These Pumpkin Snickerdoodles are soft and chewy and full of pumpkin-spiced flavor with a cinnamon-sugar coating. Delicious pumpkin cookies in under an hour!

stack of pumpkin snickerdoodles on a cooling rack

Consider me 100% basic, but I am completely head-over-heels for Fall. I’ve got my windows open, that crisp-cool breeze flowing in, and me cozied up in a chunky sweater, baking these Pumpkin Snickerdoodles on the regular so my house can smell like warm fall spices all season long.


These easy cookies are quick enough to bake up a batch during naptime! Consider that my professional and parental tip for surviving back to school! Not only are they made in under an hour but they have a chewy texture that isn’t cakey. Try more fun fall baking recipes for the whole family like this apple cider donut cake, the best pumpkin muffins, or chocolate chip pumpkin bread!

Why this is the Best Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Recipe

  • They’re incredibly soft and chewy. The combination of pumpkin with melted butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar gives these cookies the texture of a classic snickerdoodle cookie with a little more tenderness and spice.
  • They taste exactly like a pumpkin cookie and a snickerdoodle cookie had a baby. A balanced combination of spiced pumpkin flavor, cinnamon-sugar and warm fall spices mixed together to make the very essence of fall in dessert form. This is why I can’t stop eating them (and neither can my family).
  • They’re easy to make! Just mix together the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients, chill the dough, roll into balls, dip into cinnamon-sugar and bake. In less than one hour, you will have perfect cookies cooling. There isn’t even an egg or egg yolk needed.
pumpkin snickerdoodles on a parchment paper-lined cooling rack

Professional Tips for Making Chewy Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

  • Do not skip chilling the dough! The dough is super-soft right after it’s mixed due to the pumpkin and melted butter, so it will spread like crazy in the oven if not chilled. The good news is you don’t need a stand mixer and there is no creaming required!
  • Feel free to swap the canned pumpkin for fresh pumpkin puree. If you do roll like that and need ideas for those roasted pumpkin seeds, boy do I have ideas.
  • You’ll need to press down the dough balls slightly before baking. Otherwise, they won’t spread very much in the oven. I pressed mine to just about 3/4- to 1-inch tall disks, and even then some of them didn’t spread enough. No worries — you can just press them down again after they’re baked.
pumpkin snickerdoodles on a surface with a bite taken out of one

Ingredients & Substitutions

  • Unsalted butter: I use unsalted butter that is soft but still cool to the touch. This makes the chewiest cookies.
  • Brown Sugar: Use light or dark brown sugar depending on what you have on hand.
  • Granulated Sugar
  • Vanilla Extract
  • Pumpkin Puree: You can use homemade or canned pumpkin puree for this recipe but I always use Libby’s because it is consistent and doesn’t have as much water as others. Be sure not to use pumpkin pie filling. Use leftover canned pumpkin to make Pumpkin Challah, Pumpkin Brioche Rolls, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, or Pumpkin Chai Muffins — or freeze in a resealable freezer bag and use later to make more cookies!
  • All-Purpose Flour: You can substitute Gluten-Free All Purpose flour.
  • Baking Powder
  • Baking Soda
  • Kosher Salt
  • Cinnamon
  • Pumpkin Pie Spice: You can use your favorite brand of store-bought pumpkin pie spice or make Chef Lindsey’s perfect pumpkin spice recipe, which is a mix of ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and allspice! Mix up a big batch and use it along with the leftover pumpkin puree for no bake pumpkin cheesecake or pumpkin cinnamon rolls!  

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Possible Variations

  • Add chips, nuts or dried fruit: Add chocolate chips, cinnamon chips, or white chocolate chips. I also love the combination of dried fruit and nuts like dried cranberries and toasted pecans or dried cherries and walnuts.
  • Spread on a frosting: Spread on a little cream cheese frosting, maple buttercream or even the brown butter frosting from these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. You could also try this easy cream cheese frosting for cookies!
a pumpkin snickerdoodle cookie broken in half

How to Make The Best Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, whisk melted butter, brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar until smooth and combined. Whisk in vanilla and pumpkin until smooth.

Step 2: In a separate large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice until well combined.

Step 3: Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients; stir with spatula or large spoon until a very soft dough forms. Cover dough and chill 30-45 minutes.

Step 4: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll chilled cookie dough into 16-18 balls, about 1 1/2 tablespoons each. I use a cookie scoop for easy cookie dough portioning.

Step 5: In a small bowl, whisk remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon for topping. Roll cookie dough balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture, then transfer to prepared baking sheets. Press down each dough ball to flatten slightly (they won’t spread as well if you skip this step).

Step 6: Bake cookies one sheet at a time (refrigerate second baking sheet while first baking sheet is in oven), about 10 minutes or until edges of cookies are just set. Cookies will appear very soft and under-baked, but they will set up and bake through as they cool.

Step 7: Cool cookies 10 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat with second baking sheet.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to store pumpkin snickerdoodles?

Store baked and cooled cookies in airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days. I recommend freezing unbaked or baked cookies if you desire to store them longer.

Can you freeze the dough and bake from frozen?

You can freeze the dough but I would roll them in cinnamon sugar right before baking. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F to bake from frozen or you risk overdone outsides and raw centers.

Can you mail pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies?

These cookies will ship well. I recommend packaging in tissue paper and a hard-sided tin or container to keep them from crushing each other. The cinnamon sugar will get all over, but I don’t thank the recipient will mind!

pumpkin snickerdoodles on a parchment paper-lined cooling rack

If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below! I love hearing from you and your comments make my day!

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Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review
  • Author: Stephanie
  • Prep Time: 45 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 55 minutes
  • Yield: 16 to 18 cookies 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: American

Description

You’re going to love to bake these pumpkin-flavored snickerdoodle cookies in the fall! Rolled in cinnamon-sugar and baked to soft, chewy perfection, every bite is pure autumn in cookie form.


Ingredients

Units Scale

For the cookies:

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

For the cinnamon-sugar coating:

  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk melted butter, brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar until smooth and combined. Whisk in vanilla and pumpkin until smooth.
  2. In a separate large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice until well combined. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients; stir with spatula or large spoon until a very soft dough forms. Cover dough and chill 30-45 minutes.
  3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll chilled dough into 16-18 balls, about 1 1/2 tablespoons each. In a small bowl, whisk remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon for topping. Roll each dough ball in cinnamon-sugar mixture, then transfer to lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Press down each dough ball to flatten slightly (they won’t spread as well if you skip this step).
  4. Bake cookies one sheet at a time (refrigerate second baking sheet while first baking sheet is in oven), about 10 minutes or until edges of cookies are just set. Cookies will appear very soft and under-baked, but they will set up and bake through as they cool. Cool cookies 10 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat with second baking sheet.
  5. Store baked and cooled cookies in airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

Notes

  • Adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction.
  • Chilling the dough is absolutely necessary, since the dough is so soft just after mixing. If you want to make the dough ahead of time, you can cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Just be sure to bring the dough back to room temperature before shaping and baking.
  • I pressed my dough balls down to about 3/4- to 1-inch tall disks before baking. If some cookies didn’t spread as much as I’d like in the oven, I pressed them down after baking.
  • Use leftover canned pumpkin to make Pumpkin Challah, Pumpkin Pie Brioche Rolls or Pumpkin Chai Doughnut Muffins — or freeze in a resealable freezer bag and use later to make more cookies!

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this easy pumpkin cookie recipe. Check out my best 20+ pumpkin recipes or try pumpkin zucchini bread before the summer squash is gone!