Cardamom Pumpkin Molasses Snickerdoodles
These pumpkin molasses cookies have the perfect balance of Fall meets Winter baking. Biting into one of these soft, gooey cookies with crispy edges makes me thing of what a gingerbread man and pumpkin pie’s love child would taste like. I understand this description in a bit…much, but I’m telling you, they do not disappoint.
This recipe makes 6 LARGE cookies or 12 regular sized cookies (if you’re into that sort of small cookie thing…jk no judgement here). These cookies are not only delicious on the inside, but they boast a crunchy, shiny and spicy exterior thanks to the turbinado sugar and cinnamon I roll them in before baking.
Gather Your Ingredients
Full list of ingredients listed below.
Browned Salted Butter: Browning your butter lends not only a more toasted and nutty component to your baked treats, but it removes a lot of the water content in the butter itself. I use salted butter in all my baking. I prefer it because it has less water and a lot more flavor.
Pumpkin Puree: You want to use pumpkin puree in this recipe, NOT PUMPKIN FILLING. So read your cans carefully before grabbing them off the shelf this holiday season, I know grocery stores can get chaotic but do not make this mistake! Before putting the pumpkin puree into your wet ingredients, you will GENTLY squeeze or press out the excess moisture using paper towels. This ensures your cookies don’t become too puffy and cake. We want a chewier and more crinkled result in this cookie.
Unsulphured Molasses: I use Grandma’s Unsulphured Molasses. Do not use blackstrap molasses, it’s too bitter for this recipe.
Spices: I use the usual suspects when it comes to Fall baking spices, however in this recipe you will need only 3. Cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamon. The cardamom flavor comes through beautifully and pairs well with the molasses. Cardamom can be peppery, spicy and a little bit minty as well, it all just works, trust me.
Room Temp Eggs: In this recipe you only need 1 egg yolk. This will help the cookies turn on chewier side. Using just egg yolks in baking helps bind liquids and fats together. The Kitchn has a great article explaining the benefits of baking with just the yolk.
Light Brown Sugar and Granulated Sugar: Both brown and white sugar play a part in this recipe. They contribute equal parts to the outcome of this cookie’s success.
Vanilla Extract: Please make sure you find yourself a good vanilla extract NOT vanilla essence or flavoring. Costco sells a large quality vanilla extract at a good price. Start there if you haven’t found one that you like as yet.
All Purpose Flour: I am sure you could attempt using gluten free flour for this recipe, however I haven’t tested it. If you do and it works, let me know!
Baking Powder: You only need a bit of baking powder in this recipe for leavening.
Cream of Tartar: Cream of tartar helps with the crispiness of a cookie. Food Network says the way cream of tartar reacts with the sugars in your cookies is why you get a crispier outcome.
Turbinado Sugar: Similar to sanding sugar, this sugar has larger crystal sizes and helps add a shiny element to your cookies after they bake. I roll my cookie dough balls in a combination of turbinado sugar and a couple teaspoons of cinnamon mixed together. I love the crunch this step adds to my baked goods. I use Sugar in the Raw Turbinado sugar but you can use granulated sugar mixed with cinnamon if you don’t have any on hand.
Ingredients
1/2 cup salted butter browned and slightly cooled
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 room temp egg yolk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cardamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup pumpkin puree, slightly dried out
1 and 1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Baking Directions
Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees and prepping a baking tray with parchment paper.
Brown your room temp salted butter in a saucepan until it starts to bubble up and turn into a nice golden brown color. This takes only a few minutes when your butter is room temperature. Allow the butter to cool for 5 minutes before adding to your sugars.
To a heat proof mixing bowl add in you brown and white sugar along with your vanilla extract. Slowly add in your browned butter and whisk until everything is combines. Your sugars will still be a bit grainy but that’s fine.
Whisk in your room temp egg yolk and pumpkin puree until you no longer see any yellow remaining from the yolk itself or orange from the puree.
Add in your flour, cream of tartar, spices and baking powder and combine by folding together with a rubber spatula. Do not over mix, make sure you fold everything together until you no longer see any flour remaining.
Scoop out your cookie dough using a large cookie scoop if you want 6 larger cookies. Use a smaller scoop for a dozen smaller cookies. After you scoop your dough out, roll them in your hands to shape nice and round. Plop them in your turbinado and cinnamon sugar combo and make sure to coat all sides before placing on your baking sheet. I do about 4 on a sheet to avoid the cookies from spreading.
Bake your cookies for 12-14 minutes and allow to set up on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes after removing from the oven when done. I set mine on a wire rack after I have allowed them to set up a bit. These cookies will be a bit gooey on the inside but they will be crispy and chewy on the outside, especially on the bottom part. They are completely baked. Enjoy with a cup of coffee or cup of Earl Grey tea!
How To Store These
These cookies can sit on the counter in a zip block bag or air tight container for about 3 days. You could also freeze these once they are COMPLETELY cooled for up to 3 months in a zip block or vacuumed sealed package. Allow to sit out and come to room temp from the freezer whenever you are ready to eat.
