Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles

Yes, pumpkin again! It is fall and while I admit I am getting quite pumpkin’d out I have some pumpkin fanatics in the family.

Today we made Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles. My son scarfed down two of them before I could blink an eye. He is now burning off the sugar playing!

The addition of pumpkin puree gives these cookies a cakey texture. They would be even better with a little Salted Caramel Frosting  on them! Or even between them, then you’d have a Salted Caramel Pumpkin Spice Cookie Sandwich!

Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

2 tablespoons granulated sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice in a shallow bowl or plate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment and set aside.

Cream butter and salt in a medium bowl for 30 seconds. Add 3/4 cup of the flour, the sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, egg, and vanilla and mix just until combined. Add remaining 3/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup at a time until all is well incorporated.

Drop cookie dough by spoonful on lined baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Sprinkle pumpkin spice sugar liberally on cookies. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges just begin to turn light brown. Let cool completely and store in an airtight container. Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Note: After cooling, I stored these in a metal cookie tin. They were moister, cakier and tastier the next day!

You can speed up the prep time by making these bar or pan cookies. Simply spread the batter in a lightly greased pyrex pie pan or 8 x 8 casserole, or a parchment lined 8 x 8 square baking tin. Sprinkle the sugar and pumpkin pie spice evenly over the top. Bake for 18 to 23 minutes, until edges are light brown and done in the center.

This cookie was made by substituting pumpkin sugar for the pumpkin puree and sugar in the recipe to give it a nice pumpkin color.  To make pumpkin sugar:

• Spread one cup pumpkin puree on parchment lined baking sheet and bake in a slow oven (about 215 degrees Fahrenheit) for one hour, or until dried
• Let pumpkin cool then pull it off of the parchment and break it into pieces
• Add the dried pumpkin and 1 cup granulated sugar (as called for in recipe above) into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until ground