underdone in the cracks.
- Let the cookies cool for about 10 minutes before removing to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.
Notes
- Butter: I use salted butter in this recipe. If you use unsalted butter, increase the salt to 1/2 teaspoon.
- Brown sugar: Light brown sugar or dark brown sugar will work. Dark brown sugar will give you richer flavor.
- Pumpkin puree: I recommend using canned pumpkin puree. If you’re using homemade pumpkin puree, you may need to strain it to thicken it up before using. Be sure to use pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
- All-purpose flour: It’s important to properly measure the flour. To do so either weigh it or sift/stir it to break it up. Then lightly spoon into the measuring cup and level.
- Pumpkin pie spice: You can use store bought or make homemade pumpkin pie spice.
- Nutrition values are estimates.
Nutrition
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Reader Interactions
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Comments & Reviews
Debbie says
The brown butter makes these cookies taste soooooo good. Mine did not get crinkly on top. Do you think the pumpkin was too moist?
Kate Dean says
Thank you! Maybe. You could try blotting it with paper towels to see if that helps. The baking soda should help give you the crinkles, so you might check yours to be sure that it’s working at full strength.
Sarah says
Thanks so much for this amazing recipe! Would the dough balls be ok to freeze to bake at a later date?
Kate Dean says
You’re so welcome! Yes, you can freeze scoops of the dough to bake later.
Isabella says
super good, i have made them already 3 times since i found the recipe, it has become one of the favorites here in my house, greetings from mexico🇲🇽
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that you’ve liked the cookies!
Meredith says
So good!! Really incredible flavor. My dough needed 2 cups flour to get to a workable consistency. I would add in an additional 1/4 cup of flour at a time if your dough is too runny following the recipe as written.
Kate says
Thank you!
Morgan says
Amazing flavour!! Super good! Perfect fall recipe
Kate says
Thank you!
Kristen W says
Wow, these are so good!! The browning of the butter (and letting it cool) took at little extra time but otherwise this was an easy recipe. They taste amazing!!! I’m taking them to a cookie bake off at work today, and I’m sure they’ll be very popular.
Kate says
Thank you! I hope they’re a hit!
Carol Booth says
I have no idea how you made your cookies into balls; my dough was WAY too runny to even attempt making and rolling the dough into the sugar/cinnamon mixture. I poured it into a 9×9″ baking pan, sprinkled it with the mixture. Baked it for about 25 minutes. When cool, cut them into bars. They were completely gone within minutes! Definitely a “keeper” recipe!
Kate says
Hi! It may have been the pumpkin. I’ve found that pumpkin puree can vary quite a bit in how much moisture it has. If you have some that’s pretty wet, you can blot off the excess moisture, and that should help.
Nancy Westall says
I love the way these turned out! I used this recipe as a guide to use up some leftover pumpkin pie. I scooped the filling out of the homemade pie and used that instead of the purée… used only one egg yolk….and followed the rest of the recipe as is. They are a little more of a “cakey” texture, but still very good. Next time I might just leave out the egg completely. Great way to repurpose the pie. Husband approved! Thank you!
Kate says
Thank you!
Melinda says
These cookies were beyond DELICIOUS! I would rate 10 stars if it was possible.
I used a stand mixer to beat the browned butter, sugars, pumpkin purée,, etc together (personal preference). I hand mixed in the dry ingredients as per the directions.
I placed the cookies approximately 4 inches apart to avoid spreading cookies “sticking” to each other. Baked for 11 minutes and cooled for 10 minutes on the cookie sheet before moving the cookies to a cooling rack.
Thanks for such an amazing recipe!
Kate says
You’re very welcome! I’m so glad that you liked the cookies!
Judith says
Love them all
Kate says
Thank you!