Thick and Chewy Sourdough Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
These thick snickerdoodles have the perfect chewy texture with a crispy cinnamon sugar coating and combine the delicious tang of sourdough with cozy pumpkin spice for the perfect fall cookie recipe.
Equipment
- Electric hand mixer
Ingredients
- 1¾ cup all purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
- ⅓ cup sourdough discard
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 6 Tbsp pumpkin puree blotted and squeezed - see note
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Cream the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar together in a medium mixing bowl on medium speed until fluffy and no brown sugar lumps remain. Add the pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, and sourdough discard and mix until well combined (scrap the sides of the bowl to ensure everything is mixed properly). Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined, but not overmixed. The dough will be quite soft. If adding white chocolate chips or nuts, add at this point. (Note: they may be hard to combine with the dough due to the melted butter. Just do your best!)
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a lid and chill for 30 minutes or up to three days if you want to long ferment the dough.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, combine the white sugar and cinnamon to make the cinnamon sugar coating.
- Using a cookie scoop or spoon, scoop two tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Dip each ball into the cinnamon sugar mixture and roll to evenly coat. Place the cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Use your fingers to press each cookie dough ball out slightly.
- Bake for 10-13 minutes, or until the edges are set and lightly golden and the center is still soft. Remove from the oven.
- Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, and then remove to a wire rack and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Store in an airtight container.
Notes
Melt the butter - Melting the butter and allowing it to cool for a few minutes helps the cookies achieve their delicious chewy texture.
Skip the egg yolk - I've tested this recipe with and without the egg yolk, and found that the pumpkin puree substitutes nicely for the egg. Adding additional moisture from the egg can result in more cakey cookies.
Allow the dough to chill/rest - Allowing the dough to chill and rest helps the cookies not spread too much and results in a chewy pumpkin snickerdoodle!
Allow them to cool on the pan - Allowing the cookies to cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before removing them to the wire rack allows the centers to reach that perfect chewy consistency without being too doughy.
Don't overbake - You want to slightly underbake these cookies to achieve perfect chewy center and crispy exterior. Pull them out when the edges are set but the center is still doughy.