Warm Up With These Cozy Cookies That Are Perfect for Holiday Gifting

Here at Katie Couric Media, we love a twist on a classic dessert. So it’s no surprise that pumpkin snickerdoodles were on Katie Couric’s baking list this year. She’s had her eyes on these ever since she started following Melissa Stadler, the woman behind the baking account Modern Honey. These mouthwatering cookies are the total package: They’re fluffy, flavorful, and just plain fun to make! They’ll be fresh out of the oven (and straight into your stomach) in no time.

Modern Honey’s Pumpkin Snickerdoodles Recipe

Cookie Ingredients

• 1 cup Butter
• 1 cup Brown Sugar
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 1/2 cup Canned Pure Pumpkin Puree*
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 1 large Egg Yolk
• 2 1/4 cups Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice)**

Cinnamon Sugar Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons Cinnamon

Instructions 

• In a large pot, heat butter over medium-low heat until melted. Watch carefully as it begins to change colors from light yellow to a deep golden color. Brown the butter for about 5-7 minutes, do not allow it to become too brown or burn.
• Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar and sugar until smooth. Set aside to cool for about 20 minutes. If you want to expedite it, you can cover it and place it in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes. Just don’t forget it…or the mixture will harden.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, measure out pumpkin puree. If you want a more pumpkin flavor, use 2/3 cup of pumpkin puree instead of 1/2 cup. Stack several paper towels and place the pumpkin puree on the paper towels, allowing the paper towels to soak up extra moisture.
• Once the butter mixture has cooled to room temperature, stir in pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, and egg yolk until combined.
• Fold in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
• In a small bowl, combine the 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 1/2 Tablespoons of cinnamon.
• Roll the cookie dough into balls. Generously coat each ball in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place on a light-colored, parchement paper-lined baking sheet.
• Bake at 350 degrees for about 9 minutes. Do not overbake these cookies as they are meant to be soft and chewy.

Notes

*Can I add more pumpkin for more pumpkin flavor?

Since we only use 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree, these cookies do have a light pumpkin flavor. If you want a little more pumpkin flavor, you may increase the pumpkin puree to 2/3 cup

**Can I add pumpkin pie spice instead of just cinnamon?

This recipe calls for cinnamon with an option of using pumpkin pie spice. Pumpkin Pie spice is generally made with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice so it definitely adds more warm spice flavor.