Shortcut Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Shortcut Pumpkin Snickerdoodles- We start with a store bought mix but finish with a soft, chewy cookie perfect for fall.
October 11, 2026 by Nicole Collins
Today, we’re making Pumpkin Snickerdoodles!
Two funny stories about this recipe. 1. We were supposed to be making pumpkin s’mores today. In fact, I’ve been trying to get us pumpkin s’mores on the agenda for the past 2 years. But, these cookies are so soft and chewy, they literally melted in my hands when I tried to turn them into s’mores. So, I took the hint that the real magic here is the cookie.
2. These cookies are so soft and chewy, they remind me of the texture of snickerdoodles from The Great Cookie. And, recreating that cookie is something I’ve been chasing since I was in college. So, when I brought the cookies to my taste testers and said “don’t these remind you of The Great Cookie??”, not one of them have ever had a Great Cookie snickerdoodle before. I was SHOCKED. Aren’t they a mall hangout teenage rite of passage? Please tell me I’m not the only one that grew up on those beautiful, buttery cookies.
All this to say, the recipe we’re making today is absolute perfection. 10/10s across the board from my testers. And the best part is that it’s a shortcut recipe which means we’re starting with a store bought mix to make life even easier!
To start, we’ll grab a packet of Betty Crocker snickerdoodle cookie mix. Now, I did not test this with any other brands, but I also don’t know if any other brands even exist. So, stick with Betty if you can. To the cookie mix, we’ll add in some butter, some pumpkin puree, a splash of vanilla, and a little pumpkin pie spice. Give it all a good mix, and that’s our dough! I usually start the mixing process by hand with a spoon, then switch to a hand beater to help the ingredients finish blending. We don’t want to overmix the dough, just mix til it’s just combined.
Pop the dough in the fridge for about 15 mins just to make it easier to scoop. And meanwhile, get your baking sheets ready by lining them with parchment paper. Once the dough is a tiny bit chilled, we’ll use a 2 tbsp cookie scoop to evenly divide our dough into little rounds. From there, we’ll roll them through the cinnamon sugar mix that comes in the cookie kit, roll the dough into perfect little balls, then arrange them on our prepared baking sheets.
To get the cookies nice a thin, we’re going to take the bottom of a measuring cup and very gently press down on each ball to slightly flatten them out just a little bit. They should look like little hockey pucks when you’re done. And to the oven they go to bake until the edges of the cookies are just set and barely golden.
The cookies will look underbaked when you pull them out of the oven, but trust the process. The center of the cookies will look puffed up in the oven, but they’ll deflate once they rest a few minutes. We’re going to let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 15 minutes to help them finish setting, then transfer them to a wire rack so they can cool completely. The cookies will firm up on the outside as they cool while remaining perfectly soft and chewy on the inside.
These cookies are a problem. You guys know I’ve been on a little health journey this year; I’ve barely touched any sweets that haven’t had Greek yogurt or cottage cheese mixed in. But, I housed 3 of the cookies before I even packaged them up. They’re just sooooooo good. They’re perfectly sweet. They’re full of beautifully warm spices. And, these cookies literally melt in your mouth. Melt. In. Your. Mouth.
It’s the perfect cookie, in my opinion.
Ok, everyone. Maybe next year the third time will be the charm on pumpkin s’mores. But for this year, these gorgeous cookies are exactly where they were meant to be.
I hope you guys enjoy! And, let’s eat!
Shortcut Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Serves: 16 Print
Ingredients:
1 pouch Betty Crocker Snickerdoodle cookie mix
1 stick unsalted butter, softened to room temp
¼ cup pumpkin puree
1 egg yolk
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ tbsp pumpkin pie spice
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Take the cinnamon sugar packet that comes with the cookie mix, and add it to a small bowl. Set aside. To a large bowl, add remaining cookie mix, butter, pumpkin, egg yolk, vanilla, and spice. Mix well until a dough just forms. (I start mixing by hand, then switch to a hand mixer until just combined.) Refrigerate dough for 15 mins.
Using a 2 tbsp cookie scoop, scoop dough into balls, and arrange roughly 2 in apart on prepared baking sheet(s). Take each dough scoop, roll through the reserved cinnamon sugar until coated, and roll around in your hands again to form into uniform balls. Use the back of a measuring cup to apply gentle pressure to slightly flatten out the balls. (They should look like small hockey pucks.)
Bake for 11-13 mins until just golden around the edges. (The cookies will look underdone in the center.) Allow to rest on the baking sheet for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. (The cookies will firm up as they cool.) Store leftovers in an airtight container, and enjoy!
Recipe notes:
*Make sure you get pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling. We’re looking for pure, unsweetened pumpkin for this recipe.
*I typically have to split this between 2 cookie sheets, and I bake them one at a time.
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