Fall Hasn’t Started Until You’ve Made These Spiced Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Spiced Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

I’m truly amazed at how many holiday flavors I’ve crammed into this cookie. Cinnamon! Ginger! Pumpkin! Cardamom! Snickerdoodle! Is snickerdoodle a favor? I think so. I put these cookies in the same holiday category as mistletoe, Christmas carolers, and eggnog. They’re a cheerful treat you can put in a cookie box or place on a table where everyone will sneak seconds. This version swaps in pumpkin puree for the egg, a trick that keeps the cookies chewy, not puffy. A pinch of cream of tartar, while seemingly inconsequential, gives these cookies that signature snickerdoodle tang.

FOR THE COOKIES

• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

• ½ cup granulated sugar

• ½ cup packed light brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1¼ cups all-purpose flour

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom

• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE SPICED SUGAR COATING

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom

• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• Pinch of salt

1. First, make the cookies. Place the pumpkin puree on a thick paper towel or piece of cheesecloth. Carefully wrap the paper towel around the pumpkin puree and squeeze it over a small bowl to remove excess moisture. You should end up with ¼ cup strained puree. This step removes excess water from your puree so the cookies don’t bake up too puffy.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter, strained pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract until combined.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, and black pepper until combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and use a silicone spatula to mix until a soft dough forms and no streak s of flour remain. Cover the bowl with a dish towel or plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day.

4. While the dough chills, make the spiced sugar coating. In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, and salt.

5. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.

6. Use a 1-ounce cookie scoop to portion out equal amounts of dough (a large spoon also works; the ball should be about 2 tablespoons). Roll the dough in your hands to smooth the edges, then roll the dough in the sugar-spice mixture, evenly coating the outside of the dough. Place the dough balls 2 inches apart on the prepared sheet pans.

7. Bake until the cookies have puffed up, are slightly cracked on top, and are set and firm around the edges but still very soft in the middle, 11 to 13 minutes. Remove the sheet pans from the oven and allow the cookies to cool slightly on the sheet pans before serving.

Sweet Tooth by Sarah Fennel

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“Sweet Tooth” Copyright © 2024 by Sarah Fennel. Photographs copyright © 2024 by Sarah Fennel.Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group.