Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles Recipe

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles by Kat Lieu, with a beautiful orange tinge and a warm mixture of spices including cinnamon, cardamon, and five-spice powder.

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Dear friends,

These pumpkin snickerdoodles are the softest, fluffiest, and most tender cookies you'll ever bake this fall. Imagine like little pumpkin pillows that melt in your mouth. Thanks to my last-minute substitution of baking powder for cream of tartar (because I ran out, what’s new), they puff up a bit more than usual, giving them a light, cakey texture. If you're looking for a classic snickerdoodle texture, definitely be sure to stock up on cream of tartar.

But if you use baking powder like I do, just press the dough balls down slightly with your palms before baking to help them spread. And because we all know snickerdoodles with all that sugar can sometimes get a little too sweet, sprinkle a few flakes of sea salt on top right after baking to cut through the sweetness and add that perfect salty crunch. The miso in the dough will also help make these cookies not too sweet.

These cookies are so good with a warm cup of tea, chai, or coffee, so trust me when I say they won’t last long once you put them out. I made some for my 75-year-old Cantonese mother to share with her walking buddy, and they both loved these warm cookies. Made them feel like children again!

Tips, Variations, and Troubleshooting:
Looking to spice things up? Try adding a pinch of ginger or nutmeg to give your cookies even more cozy, fall flavor. The heat in ginger helps balance sugar in the cookies. You can also experiment by swapping the pumpkin puree with sweet potato puree for a slightly different twist.

And I have not tried it yet but I am sure you can turn these into gluten-free cookies if you swap out the all-purpose flour with 1:1 gluten-free flour. You might just need to add a bit more hydration, like a little milk or cream, to make up for how drying gluten-free flours can be.

xoxoxo,

Kat Lieu

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Modern Asian Baking at Home: Essential Sweet and Savory Recipes for Milk Bread, Mochi, Mooncakes, and More; Inspired by the Subtle Asian Baking Community

By Lieu, Kat

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Author Kat Lieu

Prep time

10 Min

Cook time

12 Min

Inactive time

30 Min

Total time

52 Min

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Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

An easy snickerdoodles recipe perfect for the fall because it has warm pumpkin spice, cardamom, and cinnanom, real pumpkin puree, and are not too sweet thanks to a touch of miso in the batter. Classically Kat Lieu, there's of course miso in the cookie dough and a merry mix of spices.

Ingredients

For the cookie dough

• 1 ½ cups (190 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar or baking powder
• ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, softened
• A little less than 1/2 cup (85 g) granulated sugar
• ⅓ cup (70 g) light brown sugar, tightly packed
• ¼ cup (73 g) pumpkin puree
• 1 medium egg
• 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon red or white miso

For rolling the cookie dough balls

• ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom or five-spice powder

Instructions

To make the cookies

1. Whisk the flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, cardamom, baking soda, and cream of tartar (or baking powder) together in a medium bowl.
2. Cream the softened butter in a large bowl with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or by hand with a hand mixer or spatula.
3. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar to the butter and mix until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Stir in the pumpkin puree, egg, and miso until fully incorporated.
5. Add the dry and wet ingredients, mixing until the dough is well-combined and smooth.
6. Cover the dough and refrigerate/chill for at least 30 minutes.
7. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat.
8. Scoop the dough into 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoon-sized balls and roll them between your palms until smooth.
9. Roll the dough balls in the cinnamon-cardamom sugar mixture and place them on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them at least 2 inches apart to account for spreading.
10. Bake the cookies until the edges are set but the centers remain soft, 10 to 12 minutes.
11. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet before serving. Use melted chocolate do design pumpkin faces, if desired. Serve with hot chai or tea.

Notes

By default, I always use red miso in all my savory and sweet recipes. I like the depth it adds. It might be too brackish for some, so light white miso also works in baking.

For extra color, you may want to add a drop of orange food coloring gel; however, this will make the dough wetter, so you might need to add a teaspoon to a tablespoon of all-purpose flour.

This recipe was adapted from Sam Merrit's recipe at https://sugarspunrun.com/pumpkin-snickerdoodles/

If you use baking powder instead of cream of tartar, your cookies will be fluffier and puffier. In this instance, you may want to press the cookie balls down slightly before baking them.

Recommended Products

Modern Asian Kitchen

Silpat Silicone Mat

Modern Asian Baking at Home Cookbook

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