Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies

Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies are the perfect fall treat that combines the warm spices of autumn with the classic cinnamon-sugar coating we all adore! These soft, chewy cookies have a tender pumpkin center and that signature snickerdoodle tang

Love More Snickerdoodle Cookies? Try My Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cookies or this Brown Butter Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

They’re incredibly soft and chewy – none of that dry, crumbly nonsense here. The pumpkin keeps them perfectly moist while the cream of tartar gives them that classic snickerdoodle tang that makes your taste buds do a little happy dance.

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Ingredient List

Cookie Dough

• ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled (I just microwave it)
• ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
• ⅓ cup (70 g) light brown sugar, packed tight
• ¼ cup (73 g) pumpkin puree (not the pie stuff with spices already in it)
• 1 large egg yolk (save the white for scrambled eggs tomorrow)
• ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1½ cups (190 g) all-purpose flour
• 1½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or whatever fall spice mix you’ve got)
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar (this is important, don’t skip)
• ½ teaspoon salt

Cinnamon-Sugar Topping

• ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Why These Ingredients Work

So melted butter happened because I’m lazy and didn’t want to wait for cold butter to get soft. Turns out it makes them way chewier than the old-school creaming method. Who knew being impatient would work out?

The pumpkin started as leftover cleanup – I hate wasting food. But it keeps these from getting dry like regular snickerdoodles do after day two. Plus my house smells like fall instead of just sugar cookies.

Grandma Betty always put cream of tartar in her snickerdoodles. I asked her why once and she just said “that’s how you make ’em right.” Took me years to figure out it’s what makes them taste tangy instead of just sweet. She was right, as usual.

Essential Tools and Equipment

• Big mixing bowls – I use my mom’s old ceramic ones
• Whisk – any whisk works
• Cookie scoop or just a spoon for scooping
• Cookie sheets (I line mine with parchment because I hate scrubbing)
• Small bowl for the cinnamon sugar

How To Make Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies

Step 1: Mix the Wet Ingredients

Dump that cooled melted butter with both sugars in a big bowl. I use my wooden spoon and just stir until it looks like wet brown sand. Don’t overthink it.

Step 2: Add Pumpkin and Flavoring

Plop in the pumpkin puree first – I learned this the hard way when I tried adding it last and got orange streaks everywhere. Then crack your egg over a small bowl, fish out the yolk with your fingers, and add it with the vanilla.

Step 3: Prepare the Dry Ingredients

Get another bowl and whisk all the dry stuff together. I always forget this step and regret it when I get flour pockets in my cookies. Learn from my mistakes.

Step 4: Combine Wet and Dry

Pour the flour mixture into the wet stuff and stir just until you can’t see dry flour anymore. Stop right there. I used to keep mixing until it was perfectly smooth and ended up with tough cookies that nobody wanted.

Step 5: Chill the Dough

Cover with plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge for at least 45 minutes. I know it’s annoying to wait, but warm cookie dough spreads into sad flat pancakes. I usually make the dough after dinner and bake them the next morning.

Step 6: Preheat and Prep

Crank your oven to 350°F and rip off some parchment paper for your cookie sheets. Mix the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl while you wait for everything to heat up.

Step 7: Shape and Coat

Scoop out chunks of dough about the size of ping pong balls. Roll them in your palms, then roll in the cinnamon sugar until they look like little cinnamon bombs. Space them out good on the baking sheets – they spread more than you think.

Step 8: Bake to Perfection

Stick them in for 10-12 minutes. They’ll look underdone when you pull them out, but that’s what you want. The edges should be set but the middles still look soft and slightly wet.

Step 9: Cool Completely

Leave them on the hot cookie sheet until they’re completely cool. This is when they firm up. I used to move them too early and they’d fall apart in my hands.

You Must Know

You absolutely have to chill this dough. I skipped it once because I was impatient and ended up with flat, crispy cookies that looked nothing like the fluffy ones in the picture. My husband still brings up those “pancake cookies” whenever I get cocky in the kitchen.

Use real pumpkin puree, not the pie filling stuff. I grabbed the wrong can once and the cookies were way too sweet and spiced. The kids ate them but they weren’t right.

Personal Secret: I melt my butter in the microwave then let it sit on the counter while I get everything else ready. Hot butter will scramble your egg yolk, and trust me, nobody wants chunks of cooked egg in their cookies. Been there, done that, threw the whole batch away.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

Don’t bake them until they look completely done. I ruined so many batches doing this. They should still look soft and slightly underbaked in the middle when you pull them out.

For thick puffy cookies, I put the shaped balls back in the fridge for 10-15 minutes before baking. Makes them rise up instead of spreading flat. Learned this from a YouTube video at 2am when I couldn’t sleep.

Room temp egg yolk mixes better than cold. I just crack it and let it sit while I measure everything else. Sometimes I forget about it for an hour but it’s fine.

Flavor Variations & Suggestions

Sarah from yoga class adds chocolate chips to hers. Maybe 1/3 cup mixed in at the end. Her twins go nuts for them.

I accidentally used maple extract once when I grabbed the wrong bottle. Wasn’t bad actually. Added a spoonful of maple syrup too since I was already committed to the mistake.

My across-the-street neighbor Sue uses applesauce instead of pumpkin. Never tried it myself but she brings me cookies every October so they must be good.

Make-Ahead Options

I prep the dough Sunday night after dinner sometimes. Keeps in the fridge covered with plastic wrap for two days easy. Just let it sit out for a few minutes if it gets too hard to scoop.

You can freeze the dough balls too. I roll them, put them on a cookie sheet, freeze them solid, then dump them in a freezer bag. Bake them straight from frozen, just takes an extra minute or two. Great for when mom drops by unexpected.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

Don’t skip the cream of tartar. I tried once when I was out and they just tasted like boring cinnamon cookies. You can find it in tiny containers by the spices. Costs like three bucks and lasts forever.

If your cookies spread into flat pancakes, your dough was too warm. Happened to me when I was rushing for a potluck. Stick it back in the fridge and wait. I know it sucks but warm dough spreads.

Let them cool completely on the pan before moving them. I’m terrible at waiting and always try to move them early. They fall apart every time and I curse at myself.

Serving Suggestions

Kids dunk them in milk. I eat them with my coffee in the morning because the cinnamon sugar isn’t too intense for breakfast cookies.

They’re good crumbled on vanilla ice cream. Made ice cream sandwiches last month for Emma’s sleepover party. Gone in ten minutes.

I just pile them on whatever plate is clean, but for fancy stuff I use a basket with fake leaves from Dollar Tree. Makes them look like I tried.

How to Store Your Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies

I keep mine in an old cookie tin on the counter. They stay soft for about a week, which is longer than they usually last around here. Sometimes I throw a piece of bread in there if I remember – keeps them from getting hard.

For longer storage, I freeze them in freezer bags. They thaw pretty quick on the counter, maybe 30 minutes.

Allergy Information

These have gluten, dairy, and eggs. My friend makes them with coconut oil instead of butter for her dairy-free kid. Haven’t tried gluten-free flour myself but she says the cup-for-cup stuff works okay, just a little different texture.

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

Can I use pumpkin pie filling instead of pure pumpkin puree?

Don’t do it! I made this mistake once and they came out way too sweet and the spice was all wrong. Just get the plain pumpkin stuff.

My cookies turned out flat – what went wrong?

Your dough wasn’t cold enough. This happens to me when I’m in a hurry and skip the chilling time. Stick that dough in the fridge and wait it out.

Can I make these without cream of tartar?

You can, but they won’t taste like snickerdoodles anymore. They’ll just be cinnamon cookies. The cream of tartar is what makes them tangy. I found mine at Walmart in the tiny spice containers.

How do I know when they’re done baking?

The edges look set but the centers still look a little wet and puffy. Don’t wait for them to look completely done or they’ll be hard when they cool.

💬 Tried this recipe? Leave a comment and rating below! I’d love to hear how your Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies turned out!