Sooo, November is officially just a few days away! How crazy is that? The weather in St. Louis has felt PERFECT LATELY. And the leaves are changing and it’s giving me alllll the fall feels!!!

Although I love the summer sun, there's something I love about fall the Midwest. The bonfires, stepping on crunchy leaves, spices, apple picking, plaids, scarves... For me, just smelling the fall air as I walk outside makes me happier. And I'm breathing a bit easier on my morning runs. I swear I run better in the fall.

So, here is my nod to the array of spices we all crave this time of year as the holidays approach. Naturally, in cookie form. I first made these for Chad in 2016 when he asked for snickerdoodle cookies... but with a can of pumpkin, I took that idea one step further. Enter the pumpkin snickerdoodle. 

He LOVED these cookies and always asks for them every fall. I don’t always make them because life happens and I forget, but this year he bought a can of pumpkin just for these! That was my sign to make a batch and also update this recipe for you to make them, too!

These are soft, sweet, and with the perfect touch of pumpkin spice!

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

(makes about 3 dozen cookies) 

• 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tsp. cream of tartar

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• ½ tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

• ½ tsp ground ginger

• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg

• ¼ tsp ground allspice

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)

• 1 cup white sugar

• ¾ cup packed dark brown sugar

• 1 large egg yolk

• ¾ cup canned organic pumpkin puree

• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

• For rolling: 1/4 cup sugar + 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice. Set aside.

2. In a mixer, cream together butter, sugar and brown sugar until it’s combined (You may need to scrape down sides of bowl throughout the mixing process). Mix in egg yolk. Then, mix in pumpkin puree and vanilla extract. With mixer on low speed, slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix until combined.

3. Place dough in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

5. In a small bowl, mix the ¼ cup sugar with the 1 ½ tsp cinnamon. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and roll into tablespoon-sized balls and roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar. Then, transfer balls to parchment paper lined baking sheet, spacing cookies 2-inches apart. Press down on the dough balls slightly to flatten.

6. Bake for about 10 minutes. Rotate sheets halfway through baking. They should look slightly under-baked and will finish cooking slightly once you remove them from the oven. You can sprinkle with more sugar immediately after taking them out of the oven, if desired.

7. Cool cookies on baking sheet about 5-10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.