Spiced Brown Butter Pumpkin-Doodle Cookies
It’s still pumpkin season and yet I might be ready for some Christmas cookies? I really wasn’t sure, so I baked the best of both worlds in one cookie. Now I think this might be my new favorite! Here is MY version of the viral Pumpkin Snickerdoodle trend, spiced up to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Chewy Spiced Brown Butter Pumpkin-Doodle Cookies dipped in delicious warm autumn spices, packed with deep brown butter flavor, and paired with rich pumpkin notes. These festive little treats bring the best of both worlds with that iconic spiced snicker-doodle texture nestled in a sweet, soft, pumpkin-flavored cookie!
Tip: During the Fall, I keep a jar of prepared brown butter in an airtight container in the fridge. This cuts time during baking season, and saves a step if I’m ever in need of brown butter for a recipe such as this.
If you like this recipe, you will also love my: Chewy Ginger Spiced Molasses Cookies
The Secret to Chewy Spiced Brown Butter Pumpkin-Doodle Cookies
- The biggest secret to baking any pumpkin cookie is removing the liquid and moister from the pumpkin puree before baking. You want this puree to be on the dry side and dough-like. This step will prevent your cookies from turning cakey, or rising too high in the oven like little cookies/muffins.
- As with any cookie, a big tip to render chewy, soft-baked, delicious cookies is to bake them only until the edges are ‘set’ where the centers look slightly underbaked. The cookies will continue to cook on the sheet pan and can become over-baked.
Baking Tips:
- Be sure to use a dry scoop for measuring your flour and sugars.
- Baking times may vary depending on your oven. I used a convection oven and baked for 9 minutes.
- Make sure you have pressed out most of the moisture from your pumpkin purée before baking. This will prevent your cookies from being cake-like or baking too thick. You’re looking for a drier, play dough-like consistency.
Can I Freeze or Refrigerate the Cookie Dough?
Yes, absolutely! Wrap the cookie dough tightly in plastic wrap or place it in a zip-top bag, then freeze. You can keep the dough in the freezer for up to 3 months. The cookie dough will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also store baked cookies in an airtight container – at room temperature for 3-5 days.
(I recommend baking and eating the cookies within the first day for the best result.)
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Spiced Brown Butter Pumpkin-Doodle Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter
- ⅔ cup Pumpkin Purée (154g) canned
- ½ cup Dark Brown Sugar packed
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 large Egg Yolks room temperature
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 ⅔ cup + 2 tbsp All-purpose Flour
- 1 ½ tsp Pumpkin Spice
- ¼ tsp Ground Ginger
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 ½ tsp Cream of Tartar
- ½ tsp Kosher Salt
Optional: (for snickerdoodle coating)
- ⅓ cup Granulated Sugar
- ½ tsp Pumpkin Spice
- ¼ tsp Ground Ginger
Instructions
- You want to begin by browning your butter in a large sauce-pot, cooking over medium heat for about 10 minutes. (Your brown butter may pop, splatter, and/or foam but this is normal.) Do not leave your pot unattended.
- Once you notice that brown bits have begun to form on the bottom of your sauce-pot, (these are the milk solids cooking. You don’t want these to burn.) Begin to stir occasionally with a clean/dry wooden spoon or spatula. Once the butter begins to smell rich and nutty, you should notice it has also began to darken, and the milk solids should look toasted but not black, remove from the heat and let cool in the pan until Luke-warm temperature is reached but still in liquid form. (You should have slightly under 1 cup of liquid remaining)
- Pour your canned pumpkin puree onto a plate and smear it to cover the surface in a thin layer. Using paper towels, press into the pumpkin soaking all excess liquid out of the puree until it has a dough-like consistency. (You should have about 1/3 cup purée remaining.) This takes multiple paper towels, and about 5-7 minutes of pressing firmly to remove the excess liquid from the canned pumpkin.
- Preheat your oven to 350 F/180 C. Line your baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cooled brown butter for 1 minute, or until the consistency reaches that of wet sand.
- Next add egg yolks, vanilla extract, and dried pumpkin purée to your butter/sugar mixture and mix until combined.
- In a medium bowl whisk together all-purpose flour, pumpkin spice, ground ginger, baking soda, cream of tartar, and kosher salt. Then gently fold into your wet ingredients until just combined. (Do not over-mix.) Scoop cookie dough into balls, (about 2 tbsp in size).
- Optional – For Snickerdoodle Topping: Combine the additional granulated sugar, ground cinnamon, and ground ginger in a small bowl. Roll cookie dough balls in the sugar/cinnamon mixture.
- Place cookie dough balls on parchment lined baking sheets spaced 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 9-12 minutes or until the edges are slightly brown, and the middle is slightly underbaked. (Careful not to over bake, this will make the cookies thick and cake-like.) Let cool on baking sheet completely while the butter firms up, this will help prevent them from falling apart. Happy Baking!
Notes
Serving: 24 servings | Calories 111kcal | Total Fat 8.1g | Saturated Fat 5g | Cholesterol 38mg | Sodium 159mg | Total Carbohydrate 9.6g | Dietary Fiber 0.3g | Total Sugars 7.5g | Protein 0.6g | Vitamin D 7mcg | Calcium 9mg | Potassium 55mg (The Nutritional Facts on this recipe are an estimate. The accuracy of these nutritional facts is not guaranteed.)
Did you love this recipe?
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Made these and they have taken the place of my favorite cookie Snickerdoodles. Perfect recipe for the holidays!