The fall is here and I know you’ve been patiently waiting for a sweet way to use up that pumpkin puree you’ve got sitting in your pantry and I’ve got just the thing! These Easy Vegan Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies are exactly what you’re looking for and deliver everything you need for the best, soft, chewy cookie tossed in a sugar and pumpkin pie seasoning coating. They are truly irresistable!
Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Vegan Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies
- ground flaxseed meal – you’ll use the ground flaxseed meal for creating a flax egg by simply combining it with water and giving it a few minutes to thicken.
- vegan butter – as with all cookie recipes, vegan butter is absulely necessary and creates the foundation for your cookies when combined with sugar. You’ll want to make sure that the vegan butter is softened to room temperature for the best results. Certainly not melted.
- organic cane sugar – when combined with vegan butter, you’ll have created the foundation for your Vegan Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies. I’ve not tried this recipe with sugar substitutes, but imagine a crystalized substitute should work well enough.
- vanilla extract – will add a touch of vanilla flavor to your cookies that you’ll love. If you don’t have any, simply omit.
- pumpkin puree – a vital part to your Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies! For this recipe, it’s required that you pat it dry to remove most of the moisture. You can also see this done in the recipe video.
- baking powder – not to be confused with baking soda. Be sure to double check your ingredients!
- cream of tartar – what’s a snickerdoodle without cream of tartar? A sugar cookie! If you want that true, authentic snickerdoodle cookie flavor, don’t skip out on this ingredient. It adds that nice tang flavor to your cookies!
- pumpkin pie spice mix – to compliment that pumpkin flavor, we’re gonna add additional seasonings that will make this recipe stand out from a traditional snickerdoodle.
- organic all-purpose flour – flour will be an essential part of this recipe. For a gluten-free version, try substituting with an all-purpose, gluten-free flour.
How to Make Vegan Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies
Making these vegan pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies is really easy! To start, you’ll want to mix together your vegan butter and organic cane sugar using a standing or hand mixer.
A standing mixer has always been my go-to because I like letting the machine do all of the work while I’m measuring out other ingredients. However, this can also just as easily be done with a hand mixer.
The goal here is to get your vegan butter and sugar mixture to appear fluffy. Almost like whipped cream. Once that’s done, you can add in your flax eggs and vanilla extract.
Combine these ingredients with the vegan butter and sugar mixture just until it’s well combined.
Next, measure out your pumpkin puree and transfer it to a small plate. Use a clean dish cloth to pat it dry until most of the water has been removed and the texture has become more firm and visibly drier.
At this point, you’re ready to add in your dry ingredients (including the dried pumpkin puree): the baking powder, salt, cream of tartar and all-purpose flour. If you’re thinking about making these vegan pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies and skipping over the cream of tartar, DON’T!
Cream of tartar is a huge part of what makes snickerdoodles taste like snickerdoodles! Otherwise you’d just be eating a sugar cookie sprinkled in a cinnamon-sugar mixture. This actually still sounds tasty, but not what we’re going for here.
Mix in all of your dry ingredients until you’ve formed the Vegan Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies dough. It’s important to note that the dough will be on the softer side and perhaps a little oily (but don’t worry, the final product won’t be). So don’t expect a dough that’s super firm!
Go ahead and combine the ingredients for the cinnamon-sugar mixture together in a small bowl so that you can use this mixture to roll your dough balls into.
Use a cookie scoop to scoop out individual balls of cookie dough and roll it in the cinnamon sugar mixture and transfer each to a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Use a small dish with a flat bottom to gently press each of them down to encourage them to spread while baking.
Alternatively, you can simply press each of the Vegan Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies down using your fingers, but they will likely leave impressions in the cookies once they’ve finished baking. Not the worse thing in the world, but just something you might want to know.
Continue doing this until all of the cookies have been covered, then transfer them to the oven to bake for 10 minutes.
Once the cookies are done baking, allow them to cool before digging in. Most likely the insides will still appear doughy, but once they cool they’ll no longer be.
Though I could devour a ton of these fresh, I think they taste even better the next day! Perfectly soft, chewy and delicious.
Vegan Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies Tips and FAQ
- Are snickerdoodles and sugar cookies the same? The key ingredient in a snickerdoodle is the cream of tartar. The cream of tartar gives the snickerdoodle a distinctively tangy flavor that sugar cookies don’t have. In addition, snickerdoodles are rolled in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Sugar cookies are generally only rolled in sugar, if anything at all. Outside of these two differences, snickerdoodles and sugar cookies are made using the same ingredients.
- Is this a fall cookie recipe? Absolutely! Especiall with the unique pumpkin spice flavor. Snickerdoodles are typically made in the fall and winter during the holidays, but I love them year-round!
- How do you store these cookies? For the freezer, store them in an air-tight container (I like to label mine noting what they are and the date) and freeze away. They’ll last up to two months (probably longer, but don’t push it!). Prefer to keep them at room temp? Store them in an airtight container and set them on the counter for 3-4 days. Wanna keep them in the fridge instead? Toss the cookies in an airtight container and keep them for up to 8-10 days.
- Measure your flour correctly. I’ve seen a lot of people make the mistake of using their measuring cup to scoop out their flour. Don’t make this mistake! When you do this, it causes you to retrieve more flour than needed, resulting in a more dense cookie.
- Use softened vegan butter, not melted. Be sure that the vegan butter you’re using is not melted, but softened. Simply leave it out on the counter for a bit until you can easily press your finger into it.
- Use a cookie scoop to retrieve the dough. Using a cookie scoop will ensure that your cookies will be consistent in time and that they’ll all be ready at the same time.
- Don’t overmix the dough. Mixing the dough will cause the cookies to become more dense and you don’t want that!
- Retrieve the cookies when they are underdone. If the cookies seem super soft and flimsey, don’t fret! As the cookies cool, they will firm up. 12 minutes were perfect for me!
- How should I serve these Vegan Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies? You can serve these with a glass of your favorite plant milk, or a cup of hot tea/coffee. It’s totally up to you!
- Can these Cookies be Made Gluten Free? I haven’t tried it personally, but you should be able to swap out the all-purpose flour for a gluten free version of your choice.
I know you’ll love these Vegan Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies! They’re perfectly soft, chewy and so delicious! Give this recipe a try and let me know how it goes in the comments below!
More Pumpkin Recipes You’ll Love:
- Vegan Pumpkin Spinach Mac and Cheese
- Vegan Pumpkin Banana Bread
- Vegan Pumpkin Meatball Pasta
- Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Pasta
- Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Pancakes
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
- Vegan Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Hungry for more? Follow me on Youtube, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!
Easy Vegan Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies [+VIDEO]
Ingredients
- 2 flax eggs (2 tbsp flax seed meal+5 tbsp water mixed and chilled for 10 min)
- 1 cup vegan butter softened (I used Earth Balance)
- 1½ cups organic cane sugar
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup pumpkin puree (pat dry with clean dish cloths or paper towels)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- 1½ tsp pumpkin pie spice mix
- 3 cups organic all-purpose flour
Cinnamon Sugar Mixture for Rolling
- 3 tbsp organic cane sugar
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice mix
Instructions
- Combine the flaxseed meal and water to make a flax egg. Set aside in the freezer to thicken/chill.2 flax eggs
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Use a hand or standing mixer to beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.1 cup vegan butter, 1½ cups organic cane sugar
- Add in vanilla extract and flax eggs and beat until well combined. Scrape down the sides as needed while mixing.1½ tsp vanilla extract
- Transfer pumpkin pie puree to a small plate. Use paper towels or clean dishcloths to remove excess water.½ cup pumpkin puree
- Add in dry ingredients and dried pumpkin puree and continue mixing until dough is formed and has started slightly pulling away from the sides of the bowl. Note: dough will look a little sticky and the texture will be soft, not completely firm1 tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp salt, 1 tsp cream of tartar, 1½ tsp pumpkin pie spice mix, 3 cups organic all-purpose flour
- Combine the cinnamon and sugar rolling mixture in a small bowl.3 tbsp organic cane sugar, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice mix
- Using a cookie scoop, form dough into small balls and toss in cinnamon and sugar mixture so that all sides are covered, then transfer to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
- Once each ball has been coated in the cinnamon sugar mixture and placed on the sheet pan, bake for 10 minutes.
- Once finished baking, let cool for 10 minutes and enjoy! Note: cookies may appear puffy after retrieving from the oven, but will deflate as they cool.
