These soft & chewy pumpkin snickerdoodles have that iconic taste and texture of regular snickerdoodles but with a Fall twist! Using real pumpkin & pumpkin pie spice, these cookies are about to become your new favorite cookie!
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Why I LOVE these pumpkin snickerdoodles
- Soft & Chewy: Just like a traditional snickerdoodle, these pumpkin snickerdoodles have that iconic chewy texture but filled with that cozy pumpkin flavor! Seriously the best fall cookie.
- Lightly spiced: I'm not a huge fan of heavily spiced pumpkin treats so I made sure to develop this recipe with the perfect balance of cinnamon & pumpkin spice flavor!
- Simple to make! I used basic ingredient methods & ratios so that you don't have to dirty too many dishes & measuring cups! Plus, no dough chilling required!
Ingredient Notes
Jump down to the full recipe card for the recipe amounts and condensed recipe instructions.
- Canned pumpkin puree: Note that this recipe uses canned pure pumpkin puree, not premade pumpkin pie filling! I recommend Libby's brand (as some brands are more watery). Adding this real pumpkin to the cookie gives it that iconic orange color & lots of moisture!
- Pumpkin pie spice: While there are recipes online to make your own, I find it much easier to just grab a bottle of pumpkin spice. It lasts forever & is perfect to keep on hand for Fall baking!
- Egg yolk: To avoid the mixture from being too wet (and therefore resulting in soggy & puffy cookies), we're using just the yolk of the egg. Save the egg white and toss into your morning omelet!
How to make pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies:
Jump down to the full recipe card for the recipe amounts and condensed recipe instructions.
Step 1: Blot water out of pumpkin
Layer 3 sheets of paper towels and place pumpkin puree (½ cup) in the center. Blot out the excess water until it reduces down to ¼ cup; it will resemble more of a playdoh texture.
Tip: Don't try to "squeeze" this through the paper towel, as it will rip and go everywhere. Simply blotting is enough!
Step 2: Make Dough
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer on medium-high speed to cream softened unsalted butter (½ cup, 1 stick), light brown sugar (½ cup), and granulated sugar (½ cup) for 1-2 minutes.
- Add in blotted pumpkin puree (¼ cup), egg yolk, and vanilla extract (2 teaspoons), then mix until just combined.
- Mix in baking soda (½ teaspoon), cinnamon (½ teaspoon), pumpkin pie spice (½ teaspoon), salt (½ teaspoon), and cream of tartar (optional, ½ teaspoon). Add in all-purpose flour (1 ½ cup) and mix just until all the flour disappears into the dough.
Step 3: Roll in Cinnamon Sugar & Flatten
- In a small bowl, make cinnamon-sugar coating by mixing together the 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1 tablepsoon cinnamon. Set aside.
- Scoop dough into ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) sized scoops (I use this stainless steel cookie scoop!), roll into balls, then coat in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Place on a light metal pan lined with parchment paper (the light metal will help them spread; dark metal pans will likely result in a puffier cookie).Flatten each dough ball into a ½" thick disc; this will also help them spread instead of be puffy.
Step 4: Bake
Bake at 350°F for 11-13 minutes. Do not overbake. The cookies will continue to bake on the hot pan, allowing them to firm up without overbaking. If desired, sprinkle some of the extra cinnamon sugar over the baked pumpkin spice snickerdoodles!
Tip: If your cookies puff up a bit, immediately tap the pan on the counter a few times to help them deflate. You want to do this immediately after removing from the oven. You can also flatten the tops of the dough balls even more for the next pan to help them spread.
Tips & Variations
- Don't skip blotting the pumpkin! Removing the extra water in the canned pumpkin is essential to a chewy cookie. If you don't do it, your cookies will be puffy, cakey, and may not bake in the center.
- Cream of tartar: this gives them a chewy texture & tangy flavor but if you don't have it, you can totally leave it out!
- Pumpkin spice: If you like a stronger pumpkin flavor, you can add up to 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice!
- Add baking chips: Add white chocolate or butterscotch chips to make these even more decadent!
- Gluten-free or vegan: This recipe should work just fine using gluten-free all-purpose 1-to-1 flour or vegan butter! If you try it, be sure to leave me a comment letting me know how they turned out!
Storing & Freezing:
Storing: These have the best texture when enjoyed within 3 days but they can be in an airtight container for up to 4-5 days.
Freezing: Freeze in an airtight container for 1-2 months. For ultimate freshness, wrap each cookie in plastic wrap then place in an airtight container.
More Cozy Fall Recipes
Did you make this recipe? If so, will you do me a huge favor and leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe? This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Soft & Chewy Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick) softened
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup canned pumpkin puree *blotted down to ¼ cup
- 1 egg yolk (no white!) we're only using the yolk, not the white
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar optional, will give them a more tangy flavor but not necessary for a dang good cookie!
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
Cinnamon Sugar for Rolling
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Before you begin! If you make this, will you do me a huge favor and leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe? This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Layer 3 sheets of paper towels and place pumpkin puree (½ cup) in the center. Blot out the excess water until it reduces down to ¼ cup; it will resemble more of a playdoh texture.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer on medium-high speed to cream softened unsalted butter (½ cup, 1 stick), light brown sugar (½ cup), and granulated sugar (½ cup) for 1-2 minutes.
- Add in blotted pumpkin puree (¼ cup), egg yolk, and vanilla extract (2 teaspoons), then mix until just combined.
- Mix in baking soda (½ teaspoon), cinnamon (½ teaspoon), pumpkin pie spice (½ teaspoon), salt (½ teaspoon), and cream of tartar (optional, ½ teaspoon). Add in all-purpose flour (1 ½ cup) and mix just until all the flour disappears into the dough.
- In a small bowl, make cinnamon-sugar coating by mixing together the 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1 tablepsoon cinnamon. Set aside.
- Scoop dough into ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) sized scoops (I use this stainless steel cookie scoop!), roll into balls, then coat in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Place on a light metal pan lined with parchment paper (the light metal will help them spread; dark metal pans will likely result in a puffier cookie).Flatten each dough ball into a ½" thick disc; this will also help them spread instead of be puffy.
- Bake at 350°F for 11-13 minutes. Do not overbake. The cookies will continue to bake on the hot pan, allowing them to firm up without overbaking.*If your cookies puff up a bit, immediately tap the pan on the counter a few times to help them deflate. You want to do this immediately after removing from the oven. You can also flatten the tops of the dough balls even more for the next pan to help them spread.
- Allow to cool, then enjoy!
Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe! This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
This is the best pumpkin recipe I've ever made! I made these as part of the October baking challenge, and every time I've made some variation of the pumpkin cookies, they always end up overly runny. Blotting out the water from the pumpkin puree is so smart, and really improved the overall consistency of the cookie!
These cookies are the best fall cookies I've ever made! I made these as part of October's baking challenge, and every time I've made some variation of pumpkin cookies in the past, they've ended up overly runny. Blotting out the water from the pumpkin puree is genius, and really helped the overall consistency of the cookies!
I ended up with TEN cookies and didn’t realize how much they grew! They are so delicious. I am definitely making them again!
I'm so glad you loved the recipe, Kim! Thank you so much for leaving a review!
An absolute excellent recipe that I did as part of the October baking challenge. I am already a snickerdoodle fan, and the pumpkin just added more flavor to an already flavorable cookie.
Hello. I’m apart of the October baking challenge 😃 These were super soft and chewy!! My fav combo of cookie textures. I have never added pumpkin to snickerdoodles before. Thankyou so much for the great recipie.
Sooo good! Super soft, chewy and addictive. Great with a warm cup of tea! Thankyou so much.
So glad you loved this recipe, Iris! Thank you so much for leaving a review!
Sooo good! Super soft, chewy and addictive. Great with a warm cup of tea!
I finally got around to making one of your recipes! They always look amazing but get pushed to my one day pile. There is something about the fall weather that makes me want to bake so when your challenge came through, I jumped on it this time. I wanted to make a birthday treat for a coworker and so this turned out to be the one. I’ve already passed the link to your pumpkin cookie recipe to 3 ppl at work. Winner for sure. Snickerdoodle with a hint of pumpkin. Not too much spice. Soft, & chewy. Even my kids were gobbling them up! I also, love the extra baking lesson you give. i.e. light vs dark pans, and effect of cream of tarter. :-)
Yay, I'm so glad you finally got around to it too! :) So glad to hear everyone loved the recipe! Thank you so much for leaving a review, Rebekah!
This is the first pumpkin cookie I make every fall season and this time I made it as part of the October baking challenge. This is the perfectly spiced bite with a satisfying chew. I highly recommend!
So glad you loved this recipe, Tomma! Thank you for leaving a review and for participating in the October baking challenge!
This cookie is perfect! I loved the texture, fall flavors and ease of this recipe. I tripled this recipe so I could make extra to take to our kids. We enjoyed ours with milk tonight and I dropped a few at my neighbors house.
So glad you loved the recipe, Tricia! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review, I really appreciate it!
Snickerdoodles aren't one of my favorite cookies, but this recipe was delicous. I think I baked one pan for two minutes or so too long, but it just made them crunchier and the taste was still great.
These are my new favorite cookie! As a snickerdoodle lover I didn't think they could get much better, but I was so wrong. They are so soft and chewy
Yay, I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Elizabeth! Thank you so much for leaving a review!
This recipe was a big hit my family loves it ! One question how would I double this I’m new to baking would I just add each ingredient twice?
Hi Jenna! So glad you loved them! Yes, to double you can just 2x the ingredients. Still only use 2 yolks (no whites) when doubling :)
super good cookies! they were easy to make and easy to clean up. only down side is i couldn’t taste the pumpkin at all!
Hey Ash! So glad you liked them! Did you use the pumpkin pie spice? If so, feel free to double it next time for a stronger flavor!
I made 2 batches one with white chocolate chips and one just like the recipe and they are delicious both ways!
Thanks for leaving a review, Marissa! I’m glad you loved them! I am going to have to try adding white chocolate chips next time I make them, that sounds like a yummy addition! :)
These taste like Autumn at its very best! They are soft and savory with a hint of pumpkin and cinnamon. Could be my new favorite Fall treat! Amazing!
I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment!