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Brown Butter Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Brown butter pumpkin snickerdoodles with a crackly cinnamon-sugar coating and a soft, chewy center. The recipe uses browned butter and pumpkin puree to bring nutty, warm flavor, then chills the dough for clean rolling.
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Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 12 minutes
Chill 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 42 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 180
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Dry ingredients
  • 2.25 cup gluten-free flour blend Use a blend meant to substitute cup-for-cup in baking.
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 0.5 tsp cream of tartar
Wet ingredients
  • 0.5 cup unsalted butter Use unsalted for best control of browning flavor.
  • 0.5 cup pumpkin puree Plain pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg Large egg.
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
Cinnamon sugar coating
  • 0.25 cup granulated sugar Measure exactly for rolling.
  • 2 tbsp cinnamon For rolling

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 saucepan

Method
 

Brown the butter and prep the dry mix
  1. Melt unsalted butter in a saucepan over medium heat until golden brown and nutty, then cool slightly.
  2. Whisk gluten-free flour blend, baking soda, and cream of tartar together.
Make the pumpkin dough
  1. Beat browned butter, pumpkin puree, and sugar until combined, then beat in egg and vanilla extract.
  2. Fold dry ingredients into the wet mixture until dough forms.
Chill, roll, and bake
  1. Chill dough 30 minutes for easier rolling and better shape retention.
  2. Roll dough into balls and coat in cinnamon sugar made with granulated sugar and cinnamon.
  3. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes, until edges are set.
  4. Cool on the baking sheet 5 minutes before transferring.

Notes

Watch the butter closely as it browns—it can go from nutty to burnt fast, so pull it as soon as it smells toasted and turns amber. Store cookies airtight at room temperature up to 3 days, or refrigerate up to 5 days; freeze baked cookies up to 2 months. For a nut-free or dairy-free approach, try substituting a high-quality vegan butter stick that browns well; the texture may vary slightly but the cinnamon-sugar coating remains the same.