Sweet, crackle-topped, sugar-coated pumpkin spice cookies (made without actual pumpkin)!
As it’s been exactly one post since my last pumpkin spice-infused recipe, I thought we were about due for another one.
This is pretty out of character for me for a couple of reasons. For one, because I’ve never been a huge fan of pumpkin anything, but mostly because I’ve always I lived for summertime — shorts and flip-flops, sunshiny days that stretched out til 9PM, and long walks for ice cream. 90+ degree days? No problem. I dreaded Fall with its short days and back-to-school agenda.
But it seems things are changing, and suddenly, Fall can’t get here soon enough. I am so ready for cool weather, big, soft, sweatshirts and pumpkin carving (our house is already decorated with two mini pumpkins and one large one perched right outside our front door… but in my defense I bought them as photography props for all the pumpkin recipes I’ve been working on).
Maybe the thing I love most about Fall is that it’s true baking weather. People are ready to turn on their ovens again, and when the days start to get chilly and dark, you don’t mind spending them in a cozy kitchen quite so much.
Especially not if the end result is a batch of warm, seasonally-spiced cookies.
These pumpkin spice cookies don’t use any actual pumpkin in the recipe, it’s pumpkin spice only (which, until very recently was how your PSLs were made, too). It’s not necessary here for perfect Fall cookies.
With their crackly tops and the cream of tartar in the batter, these pumpkin spice cookies are very, very similar to snickerdoodles (and in fact, if I didn’t already have a Pumpkin Snickerdoodle recipe, I probably would have called them that). Their edges are ever so slightly crisped, their interiors melt-in-your-mouth-soft, their tops crackled into a thousand fractured smiles. (They must be smiles, right?)
Best enjoyed still warm and gooey right off the pan (but that’s how I eat all my cookies –they do keep well for at least several days in an airtight container, as well).
Enjoy!
Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter softened
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups (350 g) flour
- 1 Tablespoon pumpkin spice (if you don't have pumpkin spice on hand, use my pumpkin spice recipe to make your own).
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
For rolling:
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl (or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment) combine butter and brown sugar and beat together until smooth and well-creamed.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, 1 ½ cups (300 g) brown sugar
- Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and stir on low-speed, pausing periodically to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Stir until well incorporated.1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, and cinnamon.2 ¾ cups (350 g) flour, 1 Tablespoon pumpkin spice, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon cream of tartar, ½ teaspoon table salt, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- With mixer on low-speed, gradually (in 3-4 parts)add flour mixture to wet ingredients until completely combined (scrape down sides and bottom of bowl to completely combine).
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and transfer to refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes. While dough chills, whisk together sugar and pumpkin spice in a small bowl.¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- Once dough is nearly done chilling, preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Remove cookie dough from refrigerator and roll into 1 ½ Tablespoon-sized balls (35g). Roll through sugar/pumpkin spice mixture until completely coated and place on prepared baking sheet, spacing at least 2" (5cm) apart.
- Transfer to center rack of 350F (175C) preheated oven and bake for 8-10 minutes, until edges are set. Allow to cool completely on baking sheet before removing and enjoying.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
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Rita Saragosa
I made these delicious cookies for my family and thy absolutely loved them! I will admit I doubled the spices but found them to be tender and delicious!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Rita! 🙂
Joanna
Its so soft and creamy !family loved it will be making again
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Joanna! 🙂
Amanda
Absolutely delicious. It’s the cross between a soft snickerdoodle and pumpkin spice flavors I didn’t know I needed.
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Amanda! I am so glad that you enjoyed the pumpkin spice cookies. 🙂
Medha @ Whisk & Shout
Fall is just the best! So excited about all things pumpkin, apple, caramel, cinnamon…. etc. And I love these cookies, they look so soft and chewy 🙂
Mary Pisarkiewicz
Fall is definitely in the air and we are all to excited to start using pumpkin in all kinds of recipies! I love these cookies, so DELICIOUS!
Sam
Glad I’m not the only one excited about pumpkin! Thank you, Mary! 🙂