No-Butter Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies
Remember back in this pumpkin muffins post I went on and on about how I find it hard to determine what's considered a good pumpkin dessert because pumpkin desserts simply don't cause my heart swell with joy?
And therefore, as I explained in that post, I usually stick to posting just one pumpkin recipe per season that even I love. BUT. This year I created a second pumpkin recipe. And I think it's fair to say that this recipe is so good that even the pumpkin haters might be converted. I know I was.
Here's the thing: I particularly dislike pumpkin cookies when it comes to pumpkin-filled desserts. A pumpkin loaf cake or pumpkin crumb muffin I can get behind. I get it - the pumpkin adds a lot of moisture and makes the cake/muffin soft and tender and richly flavored.
But whenever I tried a cookie with pumpkin in it, I had to restrain myself from gagging. The pumpkin just made the cookies so cakey and mushy and moist, but not in a good way. A cake you want moist, but a cookie? NAH. Soft, but not moist.
So, I set to work on creating a pumpkin cookie that wasn't those things. A pumpkin cookie that reaped the benefits of the flavor from the pumpkin puree without compromising on the cookie's texture.
And I think I succeeded.
After tweaking the pumpkin to oil to flour to sugar ratio quite a few times, I settled on the perfect combo.
The result is a cookie that'll probably be amongst one of the softest you've sunk your teeth into. Ever.
Soft. Super-soft. But NOT mushy or cakey.
And to take things to the next level, I decided to add cream of tartar into the dough, along with a sugar + cinnamon (and nutmeg - yummmmmm) coating, turning the pumpkin cookies into pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies.
I know, you're very welcome.
Oh, and another thing. These cookies are dairy-free. Coconut oil is used in place of butter. The coconut oil lends these no-butter pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies a unique richness that you won't get from an oil like vegetable or canola.
And the coconut oil also makes this a no-mixer cookie recipe, cuz you don't gotta do no creaming for these cookies. Just melt the oil, whisk in the wet ingredients, stir in the dry, and your dough is finito.
Just don't forget that cinnamon-sugar coating. I also threw 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg into the coating mix, because I LOVE nutmeg. But if you're not a fan, just pretend the nutmeg isn't in the ingredient list. Avert your eyes.
So yeah, these are like the softest, non-cakey pumpkin cookies ever. And they're so easy and quick to make. And just FYI, the dough for these cookies tastes deeeeelicious too. Feel free to not ask me how I would know that.
Soft. Rich. Tender. Melt-in-your-mouth. Pumpkiny. Cinnamony. Easy. Quick.
Make these no-butter pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies, if it's the last thing you ever do.
No-Butter Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies
Yield: about 32 cookies
1/2 cup melted coconut oil*
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup pure pumpkin puree
2 cups packed flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Coating:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, optional
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the oil and sugars until smooth.
3. Vigorously whisk in the egg, vanilla extract, and pumpkin until smooth.
4. Pour the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt right over the wet ingredients and stir everything together until just combined.
5. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
6. Round medium-large pieces of dough between palms and roll in the cinnamon-sugar, coating generously. Space cookies out onto baking sheets.
7. Bake cookies for 9-11 minutes, until the tops just begin to crack and you can just lift the edge of a cookie off of the sheet with your hand.
8. Let cookies sit and firm up on baking sheets for 10 minutes before moving them.
*Note: use refined coconut oil if you don't want any coconut flavor in your cookies.
