These cookies combine two favorite techniques in one bite: a nutty brown butter base and the classic cinnamon sugar coating of a snickerdoodle, with pumpkin and warm fall spices woven throughout. They’re soft, chewy, and come together quickly without any long chilling wait, making them an easy go-to for fall baking.
Quick facts
- Prep time: 15 minutes
- Cook time: 11 minutes
- Total time: 26 minutes
- Makes: 18 cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, browned
- 1/3 cup pumpkin puree, dried
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
For the cinnamon sugar coating
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- pinch of salt
How to Make Brown Butter Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Part 1: Prep
1. Preheat and prep. Heat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set it aside.
2. Make the coating. Combine the sugar, cinnamon, and salt for the coating in a small bowl. Stir and set aside.
3. Dry the pumpkin. Place the pumpkin puree on a thick paper towel and thoroughly blot out the moisture. Wrapping it up and squeezing gently is an easy way to remove the excess liquid.
Part 2: Make the Dough
4. Combine the base. In a large mixing bowl, combine the browned butter, blotted pumpkin puree, and both sugars. Whisk until combined.
5. Add the egg yolk and vanilla. Mix these in well.
6. Add the dry ingredients. Add the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Mix until a soft dough forms with no streaks of flour remaining.
Part 3: Shape and Bake
7. Scoop and coat. Using a 1-ounce cookie scoop, portion out balls of dough. Drop each one into the cinnamon sugar mixture, rolling to coat evenly on all sides.
8. Arrange on the sheet. Place the coated dough balls 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
9. Bake. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the cookies have puffed up and are set around the edges while still looking underbaked in the middle. Don’t overbake them.
10. Cool. Let the cookies cool before eating.
Tips for the Best Cookies
Dry the pumpkin thoroughly. This is the step that keeps the cookies chewy instead of cakey, so don’t rush it.
Let the brown butter cool slightly before mixing. Butter that’s too hot can affect how the dough comes together and may even start cooking the egg yolk.
Coat the dough generously in cinnamon sugar. A full, even coating gives the cookies their classic crackled top.
Resist overbaking. Pulling the cookies while the centers still look soft and underdone is exactly right. They continue to set as they cool.
Let them cool before digging in. The texture settles into its final chewy form once the cookies have had a few minutes to rest.
Final Thoughts
These brown butter pumpkin snickerdoodles pack a lot of fall flavor into a quick, no-fuss recipe. Between the nutty browned butter, the warm spice blend, and the familiar cinnamon sugar coating, they taste like a cookie that took much more effort than it actually does. Bake a batch and let me know how they turn out.