And there’s NO actual pumpkin involved.
That’s right- NO pumpkin! So if you’re a pumpkin hater, and you’re all like “wahhhhh pumpkin is sooooo overrated,” hear me out. I’ve tried making cookies with canned pumpkin before. They always come out very fluffy- more “cake-like” than “cookie-like” to me. (Although, Sally’s Baking Addiction does have a pretty great chewy pumpkin cookie recipe!) So I decided to take a regular snickerdoodle cookie and add pumpkin pie spices without the actual pumpkin. SO GOOD! Since pumpkin pie spice is made of warming spices like ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice, it worked so well in a snickerdoodle cookie, since they traditionally are flavored with cinnamon.
These pumpkin spice snickerdoodles have pumpkin pie spice inside and out. Regular snickerdoodles are simply sugar cookies rolled in a mixture of white sugar and cinnamon. I made a few adjustments for this version. For one thing, I added some of the pumpkin pie spice directly to the batter, as well as in the rolling mixture. I wanted these to be realllllly pumpkin spicy, so you could tell the difference between them and regular ol’ snickerdoodles. For another thing, I used brown sugar in addition to white- both inside and out. Brown sugar is simply white sugar mixed with molasses, which gives it a deeper, warmer flavor. The brown sugar enhanced the warm flavor of the cookies, and also gave them a darker amber color, which I thought made them more fall-like!
If you like, you can use a store-bought, pre-mixed pumpkin pie spice mix. But if you want some really great flavor, you’re feeling ambitious, or want to save a few bucks, you can make your own pumpkin spice mix. I’m a firm believer that a good snickerdoodle cookie has just the right amount of fluff and just the right amount of chew. They should melt in your mouth but should also hold their shape, rise appropriately, and not get too flat. Here are a few tricks to getting that perfect consistency. First, cream the butter and sugar for 2 minutes using an electric mixer on high speed. This will really fluff up the butter and make it more stable. And immediately after, add the eggs and beat for about 2 more minutes on high speed. Again, mixing for longer than you’d think helps create a more stable dough- the cookies will hold together nicely but won’t be dry. Finally, when you add the flour, mix until only just combined. If you over-mix the flour, the cookies may be tough, since you’ll release a lot of the gluten from the flour by mixing.
And while we’re on the topic of tips and tricks, I have a few more up my sleeve. For one thing, I NEVER mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl when I make cookies. Instead, I add all of the dry ingredients besides the flour directly to the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly to make sure they are evenly distributed. THEN I add the flour. Saves some dishes! And for another thing, and I may get some flack for this, I use salted butter. Gasp! The horror! OK you guys I just love the combination of salty and sweet. And I like to minimize the things hanging out in my fridge- I almost always have salted butter on hand. But I especially love the saltiness that’s infused into these otherwise super sweet pumpkin spice snickerdoodles. It helps offset all the sugar and really pairs well with the pumpkin pie spices. If you want to use unsalted butter, you do you. But if you’ve never tried making cookies with salted butter, I think you should try it. I’ll get off my soap box now.
These pumpkin spice snickerdoodles can be frozen in an airtight freezer bag for about 3 months, and will stay fresh for about 5 days in an airtight bag or container at room temperature. If you want a real treat, stick them in the microwave for a few seconds before eating them. And maybe throw a small scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of the warmed up cookies. Just a thought. If you like these, you’ll love these Orange Chai Spice Cookies and these Spicy Ginger Date Cookies.
Other recipes with Pumpkin Spice
Instant Pot Pumpkin Chili Chai Spiced Pumpkin Bread Pumpkin Oatmeal Pumpkin French Toast Casserole
