These brown butter pumpkin snickerdoodles combine the nutty, toffee-like flavor of browned butter with cozy pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon to make a delightful cookie that tastes like fall. These snickerdoodles have the trademark tanginess, slightly cracked cinnamon-sugar coated surface, and soft chewy centers characteristic of classic snickerdoodles, but with some extra autumn vibes swirled in.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Rich, nutty toffee-like flavor from browned butter.
- Warm, cozy spices make these cookies taste like fall!
- Soft, chewy cookies coated in a sweet cinnamon-sugar topping.
Ingredients
- Butter – for the delightfully rich and nutty brown butter that forms the yummy toffee-flavored base of these cookies. You will need to use real butter (not plant-based) in order to achieve the perfect browned butter.
- Pumpkin puree – for a hint of classic pumpkin flavor. You must dry the pumpkin first to avoid super cakey cookies (see instructions). Be sure to use pumpkin puree, NOT pumpkin pie filling.
- Brown sugar – for a touch of molasses flavor and added moisture. Light or dark brown sugar works.
- Granulated sugar – classic sweetener in the dough. Also used to roll the cookies before baking to achieve the sweet crunchy exterior.
- Egg yolk – for soft, chewy texture. The pumpkin adds structure to these cookies and a full egg is much too cakey, but just 1 yolk is enough.
- Flour – all-purpose flour yields the perfect texture and consistency.
- Cream of tartar – for the trademark tangy taste. It’s also necessary for proper leavening and chewy texture.
- Baking soda – works together with the cream of tartar to fluff up the cookies.
- Pumpkin pie spice – warm and cozy mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice that embodies all the fall vibes.
- Vanilla – to round out the flavors.
- Cinnamon – for the perfect cinnamon sugar coating characteristic of snickerdoodles.
- Salt – brings together all the flavors.
Tips for Making Brown Butter Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
- Dry the pumpkin to ensure the cookies are not too cakey. To dry, repeatedly blot the pumpkin with paper towels or sandwich the pumpkin between multiple sheets of paper towel and squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Repeat until the paper towels come away mostly dry. You’ll start with a generous 1/3 cup of pumpkin and end up with 1/4 cup of dried pumpkin.
- You must include the cream of tartar for the subtle tangy notes characteristic of snickerdoodles. It also is key for perfect rise, soft texture, and slightly crinkled appearance.
- Cool the butter before mixing it with the sugar. If you add hot butter to the sugar, it will melt the sugar and change the texture of the cookies. Cooling the butter allows it to cream with the sugar instead like a classic cookie and won’t affect the texture.
- Ensure the egg yolk is at room temperature to prevent congealing with the butter and sugar. Before cracking and separating the yolk and whites, run the egg under warm water or submerge it in a bowl of warm water for a minute or two to bring it quickly to room temperature.
- Chill the dough before baking. A quick 30 minute chill is all that is needed to give the flavors in the dough time to deepen. Chilling also reduces the spread of the cookies, giving these snickerdoodles extra soft centers.
How to Make Brown Butter Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Preparing the Ingredients
Brown the butter: in a medium light colored frying pan, melt the butter. Continue to cook the butter, stirring continuously to prevent burning. The butter will begin to froth, milk solids will form in the bottom, the color will shift from light yellow to a rich golden color, and it will give off a nutty aroma. Once the color changes to gold, transfer the butter to a bowl to stop cooking. Cool slightly for 10-15 minutes. You should yield 1/2 cup of browned butter.
Dry the pumpkin: While the butter cools, pat dry the pumpkin puree with paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible. You can also squeeze the pumpkin between layers of paper towel. This step is key to preventing cakey cookies, so don’t skip this step. You should have about ¼ cup of dried puree.
Making the Cookies
Make the cookie dough: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together cooled browned butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Fold in the vanilla extract, egg yolk, and dried pumpkin puree.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, pumpkin pie spice, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt and mix to distribute. With the mixer on medium speed add the flour mixture and mix until incorporated.
Chill the dough: Chill the dough for 30-60 minutes. Chilling will result in thicker, chewier cookies with less spread and gives the flavors more time to meld. You can skip this step if you prefer thinner, more spread out cookies.
Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat (optional, to reduce spreading).
In a small bowl combine the sugar and cinnamon for rolling the dough.
Roll and bake: Form the dough into roughly 2 tablespoon sized balls and roll all sides in the sugar-cinnamon topping (you should yield about 16 cookies). Space the sugared cookies a few inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are set and the centers are puffed up and slightly underbaked in the middle. Cool the cookies completely on the baking sheet prior to serving.
How to Store
Store brown butter pumpkin snickerdoodles in an airtight container at room temperature for 5-7 days. These cookies are their most tender within the first 2 days.
To freeze, roll the dough into balls after chilling. Do not coat in the sugar-cinnamon mixture. Transfer the rolled dough to a freezer-safe airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Bring the frozen dough to room temperature while the oven preheats. Roll the cookies in the cinnamon-sugar and transfer to a baking sheet. Cook according to recipe instructions (you may need to add 1-2 minutes depending on how thawed your dough is).
Recipe Variations
- Spices – we use simple pumpkin pie spice in the cookie dough and cinnamon in the sugar coating. Feel free to make your own pumpkin pie spice with a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and all-spice or add those spices to the sugar coating for even more potent pumpkin pie flavor.
- Brown sugar – light or dark brown sugar work in this recipe. Light brown sugar is more subtle, while dark brown sugar yields deeper molasses notes.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Browning Butter FAQs
Brown butter adds a rich nutty, toffee-like flavor and caramel color to cookie dough. Browning butter also removes a considerable amount of moisture from the butter as it cooks, which can affect the texture of the cookies. Therefore, it is important to follow the recipe instructions to see if you are measuring the butter before or after browning to have the right amount of moisture in the cookies.
You should cool brown butter at least 10-15 minutes before adding it to cookie dough to ensure that you don’t melt the butter and alter the texture of the cookie. You want the butter to be close to room temperature so that it creams together with the sugar like most standard cookie recipes.
Yes, you should constantly stir the butter as it cooks in the pan to ensure even browning and to prevent burning the milk solids that settle to the bottom of the pan.
For these pumpkin snickerdoodles you do NOT need to add water to the dough after browning the butter. Browning the butter does remove moisture, which affects the texture of the cookies, but we added 2 extra tablespoons of butter to end up with 1/2 cup of browned butter. Also, the pumpkin puree makes up for the lost moisture without making these cookies too cakey.
Snickerdoodle FAQs
Cream of tartar gives these cookies a slightly tangy taste that sets snickerdoodles apart from other sugar cookies. It is also necessary to help the cookies rise during baking, retain their chewy centers, and achieve the slight crackling along the tops and edges characteristic of snickerdoodles.
Chilling the cookie dough gives the rich flavors of the nutty brown butter, pumpkin puree, and sweet spices time to meld. It also prevents overspreading when the cookies are baked, yielding perfectly thick cookies with a soft bite.
Drying the pumpkin puree removes excess moisture. Too much moisture in cookie dough results in very cakey cookies. Drying the pumpkin will result in the perfect soft, chewy centers and slightly crispy edges without being too cakey.
Check out our other cookie recipes
- Maple pecan cookies
- Brown butter butterscotch chocolate chip cookies
- Pumpkin pecan cookies
- Dark chocolate cranberry walnut cookies
- Coffee chocolate chip cookies
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Brown Butter Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Equipment
- 1 Stand mixer with paddle attachment
Ingredients
Brown Butter Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
- ½ c + 2 Tbsp unsalted or sweet cream butter* (yields ½ cup browned) (we prefer Land O Lakes sweet cream olive oil butter)
- ½ c granulated sugar
- ¼ c light or dark brown sugar, tightly packed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- rounded ⅓ c pumpkin puree, dried* (dried to ¼ cup)
- 1¼ c all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
For Rolling
- ¼ c granulated sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Brown the butter: in a medium light colored frying pan, melt the butter. Continue to cook the butter, stirring continuously to prevent burning. The butter will begin to froth, milk solids will form in the bottom, the color will shift from light yellow to a rich golden color, and it will give off a nutty aroma. Once the color changes to gold, transfer the butter to a bowl to stop cooking. Cool slightly for 10-15 minutes. You should yield 1/2 cup of browned butter.
- Dry the pumpkin: While the butter cools, pat dry the pumpkin puree with paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible. You can also squeeze the pumpkin between layers of paper towel. This step is key to preventing cakey cookies, so don't skip this step. You should have about ¼ cup of dried puree.
- Make the cookie dough: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together cooled browned butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Fold in the vanilla extract, egg yolk, and dried pumpkin puree.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, pumpkin pie spice, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt and mix to distribute. With the mixer on medium speed add the flour mixture and mix until incorporated.
- Chill the dough: Chill the dough for 30-60 minutes. Chilling will result in thicker, chewier cookies with less spread and gives the flavors more time to meld. You can skip this step if you prefer thinner, more spread out cookies. Take the cookie dough out when you start to preheat the oven.
- Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat (optional, to reduce spreading).
- In a small bowl combine the sugar and cinnamon for rolling the dough.
- Roll and bake: Form the dough into roughly 2 tablespoon sized balls and roll all sides in the sugar-cinnamon topping (you should yield about 16 cookies). Space the sugared cookies a few inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are set and the centers are puffed up and slightly underbaked in the middle. Cool the cookies completely on the baking sheet prior to serving.
Notes
- Since butter looses moisture while it browns due to evaporation, you will need to add 1-2 tablespoons extra per 1/2 cup of butter to yield about 1/2 cup of browned butter for this recipe.
- Squeezing out the moisture in pumpkin puree is necessary to reduce the cakiness of these cookies. Simply press the pumpkin between paper towels or blot until the paper towel barely comes away with any moisture. a rounded 1/3 cup of pumpkin puree will yield about 1/4 cup dried.
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