The only thing better than traditional snickerdoodles are pumpkin snickerdoodles! These easy-to-make pumpkin and cinnamon cookies are soft and moist and filled with delicious fall flavors.
(This recipe for Pumpkin Snickerdoodles was originally published in November 2009, but was updated with new photos in 2018).
Pumpkin season is still in full-swing! Some people will claim that it's over over come Thanksgiving, but I like to think it's OK to carry on until Christmas.
Especially this year since I'm taking off for Hawaii (tomorrow!!!) to visit my sister and brother-in-law and will be missing a good 10+ days of pumpkin season.
At least, I don't imagine pumpkin season is too crazy in Hawaii, but that's something I'll definitely be looking into. In any event, I'll be stepping away from Boston's fall season for a little bit and hopefully feeling like I'm back in summer for a week. Summer + pumpkin? Now that would equal heaven, right?
Why You'll Love This Recipe
If you're a fan of snickerdoodles and you love seasonal pumpkin flavor, you'll love absolutely everything about these cookies.
They're soft and moist and have lots of cinnamon flavor.... Plus lots of pumpkin flavor!
Also, these cookies are extremely easy to make and will likely become one of your go-to fall cookie recipes!
Ingredients
These pumpkin snickerdoodles are made with pretty standard cookie ingredients. In fact, it's likely you already have most or all of these ingredients in your kitchen.
Here's everything you need:
- Unsalted butter
- Pumpkin puree
- Granulated sugar
- Egg
- All-purpose flour
- Cream of tartar
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Cinnamon
How to Make Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
The process for making these cookies is also super easy!
To start, in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream butter, ¾ cup sugar, and pumpkin puree together on medium speed for about 3 minutes.
Beat egg into the mixture. Don't be worried if the batter looks a little curdle-y before you mix in the dry ingredients... It's just the pumpkin and butter mixing together (as you can see below).
And once you mix in the dry ingredients, the dough will look fabulous!
Now, in a separate medium bowl whisk flour, cream of tartar, baking powder, and salt together.
Blend the dry ingredients into the wet ones in two separate batches, until they’re completely combined, taking care not to over-mix.
The dough does need to chill for a bit after it's made, so make sure you account for this time in your cookie baking process. So, cover mixing bowl and put it in the fridge for 1 hour to chill.
While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and cover two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpats.
And when it's chilled, roll it into little balls with about 1 Tbsp dough at a time and dip those little dough balls into a cinnamon sugar mixture.
This, my friends, is what takes these cookies from being pumpkin cookies to being pumpkin snickerdoodles.
Place cookie dough balls on prepared baking sheet with about an inch of space between them.
Bake them for about 10 minutes, until cookies are fully baked, but still soft.
Let them cool in the pan for a couple minutes before moving to wire racks to cool completely.
The cookies don't spread much and remain nice and little; perfect for popping into your mouth. Oh, and I love the orange-y color of them too! No artificial dyes involved!
As you can probably see in the photos, these cookies are super soft and pillow-like. They're not a crispy cookie at all, but in my opinion, they are the perfect snickerdoodle consistency!
The combination of pumpkin and cinnamon flavors make for the perfect fall cookie and these are the best dessert to bringing to fall festivities. Or for simply enjoying at home with a hot mug of afternoon coffee or tea.
How to Make Pumpkin Snickerdoodles Without Cream of Tartar
If you're out of cream of tartar and still want to make these snickerdoodles, it's no problem!
The cookies won't likely be as puffy as the ones you see in my photos and they may have a slightly different taste. But simply increase the amount of baking powder to 1 tsp when making these.
More Pumpkin Dessert Recipes
If you love these pumpkin snickerdoodles, you might love some of my other pumpkin desserts, too. Here are some of my absolute favorites:
- Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
- Pumpkin Linzer Cookies
- Pumpkin Cheerios Marshmallow Treats
- Pumpkin Beer Pretzels
- Pumpkin Pie Bars
- Pumpkin Spice Latte Mug Cake
- Pumpkin Swirl Brownies
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chips Squares
- Pumpkin Toffee Gingersnaps
- Pumpkin Macarons
- Pumpkin Swirled Cheesecake (from Just Add Sprinkles)
- Pumpkin Cake Cookies (from Love in my Oven)
But these particular cookies have become a seasonal go-to for me and one that my friends and family frequently request.
Do you think I'd make friends on my plane to Hawaii if I brought a batch of pumpkin snickerdoodles with me??
Just kidding; I don't want to make friends on the plane. I sit next to the most talkative people literally every single time I fly and a batch of these cookies would probably just mean I'd be stuck chatting for the entire 12+ hours.
Do you have a favorite pumpkin cookie?
📖 Recipe
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup granulated sugar, plus 1 ½ Tbsp for cookie coating
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream butter, ¾ cup sugar, and pumpkin puree together on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Beat egg into the mixture.
- In a separate medium bowl whisk flour, cream of tartar, baking powder, and salt together.
- Blend the dry ingredients into the wet ones in two separate batches, until they’re completely combined, taking care not to over-mix. Cover mixing bowl and put it in the fridge for 1 hour to chill.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpats.
- On a plate, mix together 1 ½ Tbsp sugar and 1 Tbsp cinnamon together. Using about 1 Tbsp dough at a time, roll dough into balls. Place balls on cookie sheet with about an inch of space between them.
- Bake for about 10 minutes, until cookies are fully baked, but still soft. Let cool in the pan for a couple minutes, before moving to wire racks to cool completely.
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Chris says
So good.. I think I've eaten around 20 full pumpkins this season. Still have a craving for more though!
damaris says
I wish you two were still in Cali, I would serve you some pumpkin-apple bundt cake I just made.
My hubby is from Hawaii and I lived there for a year. Love it!
where will you be going? I'd love to give you some foodie advice.
emrlds says
oh my goodness, i'm drooling. sues, you KNOW how i feel about pumpkin so you just made my day!
Shannon says
i just saw some over at recipe girl, and i'm gonna have to try these babies out!!!
Natalie says
*If you make it to Waikiki, Dukes is a great place to eat, amazing fish and right on the beach, also a great atmosphere! Enjoy Hawaii!
Karena says
now I have an urge to bake cookies and no one to bake for! haha. have an awesome time in hawaii! can't wait to hear about it 🙂
Desiree says
Ooooo...I was looking for a yummy snickerdoodle recipe! Perfect timing Sues:) I'll have to try these this weekend!
Culinary Cory says
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles? Such a great idea. I have an amazing snickerdoodle recipe that I just love. I'll have to play with the idea of adding pumpkin now.
Katie says
I forgot to comment on this post, but I made these cookies and they were a big hit! Even people (like my little brother) who claim they don't like pumpkin loved them. They were delicious! Just wanted to let you know 🙂
Nancy says
I wish they had more of a pumpkin taste. The end result were a bit more like cake and not cookie. This a fun way to use pumpkin.
Beth Lee says
this is one of those simple but so satisfying cookie recipes - thanks for reminding me it's time to refill the cookie jar. These are terrific!
Jennifer Farley says
Snickerdoodles are my favorite cookie. Adding pumpkin was pure genius!