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Soft Brown Butter Pumpkin Snickerdoodles (One Bowl)

These bakery style, super soft Brown Butter Pumpkin Snickerdoodles are everything you're looking for in a fall cookie! Loaded with lots of vanilla, brown butter, spices and pumpkin, these are a leveled-up version of a classic snickerdoodle cookie. The texture is super soft and gets some nice crunch from the Demerara sugar they're rolled in (this can be omitted if you don't have any on hand). Also check out Brown Butter Snickerdoodles and Five-Spice Snickerdoodles. Enjoy!
5 from 6 reviews
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Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 11 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Cookies
Keyword: Brown Butter, Pumpkin, Snickerdoodles, Cookies, Fall, Baking
Servings: 20 Cookies
Author: Rebecca Firth

Ingredients

For the Cookie

  • 187 grams unsalted brown butter (about 16 tablespoons (226 g) unsalted butter before browning)
  • 2 tablespoons (26 g) water
  • 1 tablespoon (13 g) real vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup (122 g) pumpkin puree
  • 2 large eggs (cold)
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon cloves
  • 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup (165 g) brown sugar, packed (light or dark)
  • 1 teaspoons cream of tartar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 3 cups (405 g) all-purpose flour

For the Cookie Coating

  • 1/3 cup (67 g) Demerara sugar (optional; see note below)
  • ⅓ cup (64 g) granulated sugar (check weight)
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon cloves

Instructions

For the Brown Butter

For the Cookies

  • To the butter, add the water, vanilla and pumpkin puree whisking until combined. Whisk in the cold eggs, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves until thick and fully combined. Add in the sugar, brown sugar, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt whisking until everything is well blended.
  • Grab a spatula and fold in the flour until just combined. Set the cookie dough aside while you make the cookie coating and pre-heat the oven. This will give it a chance to firm up a bit; it will be soft.

For the Cookie Coating

  • Preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C) and cover several baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • To make the cookie coating, in a small bowl, whisk together the Demerara sugar (if using), granulated sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.
  • After about 15 minutes, roll 3 tablespoons of dough into a nice ball and then press down slightly to form more of a disc (rather than a perfectly round ball). Give the dough ball a generous coating of the cinnamon-sugar mixture and set on the prepared baking sheet, allowing 2 inches (5 cm) of space between dough balls. I like to add an extra pinch of the cinnamon-sugar to the tops of the dough balls.
  • Bake one sheet at a time, in the center of the oven, for 11 to 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet prior to serving.

Notes

Pumpkin Spice

If you have store-bought pumpkin spice, you can replace all of the spices listed with 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin spice in the cookie and the cookie coating.

Pumpkin Puree

Use 100% pure pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling. My absolute favorite is Libbys as it lends the perfect taste and texture to baked goods. If you don't have access to Libbys, just know that canned pumpkin brands vary in consistency.
If the brand you use is especially watery, consider draining the pumpkin on several layers of paper towels (or a clean kitchen cloth) prior to adding it to the cookie dough.

Demerara Sugar

This sugar adds an awesome crunch to the finished cookie. If you don't have any on hand, simply omit it from the recipe. No need to add extra sugar in its place.

Storing Cookie Dough

Wrapped tightly and stored in an air-tight container,  cookie dough can hang in the fridge for up to three days.

Freezing Cookie Dough

For long-term storage wrap the entire lump of cookie dough tightly (in plastic wrap, ideally) and then stash in an air-tight container.
For short-term storage (I’m talking about wanting to have a fresh cookie (or two) every night after dinner), freeze the cookie dough  balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Once frozen, after several hours, stash in an air-tight container. When baking, they  can go straight from the freezer to the oven, just tack on a few extra minutes to the bake time. This will result in a puffier cookie.
If you want the cookies to look similar the photos here, then let the dough come close to room temperature (just sitting out while you pre-heat the oven is fine). Add 1 to 2 minutes bake time if the dough still has a slight chill.

Want More Cookie Tips?

Head over to My 10 Favorite Tips for Better Cookies!

Need a Brown Butter refresher? 

Check out my How to Make Perfect Brown Butter tutorial!
Thanks for baking with me! Please rate + comment this recipe and tag me on social @displacedhousewife #displacedhousewife so I can see your beautiful treats! xo