Pumpkin + White Chocolate Snickerdoodles

This past weekend 2 major things happened - Jordan & I spent 5.5 hours at our neighborhood hot dog bar to watch the Mariners win and we had a big cookie weekend at our house.  First, the Mariners of it all.  Honestly, I am on the band wagon & loving all this hype around the Mariners.  Consider me a fan!  So when Jordan said we should spend our Friday night on the town to watch the game, I was so down.  Saddled up at the bar, living for every hit + strikeout, and just cheering along with everyone else.  I felt like I was part of the community, and I loved it.  My personal favorite is a tie between the young girl sitting next to me at the bar that strolled in solo + was giving major die hard fan vibes, and the guy who was giving fist bumps to the entire bar every 20 minutes of so.  It was so fun, and I don’t know if I’ve ever spent 5.5 hours at a single bar to watch a game.

Next, the big cookie weekend.  I’ve just had a craving to make homemade cookies together.  Something Fall + festive +yummy to have on hand for the week.  A double edge sword because I’ve definitely done my fair share of cookie snacking this week, but oh well - you only live once.  We spent our weekend at home making a batch of Halloween monster cookies, a good, peanut buttery treat, and then these Pumpkin + White Chocolate Snickerdoodles.  Soft, fluffy, super pumpkin-y.  Pretty much the Fall cookie of my dreams.  Packed with white chocolate, and let me tell ya - a slightly warmed cookie with just melted white chocolate is the way to go.  Cookie craving satisfied, and such a fun Fall treat to have on hand.

 
 

A hands on bake

Pumpkin is one of my favorite Fall flavors, and I love when the cold weather hits + pumpkin treats are back on the menu.  This recipe definitely has a hefty dose of pumpkin. You can taste it.  You can see it in the color.  All signs point to its there.  The thing to note - it makes the dough sticky.  Be mentally prepared for it and don’t be concerned.  They’ll scoop + roll in the sugar + be good to go once they hit the parchment paper.

I used approach snickerdoodle the same way I do eating hot wings (a trick my husband taught me this) - have a clean hand & a hand to do your dirty.  In this case, just dedicate one hand to be the sticky mess rolling the cookies in the cinnamon sugar.  Having one hand that is free from that process is so mentally soothing for me personally.  Just eliminating the chance that sticky, batter covered fingers will touch my phone or fridge is a good thing for this girl.

Give the cookies an extra cinnamon sugar dip

I want the snickerdoodles to be extra cinnamon sugar-y. I like to roll them into balls, roll the balls in the sugar, flatten them slightly on the pan, and then give an extra cinnamon sugar sprinkle on top. Just a little extra hit of the sugar coating, and it was perfect.

 
 

GF Success

I loved these cookies so much I even made a 2nd gluten free batch.  Honestly it checked all the boxes.  Still just as soft + fluffy as the OG, and I’d totally make them again for a gf get together.  I used my trusted King Arthur flour for a one to one substitution, and it worked perfectly.

So good. Such an easy + fun Fall bake. And most importantly be sure to enjoy warmed with melty white chocolate inside. That’s the premium experience.

 
 

For the cinnamon sugar

  • 1/3 c. sugar

  • 2 tsp cinnamon

  • 1 tsp ginger

  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg

  • 1/4 tsp all-spice

For the cookies

  • 1 stick of butter, softened

  • 1/2 brown sugar, packed

  • 1/4 c. white sugar

  • 1/3 c. pumpkin puree

  • 1 egg

  • 2 tsp vanilla

  • 1 3/4 c. flour

  • 1/4 tsp baking soda

  • 1/4 tsp baking powder

  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon

  • 1/2 tsp salt

  • heaping 1/2 c. white chocolate chips (plus more for finishing)

Start by prepping the cinnamon sugar. Place all of the ingredients of the cinnamon sugar into a shallow bowl + whisk it together. Set aside.

Line 2 baking trays with parchment + preheat the oven to 350.

To make the cookies, start by placing the butter + sugars in a bowl and mix on medium until light + fluffy. You’ll need to mix with an electric mixer on medium speed for 3-4 minutes. Add in the eggs + vanilla and mix on medium until combined. Add in a cup of the flour, the baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon + salt, and mix on low until combined. Add in the rest of the flour and mix until just combined, slowly increasing the speed to medium until the dough is fluffy. Use a spatula to mix in the chocolate chips.

Use a cookie scoop to scoop the dough, and drop the balls one at a time into the bowl with the cinnamon sugar. Roll them in the sugar to coat the edges, forming more circular balls as you roll them in the cinnamon sugar. Transfer the coated cookie onto the prepped cookie sheets, and flatten slightly by pressing each dough ball down with your hand. When you’ve worked through all the dough, and all the cookies have been rolled in sugar + transferred to cookie trays, sprinkle a bit more cinnamon sugar on top of each cookie. Bake each tray of cookies for 8 minutes - should be soft but be able to pass the toothpick test.

As soon as you remove the cookies from the oven, press 5-7 additional white chocolate chips into each cookie. Let the cookies continue to cool on the cookie sheet, and be sure to enjoy them slightly warm.

Lesley ZehnerComment