If you’re looking for all the fall feels in one cookie, you’ve come to the right place. This recipe is a twist on the classic snickerdoodle cookie, with the use of brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice bringing delicious hints of nutmeg, allspice, and molasses to the party.

Beyond being mouthwateringly good, this cookie is undeniably cozy. Kind of of like a warm hug on a crisp autumn day. Okay, maybe that description was a bit much, but if there was a cookie that could give you all those cozy, comforting vibes in one bite, this is it. So go get your comfiest sweat pants and bake on, friends.

Ingredients

Recipe yields approximately 18 cookies.

Cookie Dough

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (straight from the refrigerator)

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

  1/2 cup packed brown sugar

• 1 large egg (straight from the refrigerator)

Pumpkin Spice Mixture (for rolling dough in)

• 3 tablespoons brown sugar

• 1 and ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl or Kitchenaid mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together cold butter and sugars on high speed for 1 minute. If you’re using a Kitchenaid mixer, I recommend starting with a towel over your bowl to catch anything that may try to fly out.

3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add egg, mixing on medium speed until fully combined.

4. Add dry ingredients, mixing on low speed just until the dough forms. Do not over mix.

5. Remove cookie dough from bowl and wrap tightly in Saran Wrap. Refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes.

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, moving oven racks to the top and center of oven.

7. While the oven is heating up, make your pumpkin spice mixture by mixing the brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice in a small bowl.

8. Remove dough from refrigerator. Using a spoon or a small cookie scoop, quickly shape dough into round, walnut-sized balls (about two teaspoons large). One at a time, roll the cookie dough in the pumpkin spice mixture, generously coating all sides. You’'ll want to move quickly at this stage to get the cookies in the oven while the dough is still cool.

9. Place cookie dough balls on a lined baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart.

10. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes. Snickerdoodles may appear overly soft when you remove them from the oven, which is perfectly normal. They will firm up when cooling.

11. Allow cookies to cool for 5-10 minutes on the pan before moving to a wire rack to cool further.

Recipe Notes

• The key to this recipe is keeping the dough cool. Why’s that important, you ask? We want to keep the fat (aka the butter) in the cookies solidified. As the cookies bake, the chilled fat takes longer to melt, and the longer the fat remains solid, the less the cookies spread.
  

• Snickerdoodles are good for up to 5 days if kept in an airtight container at room temperature.