Soft and Chewy Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies combine the best of sugar and spice in a perfectly soft and chewy cookie.
You’ll love how easy it is to make these pumpkin snickerdoodles with just a few ingredients. They’re sure to become a fall tradition in your home!
UPDATED November 6, 2025 with new photos and improved instructions.
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This recipe was developed in partnership with Karo® Corn Syrup. All opinions are mine alone. You can read my full disclosure policy here.
When I was in middle school, my love for baking began to bloom. I had a handful of “specialties” that I made on repeat, with snickerdoodles being one of them.
My repertoire has expanded a bit over the years, but I still love easy and classic recipes that stand the test of time, especially now that I am often baking with my own kids.
These pumpkin snickerdoodles are the perfect seasonal twist on a timeless treat!
They’re a bit of a hybrid of my classic snickerdoodle recipe and my cake mix pumpkin cookies. The flavor is warm, sweet, and comforting, and the texture is perfectly chewy.
I’m not a fan of crunchy cookies–I always prefer soft and chewy cookies, with a slightly crisp edge.
These pumpkin spice snickerdoodles have that perfect texture, and they’re so simple to make. They’re sure to become a fall tradition in your home!
Related Cookie Recipes:
- Easy Chocolate Snickerdoodles
- Soft & Chewy Apple Butter Snickerdoodles
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Making Soft Pumpkin Cookies
I’ve discovered a secret for getting that perfectly chewy texture that we all want in a cookie without sacrificing flavor: Karo® Corn Syrup!
I’m going to dust off my biology degree and share a little baking science with you.
Karo® Corn Syrup is invert sugar, which means it’s liquid at room temperature. So after the cookies bake and cool off, the sugar won’t recrystallize like granulated sugar does.
This allows the cookies to have that amazing chewy texture! I use it in my brownie mix cookies, too!
Most of us are familiar with using corn syrup for baking during the holiday season (hello, classic Thanksgiving pecan pie!).
But it may come as a surprise to you that the same must-have ingredient for irresistible pecan pie can also make great-tasting cookies chewier on the outside and still soft in the middle.
How to Make Perfectly Chewy Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
You know how fall makes you want to put on your boots and scarf and go for a walk through the pumpkin patch as fiery orange leaves fall around you?
That’s basically how these cookies will make you feel!
My husband has dubbed these as his new favorite cookie, and my daughter asks me weekly if we can make a batch. Seriously, they’re that good!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- All-purpose flour
- Cream of tartar
- Salt
- Baking soda
- Ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice
- Unsalted butter
- Light brown sugar
- Light corn syrup
- Pumpkin puree
- Vanilla extract
How to Make It:
Find the full printable recipe available below
To make them, you’ll start off by creaming some butter, brown sugar, and Karo® Corn Syrup with an electric mixer.
Next, add some pumpkin puree and vanilla extract (that’s right–no eggs required!) and mix until combined.
Gradually add all of the dry ingredients–flour, cream of tartar, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice.
Scoop the batter out and roll into balls, then roll those around in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar (if the batter is too sticky to handle, you can pop it in the fridge to chill for about 15-20 minutes).
Bake at 325F for 9-11 minutes, then let them cool on the pan for a few minutes.
After cooling on the pan, transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Then, enjoy a taste of fall and try not to eat them all in one sitting. 😉
Notes and Adaptations:
- Cream of tartar is a classic snickerdoodle ingredient that gives them a hint of tang and is what separates them from plain ol’ sugar cookies. It helps activate baking soda. If you don’t have any on hand, you can eliminate both the cream of tartar AND baking soda (leave both out) and instead add in 1 1/2 tsp baking powder. The taste will be slightly different, but they’ll still be delicious!
- Leftover cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-5 days.
Recommended Equipment:
Soft and Chewy Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1 cup unsalted butter (softened to room temperature)
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar (packed)
- 1/2 cup light Karo® Corn Syrup
- 6 Tbsp pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For Rolling Cookies:
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice with a whisk. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or in a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer), beat together butter, brown sugar, and Karo® Corn Syrup until light, fluffy, and creamy.
- Mix in pumpkin puree and vanilla extract until well-combined.
- Gradually add flour mixture, mixing on low speed until just incorporated into a soft cookie dough. Set aside.
- Prepare the cinnamon sugar mixture for rolling. In a small bowl, stir together sugar and ground cinnamon until combined.
- Use a small cookie scoop to scoop out rounds of cookie dough. Roll each round into a ball, then roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture, coating well. Place on prepared baking sheet (I can usually easily fit 12 cookies on a baking sheet).
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until edges are beginning to turn golden brown.
- Remove from oven and cool on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes, until they can be easily transferred to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- If you prefer a flatter cookie, you can use the bottom of a glass to flatten the rolled balls of cookie dough prior to baking.
- Cream of tartar is a classic snickerdoodle ingredient that gives them a hint of tang and is what separates them from plain ol’ sugar cookies. It helps activate baking soda. If you don’t have any on hand, you can eliminate both the cream of tartar AND baking soda (leave both out) and instead add in 1 1/2 tsp baking powder. The taste will be slightly different, but they’ll still be delicious!
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-5 days.
Nutrition
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Just an FYI. Your links for chewy cookie recipes (and Karo corn syrup recipes) lead ultimately to a suspicious looking site that “warned” me that my iphone had been “hacked”. And tried to sell me a solution….
Oh no! Thank you for letting me know, Carol–I’ve deleted the link so nobody else clicks on it!