Brown Butter Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies
by Ambitious Kitchen
Brown Butter Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies are my new favorite fall cookie. These cookies are so delicious you will want to keep them all for yourself. The brown butter gives them a nutty flavor, the pumpkin screams fall, and the spices make you want to curl up next to a fire. Plus, they are simple to make. No need to run to the store if you don’t have pumpkin spice in your spice collection— it's easy to make your own. I made my own pumpkin spice using Ambitious Kitchen’s spice recipe and my cookies were so flavorful. See below for the exact spice ratio.*
Parchies Oven Clips keep parchment paper perfectly in place—so cookies stay on the pan, not the oven floor. Parchment paper = non-stick baking, even heat, easy cleanup, and a barrier from harsh metals.
Ingredients:
½ cup (113g) salted butter
½ cup (107g) packed brown sugar
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg white (NOT THE FULL EGG)
¼ cup (61g) pumpkin puree
1 ½ cup (180g) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice* (see notes for pumpkin pie spice substitute)
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
For rolling:
¼ cup (28g) sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
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Make your brown butter: melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. The butter will begin to foam. Make sure you whisk constantly during this process. After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to crackle and foam, and then brown on the bottom of the saucepan; continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma.**
- Immediately transfer the butter to a bowl to prevent burning (make sure you scrape all of it out of the pan - every last drop!). Set aside to cool for 10 minutes. It is important that your butter cools off.
- With an electric mixer (or you can mix by hand), mix the cooled brown butter, brown sugar, and regular sugar until well combined and creamy. Beat in the egg white, vanilla, and pumpkin puree until well combined.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. With an electric mixer on low speed, slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Place plastic wrap over the bowl and refrigerate the dough for 1-2 hours so that the flavors meld together and the butter has a chance to solidify a bit. This is extremely important. You want the dough to be fairly cold so that it's easier to work with and so the cookies bake up properly.
- When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and clip down with Parchies Oven Clips.
- Once the dough is chilled, make your dough balls: measure about 1 ½-2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. If dough is too hard to roll into a ball, you may need to let it sit out at room temperature for 10-20 minutes while your oven preheats. Make sure you have at least 2” between the balls. These cookies will spread.
- Meanwhile, mix 1/4 cup sugar and the 2 teaspoons cinnamon in a bowl. Roll dough balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture, then place on the cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake for 11-14 minutes or until cookies are just slightly golden brown around the edges. Cool cookies on a baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, then remove and transfer to a wire rack. Makes about 14 cookies.
*If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, you can make your own by using the following spices in the dough: 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon cloves or allspice.
** Brown Butter can burn if left on the burner too long. You will know if the butter is overcooked because it will taste very bitter. Butter can also separate if it is cooked for a long time at a low heat; this is called Ghee.