Small Batch Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles

Yield: 6 pumpkin spice snickerdoodles // Total Time: 20 min. // Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links. // Recipe updated 10/24/2022

Delicious thick and chewy pumpkin spice snickerdoodles are just 20 minutes away!

Small batch pumpkin snickerdoodles

Another small batch cookie recipe added to the 20 minutes, 6 delicious cookies series! These small batch pumpkin spice snickerdoodles are thick, chewy, and deliciously coated in pumpkin spice sugar.

Small batch pumpkin snickerdoodles recipe tips

Weigh your ingredients

Weighing your ingredients is important for getting the recipe perfect and getting consistent results. Not weighing your ingredients can lead to adding too much or too little of an ingredient. In a small batch recipe it is especially important to get those correct measurements because there is less room for error. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend purchasing a kitchen scale. This one is super cheap and worked well for me when I was starting out!

Mix the dough carefully

When adding in the flour, only fold the mixture just until no flour streaks remain. Overmixing the dough leads to more gluten formation, which can make the cookies super tough and chewy.

Under bake for perfect cookies

Cookies continue baking after they have been taken out of the oven. The cookies may look a little underdone at 10 minutes, but it’s important to take them out to keep them nice and soft. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for an additional 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool (or just eat them right there!)

Cookie scooting

Wanna know the secret to perfectly round cookies? It’s cookie scooting! Right when the cookies come out of the oven, take a bowl, cup, or biscuit cutter that is just slightly larger than your cookies and place it over one of the cookies. Gently swirl the bowl around the cookie to make the cookie perfectly round (and slightly thicker). And that’s all there is to it!

Pat your canned pumpkin dry

Canned pumpkin comes with a lot of excess moisture which is delicious in pies, but not something we want in our cookies. Lay the amount of pumpkin you need for this recipe out onto a napkin, then use another napkin to dab the pumpkin to remove excess moisture. This is going to help us with getting some thickness to the cookies, rather than having them end up all flat and crispy. Don’t skip this step!

Ingredients and substitutions

For the pumpkin snickerdoodles:

All purpose flour: for structure and chewiness.

Baking powder: for helping the cookies rise.

Baking soda: for helping the cookies rise and giving them crisp edges.

Salt: to help balance and bring out the sweetness of the cookies

Unsalted butter: for tenderness and flavor. You can use salted butter in place of the unsalted, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the cookies. I highly recommend splurging a little and using European style butter here for the best flavor.

Light brown sugar: for sweetness and for moisture.

Canned pumpkin: for flavor! Make sure you are using 100% pure pumpkin

Egg yolk: for binding and for moisture.

Vanilla: for flavor. I use and love this vanilla extract!

For the coating:

Granulated sugar & pumpkin pie spice

How to make small batch pumpkin spice snickerdoodles

1. Melt the butter. Add the butter to a small mixing bowl that is microwave safe. Melt the butter in 20 second intervals, stirring between each interval. Doing so will ensure that your butter is not so hot that the cookie just completely spreads out in the oven!

2. Add in the sugar, pumpkin, egg yolk, and vanilla. Once the butter has cooled down a bit, whisk in the brown sugar. Then, add in the pure pumpkin, egg yolk, and vanilla and whisk until well combined.

3. Fold in the dry ingredients. To the bowl, add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Fold the mixture together just until no more flour streaks remain. Overmixing will lead to a tough cookie!

4. Coat in pumpkin spice sugar. In a small bowl, mix together the granulated sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Scoop out the dough using a 3 tbsp. cookie scoop. Place the cookies one by one in the pumpkin spice sugar, and gently roll around until the dough is completely coated.

4. Bake the cookies. Evenly space out the coated scoops of the cookie dough on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 350°F / 175°C.

5. Get perfect cookies. Once the cookies come out of the oven, I recommend “scooting” them. This just means take a bowl, cup, or biscuit cutter that is slightly larger than the cookie, place it on top of the cookie, and swirl the bowl around to make the cookie perfectly circular. It’s not needed at all but it will help you get that perfectly round cookie look! Also, leave the cookies to cool on the hot baking sheet for 5 minutes to help them set up.

Small batch pumpkin spice snickerdoodles Q & A

Can I double these small batch pumpkin spice snickerdoodles?

Of course! Obviously they will not be small batch anymore but small batch isn’t always what we need! Simply double all of the ingredients in the recipe to make 12 delicious pumpkin spice snickerdoodles. I even more strongly recommend measuring by weight if you are going to double the recipe for the best results.

Can I make these cookies ahead of time?

Definitely! Cookie dough only gets better with time. You can keep the cookie dough tightly covered in the fridge for up to 3 days before baking. For longer term storage, you can also freeze the cookie dough. Just be sure to take the dough out of the fridge at least 30 minutes to 1 hour before you want to bake, so that it becomes soft enough to scoop again!

How to store small batch pumpkin spice snickerdoodles

If for some reason you don’t feel like inhaling these 6 cookies (like I did IMMEDIATELY after taking these pictures), you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature. They will taste the best on the day that they are baked, but will keep fresh for up to 3 days.

Why do you measure in grams?

My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale, and here’s an article about why I use a kitchen scale, and why you should too!

A note on oven temperature

Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature. For example, I always have to set my oven to 330°F if I want it to bake at 350°F. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.

Tools and ingredients

Cookie Sheet: I absolutely love USA pan products because of their great quality. I use their cookie sheet which is always the perfect size for all of my small batch cookies!

Silicone baking mat: parchment paper will always do the job for cookies, but I like to use a silicone mat when I can to try to cut down on waste. This is the one I use.

Cookie scoops: I have gone through a lot of cookie scoops in my baking journey, and these ones have lasted me the longest without breaking. Plus they are dishwasher safe!

Vanilla: I love using Rodelle vanilla extract. Not only is it a great quality product, but it’s on the lower end of the price that vanilla can be! This is the one I use.

For a full list of tools, equipment and ingredients that I use and love, you can check out this page here.