These soft and chewy Pumpkin Snickerdoodles are the ultimate fall cookie, made with real pumpkin and warm spices, then rolled in cinnamon sugar.
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles will be your new favorite fall cookie!
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles will be your new favorite fall cookie!Pumpkin Snickerdoodles are one of those cookies I look forward to baking every fall. They’re thick and chewy, and take everything I already adore about classic snickerdoodles but make them even better with the addition of pumpkin. They’re easy to whip up (you can also make the cookie dough in advance!), fun to share, and impossible to eat just one–trust me, I’ve tried!
Try more pumpkin recipes, like Pumpkin Cupcakes, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, Pumpkin Spice Eggnog, Pumpkin Bars with Caramel Frosting, or Pumpkin Roll!
How to make Pumpkin Snickerdoodles:
Make Dough and Roll: Cream butter, shortening, and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in eggs, pumpkin, and vanilla, then stir in dry ingredients and mix until combined. Chill dough for 20 minutes, then roll into balls and coat in cinnamon sugar.
Press and Bake: Place dough balls on a lined baking sheet, gently press each one, then bake at 375°F (190°C) for 8–10 minutes (don't over-bake!). Transfer pumpkin spice snickerdoodle cookies to a cooling rack immediately.
Follow me for more great recipes
Recipe
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Equipment
- Stand Mixer , optional
- Hand mixer , optional
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup butter , softened
- 1/4 cup shortening
- 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cups light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup pumpkin puree canned, or homemade
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup granulated sugar , for rolling the dough balls
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon , for rolling the dough balls
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or silpat liner.
- Combine wet ingredients: Mix together butter and shortening until smooth. Add granulated sugar and brown sugar and cream together for a few minutes, until light and fluffy. Mix in egg, pumpkin, and vanilla.¾ cup butter, ¼ cup shortening, ¾ cups granulated sugar, ¾ cups light brown sugar, 1 large egg, ½ cup pumpkin puree, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Add dry ingredients: Add the flour, pumpkin pie spice, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt and stir until combined.3 cups all-purpose flour, 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, 2 teaspoons cream of tartar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- Refrigerate dough for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a separate small bowl mix ¼ cup granulated sugar and 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon. Roll dough into 24 dough balls.¼ cup granulated sugar, 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- Roll dough balls in cinnamon sugar. Place on baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Using the palm of your hand or bottom of a glass, lightly flatten each cookie dough ball.
- Bake 8 to 10 minutes (don't over bake!) Remove immediately to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Follow Me
I originally shared this recipe September 2022. Updated September 2023 and September 2025.
This post contains affiliate links.
What you use in place of the shortening?
You can swap the 1/4 cup shortening with more softened butter—just use 1 full cup of butter total. The texture might be slightly less puffy but still delicious!
Excellent. I use a small scoop so ended up with 36 cookies but the sugar/cinnamon mixture was still enough. Baked at 375 for 9 minutes and they are just right; soft, chewy and delicious. I like that ingredient measurements are in the body of the recipe and I don’t have to keep scrolling up.
Are you able to sub baking powder for the cream of tartar?
The cream of tartar contributes to that iconic snickerdoodle flavor and the chewy texture, so I wouldn’t suggest substituting it with baking powder for this recipe.
My family and I just made these. We had all ingredients on hand, so no need for a store run! And I will say… we were pleased! We had fresh pumpkin 🎃and made our own brown sugar. We will freeze half of the dough to see how it comes out in a few weeks. But all in, I think this is a good recipe and easy!
I can a lot of pumpkin and always looking for new ways to use it I made these and hubby said they were a keeper love them
I love the idea but too much cream of tartar. They gone rather sour
I like my snickerdoodles sweet(
Wow! These are absolutely scrumptious! My wife and I made a double batch last evening, and I have no Idea how many I ate. We didn’t have cream of tarter so we opted to try baking powder instead, and I don’t know where to find pumpkin here in Guatemala where we live, but we have a squash here that has a very good flavor, and we used that for the pumpkin. Our cookies turned out a bit flat instead of thick. (possibly because of the baking powder substitution?) but they’re a winner and we’ll definitely make them again!