Easy Pumpkin Spice Cookies {Perfectly fall!}
Thin. Soft. Chewy. My Easy Pumpkin Spice Cookies are a simple and festive cookie addition to your fall dessert table. They are filled with all the warm flavours and sweet aromas of fall without any of the fuss. These pumpkin spice cookies are thin, packed with delicious pumpkin spices, and a fun adaptation of a classic snickerdoodle cookie.
PSL (aka Pumpkin Spice Latte) season is in full swing! Whether you found this page after ordering your morning pumpkin spice latte or after a sip of your favourite pumpkin spice cold brew on your way to work, I bet you can’t get enough of PSL this fall! You’re in luck because neither can I! These Easy Pumpkin Spice cookies are inspired by my favourite Snickerdoodle recipe, but in a thin cookie format that is full of pumpkin spices. They also require no chilling steps, and no fancy ingredients/equipment. This Mindful Meringue recipe also includes a lot of mindful baking steps that will have your senses tingling. Grab your apron and lets get baking!
To make this recipe you will need:
- Sugar (Granulated and light brown sugar)
- Flour (All-purpose)
- Eggs (large and at room temperature)
- Butter (softened)
- Pumpkin spices: Cinnamon, Nutmeg, All-spice, Ginger, Cloves
- Baking essentials: Cream of tartar, Baking soda, salt, vanilla extract
Frequently asked questions:
What are snickerdoodle cookies?
Snickerdoodle cookies are one of my favourite cookies for fall. They are similar to sugar cookies but have a distinct tang and a crackly cinnamon spiced chew! Traditionally, snickerdoodle cookies are thick, vanilla sugar cookies that are made with flour, sugar, eggs, fat (shortening/butter), and rolled in cinnamon sugar. My Easy Pumpkin Spice cookies are thin, chewy, perfectly pumpkin spiced, and coated in a crackly cinnamon/nutmeg coating.
Why do these cookies use cream of tartar?
Cream of Tartar has traditionally been used in snickerdoodle recipes to add an slightly tangy flavour and contribute to their classic chewy texture.
Can I replace butter with shortening?
Yes! I prefer to use butter for these Easy Pumpkin Spice Cookies because it allows for a thinner cookie that is flavourful and has deliciously crispy edges. The reason for the flatter cookie is that butter has a lower melting point compared to shortening. Historically, snickerdoodle cookies were made with only shortening to allow for their chewy interior however, recent recipes have moved towards the use of butter.
What are pumpkin spices?
Pumpkin spices consist of ground cinnamon, ginger, all-spice, nutmeg, and cloves. This is the aromatic spice blend traditionally used for pumpkin pies.
What does rolling these Pumpkin Spice Cookies in spiced sugar do?
Oooh great question! Arguably, the best part of these cookies is the crisp, crackly coating, you bite through to get to their chewy cookie centre! Rolling these Easy Pumpkin Spice Cookies in cinnamon/nutmeg sugar twice allows for their distinct taste and crunch!
Can I freeze these cookies?
Absolutely! After scooping, these cookies can be put into a freezer-safe bag and stored in the freezer for up to 6 months!! They can also be stored in the freezer after baking for 1-2 months. To thaw, simply open your storage bag/remove cookies and allow the cookies to come to room temperature.
Let’s make Pumpkin Spice Cookies:
Preheat your oven to 350F (325 convection bake). Line 1-2 large baking sheet(s) with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream softened butter and sugar for approximately 5 minutes. The mixture will be light in colour and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix one final time.
Add eggs, one by one, and vanilla extract. Mix each egg with butter mixture until it is well combined before proceeding.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin spices (cinnamon, all-spice, nutmeg, ginger, cloves). Whisk mixture together to sift and aerate.
**whisk….whisk…watch your whisk move through that colourful flour mixture**
Slowly, add flour mixture to wet (butter/sugar/egg) mixture. Scrape down sides of the bowl and mix one final time.
In a small, shallow bowl, combine sugar and spices (cinnamon +/- nutmeg) for sugar rolling.
Create small dough balls approximately 1 tbsp in size and drop into sugar mixture. Roll dough balls in sugar until completely coated, round, and smooth. Coat in sugar for a second time.
**roll…roll….get lost in this repetitive and calming process!**
Place dough balls on baking sheet spaced approximately 2″ apart.
Bake cookies for ~11 minutes or until cookies have spread and are slightly firm at the edges. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet. Cookies will crack as they cool.
**mmmm smell all of those sweet and spicy cookie flavours!**
Enjoy!
Also check out:
- Easy Pumpkin Muffins {Fluffy & Moist}
- The Ultimate Pumpkin Spice Tea Cake *made with Meringue Topping!
- Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Brownies
Easy Pumpkin Spice Cookies {Perfectly fall!}
Ingredients
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter softened, room temperature
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar
- 2 Eggs large, room temperature
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 3/4 cup All-purpose Flour
- 2 tsp Cream of Tartar
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Cinnamon ground
- 1 tsp Ginger ground
- 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp All-spice ground
- 1/8 tsp Cloves ground
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
Sugar-rolling Mixture
- 1/3 cup Sugar
- 2 tbsp Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg optional (for additional fall warmth!)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (325 convection bake). Line 1-2 large baking sheet(s) with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream softened butter and sugar for ~5 minutes. Mixture will be light in colour and fluffy. Scrape down sides of bowl and mix one final time.
- Add eggs, one by one, and vanilla extract. Mix each egg with butter mixture until it is well combined before proceeding.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and spices (cinnamon, all-spice, nutmeg, ginger, cloves). Whisk mixture together to sift and aerate.
- Slowly, add flour mixture to wet (butter/sugar/egg) mixture. Scrape down sides of the bowl and mix one final time.
- In a small, shallow bowl, combine sugar and spices (cinnamon +/- nutmeg) for sugar rolling.
- Create small dough balls approximately 1 tbsp in size and drop into sugar mixture. Roll dough balls in sugar until completely coated, round, and smooth. Coat in sugar for a second time.
- Place dough balls on baking sheet spaced ~2" apart.
- Bake cookies for ~11 minutes or until cookies have spread and are slightly firm at the edges. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet. Cookies will crack as they cool.
- Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Using store-bought Pumpkin Pie Spice blend instead: Substitute spices listed in this recipe with 3 tsp of pumpkin pie spice blend instead!
- To measure flour correctly: Use a spoon to scoop flour into your measuring cup! Use a knife to level the flour in the measuring cup. This ensures you don’t add too much flour and end up with dry cookies
- The cookies will continue to crack as they cool!
- Want a thicker cookie? Refrigerate your cookie dough balls for 1h prior to baking
- After scooping, these cookies can be put into a freezer safe bag and stored in the freezer for up to 6 months!!
Hello!!! Am I the first to comment or am I disabled to see other comments? 😁 I made this recipe and I thought it was delicious, but I still have several questions. For example, I followed the recipe but ended up having to add more flour in order to be able to roll them on sugar, and even so the dough was very soft. And I think the extra flour, in turn, made it cakey, and not chewy. And it didn’t spread out very much or develop that cracky surface. So I was wondering… did you chill yours? Because I’m sure that would make it chewier and firmer WITHOUT having to add more flour. Also, I didn’t put cream of tartar because I didn’t have it, but put some white vinegar instead. Would that change the consistency? Because the flavor of these cookies is delicious but they don’t look like yours, and they are cakey and thicker, probably because I added extra flour, but that could not be helped unless I was to chill it, although I saw no instructions to do so😅
Hi Margaret, Thank you so much for your comment – This blog is still new and growing so you are certainly not missing out! This dough is meant to be quite wet and soft. I wonder if replacing cream of tartar (a dry powder) with vinegar may have made the dough a little too wet. While refrigeration is a great idea for many cookies, these ones rely on them being able to spread flat and so I typically don’t recommend it. Hope this helps and please let me know how the next attempt goes! Happy Baking – Sofia