Note: I was sent a review copy of Fabulous Modern Cookies in order to write this post. Opinions are mine alone.
I am well aware that people have strong feelings about pumpkin/fall/cooler weather recipes this early in the year. It technically isn’t even fall for about another week. But I’ve shared pumpkin filled recipes much earlier in the “season” than this so I hope you’ll give me a pass again, especially for these pretty little Pumpkin Snickercrinkles.
I found this recipe for Pumpkin Snickercrinkles, which is a mix of a traditional crinkle cookie and a snickerdoodle, in the recently released cookbook Fabulous Modern Cookies: Lessons in Better Baking for Next Generation Treats (paid link) by Chris Taylor and Paul Arguin.
- 2 1/4 cups flour, divided
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2/3 cup pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
- 3 large egg yolks, at room temperature
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat (paid link).
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together 2 cups flour, the baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Add your butter to a small saucepan over medium heat. Let melt and continue to heat undisturbed until it begins bubbling.
Once the bubbling begins to quiet down, start swirling the pan constantly for about 1 minute, or until you start seeing the solids at the bottom of the pan turning golden brown and the butter has a nutty aroma (this can go from seeing nothing to being quite golden brown in a matter of seconds, just as a heads up.)
Remove the pan from heat and stir in the brown sugar along with 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, scraping at the bottom of the pan to fully incorporate all of the browned bits.
Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.
In a separate small, microwave-safe bowl, stir together the remaining 1/4 cup flour and the pumpkin puree.
Add the mixture to your microwave and heat in 30 second increments, stirring in between each one, until the mixture has thickened into a paste (about 2 minutes total). This is called the Tangzhong Technique, which the cookbook describes and gives a bit of history on it.
Add the pumpkin mixture to the large bowl with the brown sugar mixture.
Using an electric mixer, beat the mixtures together on medium speed to fully combine. Let set for 15 minutes, or until fully cool.
Once cool, mix in the egg yolks and the vanilla extract on medium speed.
Reduce the speed to low and mix in your flour mixture a little at a time, being sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl from time to time to make sure everything is fully combined.
In a separate small, shallow bowl, whisk together the remaining teaspoon and cinnamon and the confectioners’ sugar.
Use a cookie scoop (paid link) to portion out a ball of the dough and drop it into the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Gently roll the ball around to completely coat and then place on your baking sheet.
Repeat, adding the coated dough two inches apart on your baking sheet.
Add to your oven and bake until the cookies are puffy and the tops are cracked, about 11 to 15 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Let cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheets then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Repeat with your remaining dough and cinnamon-sugar mixture. You can store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for several days.
These cookies taste a lot like a molasses cookie to me, chewy with a nice caramelized-like flavor that comes through. I didn’t find that the pumpkin flavor came through much, but it is still a delicious cookie even without that flavor being front and center!
The other recipes in the Fabulous Modern Cookies cookbook sound just as good as these Pumpkin Snickercrinkles. This book would make a great gift for bakers, or as a gift to yourself for inspiration before the cookie holiday season!
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups flour, divided
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2/3 cup pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
- 3 large egg yolks, at room temperature
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together 2 cups flour, the baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Add your butter to a small saucepan over medium heat. Let melt and continue to heat undisturbed until it begins bubbling.
- Once the bubbling begins to quiet down, start swirling the pan constantly for about 1 minute, or until you start seeing the solids at the bottom of the pan turning golden brown and the butter has a nutty aroma (this can go from seeing nothing to being quite golden brown in a matter of seconds, just as a heads up.)
- Remove the pan from heat and stir in the brown sugar along with 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, scraping at the bottom of the pan to fully incorporate all of the browned bits.
- Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.
- In a separate small, microwave-safe bowl, stir together the remaining 1/4 cup flour and the pumpkin puree.
- Add the mixture to your microwave and heat in 30 second increments, stirring in between each one, until the mixture has thickened into a paste (about 2 minutes total). This is called the Tangzhong Technique, which the cookbook describes and gives a bit of history on it.
- Add the pumpkin mixture to the large bowl with the brown sugar mixture.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the mixtures together on medium speed to fully combine. Let set for 15 minutes, or until fully cool.
- Once cool, mix in the egg yolks and the vanilla extract on medium speed.
- Reduce the speed to low and mix in your flour mixture a little at a time, being sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl from time to time to make sure everything is fully combined.
- In a separate small, shallow bowl, whisk together the remaining teaspoon and cinnamon and the confectioners’ sugar.
- Use a cookie scoop to portion out a ball of the dough and drop it into the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Gently roll the ball around to completely coat and then place on your baking sheet.
- Repeat, adding the coated dough two inches apart on your baking sheet.
- Add to your oven and bake until the cookies are puffy and the tops are cracked, about 11 to 15 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Let cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheets then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Repeat with your remaining dough and cinnamon-sugar mixture. You can store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for several days.
