Brown-Butter Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Trust me when I say these pumpkin snickerdoodles are a real treat!
First, there’s browned butter, which adds rich caramel notes and extra depth. Then, there’s pumpkin butter mixed into the batter, which is pumpkin puree that has been cooked down with spices and sugar until thickened and spreadable. Finally, the cookies are tossed in a mix of sugar and pumpkin spice— a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice, to really drive the cozy pumpkin pie flavour home.
The end result is a Fall spin on a traditional snickerdoodle, and one which I think really takes them to the next level!
The additional of cream of tartar gives the cookies a slight tang, a hallmark of a snickerdoodle, as well as a nice chewy texture, so don’t skip it! if you don’t have any cream of tartar, substitute in baking powder instead. Baking powder is a mix of sodium bicarbonate and tartaric acid (aka cream of tartar), so it’s an ideal stand-in for baking. Use 1-1/2 tsp of baking powder for every 1 tsp of cream of tartar.
I highly recommend enjoying one of these with a coffee, they make a great pair.
Brown-Butter Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Makes 16-18 large cookies and 30-32 small cookies
1 ¾ cups unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1/3 cup pumpkin butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp kosher salt
For the sugar and pumpkin spice coating:
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp pumpkin spice mix
Preheat oven to 400F and line baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange rack in centre of oven.
Brown the butter: Melt butter in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Cook, moving skillet constantly, until butter turns deep golden colour, is foamy and smells pleasantly nutty, 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Whisk together all dry ingredients in a medium bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl and using an electric beater), combine the cooled brown butter and sugars. Beat on medium speed until fluffy and combined. Add the pumpkin butter, eggs and vanilla and continue to beat on medium-high speed until mixture is a pale golden colour, has thickened and falls in ribbons off the beater, about 3 minutes.
Add the dry ingredients and beat in until just combined. The batter will appear loose; allow batter to rest for 30 minutes to thicken slightly.
Stir together granulated sugar and pumpkin spice and add to a bowl or rimmed plate. Using a 2-oz cookie scoop (about 2 heaping tablespoons), portion out cookies and roll into balls. Working one at a time, roll cookies in sugar-spice mixture until well coated and place on prepared baking sheet, leaving 3-inches in between each cookie. Do not flatten the cookies they will spread as they bake.
Bake on the middle rack of the oven until cookies are light golden on the edges and centres are still soft, 10-12 minutes.