Super chewy and gooey, these pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies combine the cozy fall flavors of brown butter, pumpkin spice, and cinnamon sugar. A spin on my viral brown butter snickerdoodles, with no extended chill time or mixer required.
Creating the best chewy pumpkin cookie has been a proud achievement of mine as a former pastry chef— this recipe continues to go viral year after year with over 500 five-star reviews!
They are everything a pumpkin cookie should be: chewy with crispy edges and bursting with the classic snickerdoodle flavors, enhanced with nutty brown butter and warm pumpkin pie spices. They’re a fall twist on a classic, just like my apple snickerdoodles and chocolate chip pumpkin cookies!
Table of Contents
Tips for Perfect Pumpkin Cookies
Use a kitchen scale. Baking with a scale is my #1 baking tip. Like all baked goods, this recipe relies on accuracy for the best results.
Follow the instructions carefully. I recommend reading through the recipe at least once before beginning for success.
Let the brown butter cool before using. You want the butter to be cooled to the indicated temperature before using it. This is really important for a chewy texture. I found that butter that was too cold solidified and resulted in cookies that didn’t spread as much, and conversely, butter that was too warm caused the cookies to spread too much.
Use Libby’s Pumpkin Puree. I found that Libby’s Pumpkin is very consistent among cans and has less moisture than other brands. You won’t use all of it, so you can make pumpkin cheesecake cookies or spiced pumpkin cupcakes with the leftovers.
Blot the pumpkin puree. Spread it on a plate and blot it with paper towels until the towels barely have any moisture left. The dried puree should feel like soft play dough, where you can roll it up into a ball cleanly.
Use a large cookie scoop. Preferably, a spring-loaded one. For thick cookies with chewy and gooey centers, the cookie dough balls must be three tablespoons.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
Dark brown sugar: The extra molasses in brown sugar gives the cookies a super chewy texture. You can use light brown sugar if you don’t have dark on hand.
Egg yolk: Egg yolks are used instead of whole eggs for rich and gooey centers. This also prevents a cakey texture, as the egg white holds a lot of moisture.
Pumpkin spice: You can make your own blend or buy it at the store. Use it for all of your fall baking needs (like for pumpkin pie cinnamon rolls!)
Find the full list of ingredients, measurements, and instructions in the recipe card below!
Recipe Instructions
Step 1: Brown the butter. Once browned, chill it in the fridge, stirring occasionally, until it reaches the proper temperature.
This might seem tedious, but with cookie recipes, it’s more important to pay attention to the small details, whereas in other recipes (like my brown butter pumpkin bread), it’s not as important.
Step 2: Squeeze the pumpkin puree dry. Spread the measured puree onto a plate and press paper towels to absorb the excess liquid.
This is how the pumpkin puree should look when properly dried. I was able to roll it up into a ball.
Step 3: Cream the butter and sugars together. Once the butter is cool, whisk in the granulated and dark brown sugar until well combined.
Step 4: Mix in the wet ingredients. Whisk in the egg yolks and vanilla extract until combined.
STEP 5: Mix in the pumpkin. Then, whisk in the dried pumpkin puree.
STEP 6: Fold in the dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the all-purpose flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt until combined.
Chill the dough bowl in the fridge for 5 minutes, which will make it easier to scoop.
Step 7: Scoop and roll in cinnamon sugar. Use a large cookie scoop to scoop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets.
Roll each ball in cinnamon sugar and return them to the trays, spaced at least 2-3 inches apart.
Step 8: Bake! Bake one tray at a time until the edges are golden brown and the centers are puffy.
While one tray bakes, leave the other tray on the counter at room temperature.
Storage and Freezing
Storage: Leftover cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container or Ziploc bag for 2-3 days.
Freezer: Do not roll the dough balls in cinnamon sugar if you want to freeze them. Store the scooped cookie dough in an airtight container or freezer bag. When ready to bake them, let them come to room temperature, roll them in cinnamon sugar, then bake.
FAQs
YES! This step is critical for achieving extra chewy cookies. If you skip this step, the cookies will be thick and cakey.
This can happen when you absorb too much liquid from the pumpkin puree. Absorbing too much liquid can mess with the structure of the cookie texture, making it fall apart. I would also try baking them 1-2 minutes longer. If cookies aren’t quite baked enough, they will fall apart and crumble.
Make sure you are absorbing the liquid from the pumpkin puree. The second thing is making sure the butter is cool, but still liquid. If it has solidified, the cookies won’t spread as much as they should.
This could be caused by the butter not being chilled properly. Make sure it is within the temperature range indicated in the recipe card.
If you tried this or any other recipe on my website, please let me know how it went in the comments; I love hearing from you! Also, please leave a star rating while you’re there! You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can check it out!
Chewy Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup Libby's Pumpkin Puree, room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed
- 2 large egg yolks, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 2/3 cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, **see notes for measuring**
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar, for rolling
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, for rolling
Instructions
- Brown the butter over medium heat in a large stainless steel pan. While it cooks, it will foam, pop, and crackle. This is normal! Stand nearby, watch, and stir it occasionally so it doesn’t burn. When the bottom is covered in brown bits of butter and it smells nutty, remove the pan from the heat.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter
- You should have just slightly under 1 cup of browned butter (184 grams). Pour it into a glass measuring cup and let it chill in the fridge, stirring it every 20 minutes, for about 45-60 minutes, until a thermometer reads 70–75°F. It should feel cool and remain completely liquid.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F(180°C). Line two baking trays with parchment paper and set them aside.
- Spread the pumpkin puree onto a plate. Press a stack of paper towels into it and soak up the extra liquid. Then scrape the pumpkin into a pile and re-spread it around the plate. Use a new stack of paper towels to keep absorbing the extra liquid until the pumpkin feels pretty dry, like soft playdough, and now measures roughly 1/3 cup (68-75 grams).2/3 cup (156 g) Libby's Pumpkin Puree
- When the butter is cool, whisk in the brown sugar and granulated sugar for 1 minute. It should look like wet sand.1/2 cup (108 g) granulated sugar, 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (128 g) dark brown sugar
- Whisk in the egg yolks, vanilla, and dried pumpkin puree.2 (38 g) large egg yolks, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Fold in the flour, pumpkin spice, salt, cream of tartar, and baking soda until just combined. Set the bowl of dough in the fridge for 5 minutes to firm up. If the dough is still soft, you can chill it for longer!1 2/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (208 g) all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin spice, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and the sugar. Scoop the dough into 3 tablespoon-sized balls and roll each dough ball in the cinnamon sugar. Place them on the prepared baking sheet, spaced 2-3 inches apart.1/3 cup (67 g) granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Bake the cookies one tray at a time for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the middle is puffy and slightly underbaked. Let the tray cool completely on a wire rack, then enjoy!
- Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. If you choose to freeze the cookie dough balls, let them come to room temperature before baking.
This for sure is the best snickerdoodle I’ve ever made. Just curious about the amount of butter. If I did the math correctly, using 1 cup of browned butter for 13 cookies yields 3.69 tsp of butter per cookie. What would I be able to substitute if I used less butter?
That’s amazing to hear!! I’m not sure as I haven’t tested it, you could try margarine, shortening, pumpkin puree, banana, etc. are typical suggestions!
My husband says these are the best cookies he has ever had. Amazing. Only problem is we want to triple the recipe just for the two of us!
Taste is awesome! Consistency, however—greasy underneath, and even when fully cooled, were so soft they’d break. They flattened out pretty well. Any suggestions?
You may need to bake them a minute or so longer. Also, make sure you are whisking the butter and sugar together until it fully combines, this can take about 1 minute.
Question about pumpkin measurement. Is it 2/3 cup or 1/3 cup (76G). What’s the final measurement?
You measure 2/3 cup pumpkin from the can then squeeze the liquid out until you have about 1/3 cup.
Thanks so much. Cookies are great but spread very thin.
This is the second time I’ve made these cookies and won’t be the last! Super tender and chewy, sweet balanced with spice, great pumpkin flavor. I made just a few minor adjustments to my own taste (added more cinnamon to the cinnamon-sugar mix, threw in a tablespoon of nonfat dry milk powder to the browning butter halfway through, I feel like it amps up that flavor!) but mostly just followed these detailed, easy to follow directions. My coworkers loved them and I would feel confident bringing these to an event or serving them to friends for sure. Looking forward to trying other recipes on this site!
I absolutely loved this recipe and shared with coworkers and family, they all loved them! I don’t always bake but I’ve made these 3 times in the last week just to share with others.
Delicious!!! These have amazing flavor! And using gluten-free flour produced the same results as “regular” flour. However…
Despite carefully weighing my ingredients and following the directions meticulously, I got cookies that were so thin that they wouldn’t stay together. There was nothing remotely close to “puff,” and my regular size cookie scoop was producing cookies with at least as much spread as the big cookies were supposed to have. If these didn’t have such fantastic flavor (and if I hadn’t poured so much time and effort into them), I might have been tempted to just toss out their crumbly selves. As it was, I carefully cradled my delicate crumbles of deliciousness on their way to my mouth in an effort to enjoy every last morsel. (None of those morsels we’re chewy, by the way, because there wasn’t enough substance to them for me to *chew*.)
I might try this recipe again with a bit more moisture in my pumpkin and see if that produces something I could actually pick up in my fingers without having it disintegrate as I lift it.
Although I had a lot of difficulty with the size/texture of the finished product, I’m still giving four stars because of the outstanding flavor.
I absolutely love and appreciate how you have listed the ingredient amounts with each step!
These cookies look delicious can’t wait to try them
My family has always like stronger flavors, so instead of your cinnamon sugar mix to roll them in, we rolled them in a sugar to pumpkin spice ratio of two to one. Turned out lovely!
So so so good!!!!
This was the first recipe I have tried with new dietary restrictions. I subbed flour for bobs red mill GF flour, and swapped the sugar for maple sugar and it turned out amazing! Next time I would play with the oven temp or baking time to get a chewier texture, although the fluffy as a cloud texture was nothing to complain about.
Just made these today and sent in the mail for my daughters birthday. Beautiful taste and cookie. My new favorite cookie I will be making again and again.
Can the pumpkin snickerdoodles be made gluten free?: tchr2b2000@gmail.com
I have had a few readers make them with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Flour!
If I use salted butter would I cut salt by 1/4 tsp?
Yes! I would leave out 1/4 tsp
Sounds absolutely amazing! Can’t wait to try it.