White Chocolate Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

These cookies give you the pumpkin and cinnamon/sugar combo that tastes like Fall! They’re chewy, soft, and stay puffy even after they’ve cooled. You don’t even need a mixer for this recipe. And…there are no eggs, so you can eat as much dough as you want (if you’re into that kind of thing)!!!

Melt the butter in the microwave and add the brown and granulated sugar.

Whisk until no lumps remain.

Add vanilla and pumpkin puree.

Whisk until smooth and set aside.  It will look really thin.  Don’t worry 🙂

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir with a spatula.  The dough will be soft.

Once combined, fold in the white chocolate chips.  I had these fun little mini chips on hand.

Now the tough part…cover the dough and chill for at least 30 minutes.

While your dough is in the fridge, preheat your oven, line your baking sheets, and mix together 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.

Cookies should be around 1.5 Tablespoons each.  I like to use a cookie scoop.

Roll the dough in the cinnamon/ sugar mixture to coat.

Place on your cookie sheets and flatten with your palm.

Bake for 8-10 minutes.  I baked mine for 8 minutes.  They look slightly underdone, but this keeps them soft and chewy.  While they’re warm, you can press extra white chocolate chips onto the top if you wish.

Allow to cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.  Just look at this cinnamon, sugar, pumpkin goodness!!!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup light or dark brown sugar (I used light.)
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 Tablespoons pumpkin puree (You’ll have leftover pumpkin.  HERE is a great list of pumpkin recipes, so you don’t have to waste it.)
1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (careful not to overmeasure)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice*
1/2 cup white chocolate chips or chunks

Instructions:

Melt the butter in the microwave. In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar together until no brown sugar lumps remain. Whisk in the vanilla and pumpkin until smooth. Set aside.

In a large bowl, toss together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon or rubber spatula. The dough will be very soft. Fold in white chocolate chips. They may not stick to the dough because of the melted butter, but do your best to have them evenly dispersed among the dough. Cover the dough and chill for 30 minutes, or up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory.

Take the dough out of the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Roll the dough into balls, about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough each. Mix together the remaining 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Roll each of the dough balls generously in the cinnamon-sugar mixture and arrange on 2 baking sheets. Slightly flatten the dough balls because the cookies will only slightly spread in the oven. The photo above shows what the cookie dough balls should look like before baking.

Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. The cookies will look very soft and underbaked. Keeping them in the oven for longer may dry them out. Remove from the oven and press a few more white chocolate chips onto the tops, if desired. If you find that your cookies didn’t spread much at all, flatten them out when you take them out of the oven.

Allow the cookies to cool for at least 10 minutes on the cookie sheets before transferring to a wire rack. The longer the cookies cool, the chewier they will be. I let them sit out for at least 1 hour before enjoying. I find that their chewiness and pumpkin flavor is more prominent on day 2. Cookies stay soft, moist, and chewy stored at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Freezing directions: Roll the chilled dough into balls and freeze in a large ziplock bag for up to 2 months. Baked cookies may also be frozen up to 2 months.

*Instead of pumpkin pie spice, you may use 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1/2 teaspoon allspice

Enjoy!

I boxed mine up to give as gifts.

#choosejoy

Recipe from: Sally’s Baking Addiction

Pillowy Pumpkin Spice & Honey Cookies

If you are excited about the fall weather, you need to bake these cookies!  I love that this recipe uses brown sugar and cornstarch.  It guarantees a super soft, puffy, and chewy cookie!  The honey makes them melt in your mouth, and the pumpkin pie spice is perfect for fall.

You have to chill this dough for at least 3 hours before baking.  No exceptions.  Warm dough won’t make thick puffy cookies.  Make sure you have plenty of time before starting the recipe.

That said…let’s bake!

Combine your butter, sugar, egg and cream.  It takes about 5 minutes, so a stand mixer makes life a little easier.  A handheld will work just as well.

Add the pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, and…

the honey.  This was my first time using honey in a cookie recipe and it works so beautifully!

Mix until smooth.

Add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and mix for a minute until combined.

Use a cookie scoop to make mounds.

Fill a small bowl with sugar.  I used white sparkling sugar.  It gives a nice crunch to the cookie and it looks pretty.

Roll into a dough into a ball and then coat with sugar.

Place the rolled dough on a large plate.  Lightly flatten the mounds with the palm of your hand, cover with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.  Do not bake with warm dough.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your cookie sheet with a Silpat or spray with non-stick spray.

Bake for 8-9 minutes until the edges have set.  The middle will still look a little undercooked.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to a rack to finish cooling.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1/4 cup honey
2 Tablespoons pumpkin pie spice (yes Tablespoons, not teaspoons)
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons corn starch
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt, optional and to taste

***Optional: Sugar to coat the outside of the cookie dough mounds.  I used White Sparkling Sugar Sprinkles.

This recipe yielded 18 medium cookies for me.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.  To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, egg, and beat on medium-high speed until well-creamed, light and fluffy, about 5 minutes (or use a hand mixer and beat for at least 7 minutes). Do not shortcut the creaming process; make sure dough is very light in color and fluffy, stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

2.  Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the honey, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until combined and smooth, about 2 minutes.

3.  Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, optional salt, and mix until just combined, about 1 minute.

4.  Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, form heaping two tablespoon mounds (I made 17). Put the Sparkling Sugar in a small bow.  Using your hands, roll the dough into balls.  Then roll the dough in the sugar to coat.   Place dough on a large plate, flatten mounds very slightly with your palm, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter.

5.  Preheat oven to 350F, line baking sheets with Silpats, or spray with cooking spray. Place mounds on baking sheets, spaced at least 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set, even if undercooked, pale, and glossy in the center. Do not bake longer than 9 minutes for soft cookies because they firm up as they cool; bake for 9-10 minutes if you like firmer cookies.  Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.

6.  Store cookies airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 4 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.

One accidentally broke and I had to eat it.

I boxed up the rest for my Gran’s birthday and made a little gift for a friend:)

#choosejoy

Recipe from Averie Cooks.

The Friday Five

1.  Apple iWatch. I know it doesn’t have GPS.  I know it won’t replace my Garmin.  I know it’s still 5 months away.  It still looks so cool and I can’t wait to buy one!

2.  Major Girl Crush…Vogue did an interview with Christy Turlington Burns about running the Chicago Marathon.  She is running to raise awareness for her non-profit Every Mother Counts.  She has also partnered with my favorite running brand, Oiselle to create apparel for EMC.  Guess who else is running Chicago?  Me!  Do you think she wants to run with me and become friends?!!  Read the article HERE.

3.  Every night before bed, I drink a cup of chamomile tea to unwind and I have a new favorite from Dean & Deluca.  It’s a sweet and floral herbal tea made from chamomile flowers harvested in the winter months in Egypt.  Basically…it’s really good.

4.  The sun is rising a little later and setting a little earlier.  It’s so important to run with a Road ID!  (Coupon Code Below)

I prefer the Shoe ID.  The Shoe ID is a lightweight, Velcro walking or running ID. In fact, it’s great to wear anytime and is a popular ID for kids. Includes a 3M reflective strip for high visibility. Peace of mind is standard and the ID plate is interchangeable with the Wrist ID Sport. Go!

To save 15 % off all ID Products use COUPON CODE: DU68M4N98S

5.  Teaser: I am currently baking these cookies and my house smells like Autumn! Recipe coming soon.

There’s a lot of joy in this little container.  PS. My label maker also makes me very happy:)

Happy Friday!!

Who’s racing this weekend? Long run? I love to hear about it!!

#choosejoy