These Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles are baked with seasonal pumpkin, a hint of orange zest, warm fall spices, and rolled in a spiced sugar mixture. Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles have deliciously crispy edges, which give way to a fluffy, chewy center. You wanna bake ‘em now, don’t you?
It’s October 3rd and I have waited exactly 33 days to post this recipe. At the very edge of my seat, I may add.
You see, I have a theory about all things pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice: They are all laced with some form of pumpkin crack. Pumpkin spice crack is pumped into the air we breathe on or around mid-August as we sleep, interrupting our dreams of summer berries. On September 1st – and upon the first yellowing of leaves, our brains are triggered at the mere mention of pumpkin, thus making us lose our shit.
Am I close?
I think that’s pretty much how it went down.
It is pumpkin everything, all the things – Memes, coffee, drinks, vodka, t-shirts, plastic cups, cookies – Everything sports the pumpkin insignia and we eat it up – Literally and figuratively.
Now, I’d be doing you a disservice if I didn’t participate in the pumpkin spice craze, hence – Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles.
Flow with me, let’s talk about this cake-like gem.
These cookies!! Baked each and every fall without fail since 2012. Through the years the recipe has evolved some, yet its integrity remains. This is a bomb-ass cookie.
There’s pumpkin puree in the mix, of course – A heaping cup of it. This puree is mixed with a hint of orange zest. Yah. Pumpkin and orange. Totally go together. Pumpkin co-exists in delicious symbiosis with warm fall spices and all-purpose flour.
Regular granulated and brown sugars are mixed in equal portions with a heap of unsalted butter. An egg to bind, a splash of vanilla extract. The dough comes together beautifully, yet soft and is left to chill. Once chilled the cookie dough is rolled by hand into balls. These pumpkin spiced balls of cookie dough are completely coated in sugar spiced with cinnamon and ginger.
They’re supposed to be flattened a bit by hand prior to baking. I wanted none of that. I prefer my cookies puff up and look like tiny handheld sugar coated spice cakes.
And that’s what I got. Tiny puffy handheld cakes you pop in your mouth like cookies, FTW. My daughter says that means ‘For the Win’.
My son mentioned these Pumpkin Spice Cookies are best eaten the next day. Apparently he feels pumpkin, zest, and spice need time to seep into each cookie creating this masterpiece of flavor. He wanted me to mention that. I paraphrased.
I think it’s a masterpiece either way, eaten straight out of the oven or three days later.
Plus, who the hell can wait 24 hours for a cookie?
Pfft… Teenagers…
[purerecipe]
Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
For the pumpkin snickerdoodles
- 3 3/4 cups All-purpose flour using a spoon to lightly scoop the flour into the measuring cup
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon Ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon Freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 cup heaping Pumpkin puree
- 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon Orange zest
- 1 cup 2 sticks Unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup Granulated white sugar
- 3/4 cup Light brown sugar packed
- 1 large Egg -
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
For the spiced sugar
- 1/2 cup Granulated white sugar
- 1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground ginger
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, spices and set aside. In a small bowl, combine the pumpkin puree and orange zest. Also set aside.
- In a bowl of an electric mixer set on medium high speed, cream the butter and sugars until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the pumpkin puree mixture and mix well. Add the egg and vanilla extract, scraping down sides of the bowl to incorporate all of the ingredients.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and add flour mixture into liquid in two to three parts. Mix just until incorporated.
- Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill at least an hour, or until dough becomes slightly firm.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper (or spray with nonstick spray). Mix spiced sugar mixture ingredients in a small bowl.
- Remove cookie dough from refrigerator. Use a small cookie scoop (1 – 1 1/2 teaspoon) or a small spoon to scoop out dough and roll into balls. Use your hands to roll the balls in the spiced sugar making sure they're coated really well. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. If desired, use a glass with a nice, flat bottom to flatten the balls. Unless you like your snickerdoodles puffy. We like ‘em puffy. Sprinkle some additional sugar on top of the flattened cookies.
- Bake the cookies for 10 to 14 minutes, or until they are slightly firm to the touch. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes or so, and then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.
