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During the summer break of 2024, I excelled at both meal planning and resourceful recipe creation. During this time, I created some amazing soft sourdough pumpkin snickerdoodles. I can’t stop thinking about these pumpkin sourdough cookies! They are the perfect nostalgic soft and chewy snickerdoodle, but with a flavor upgrade. This is a recipe I can not wait to share!
So, as mentioned, I take longer breaks over the summer. When my kids are home from school for periods, it’s hard to focus on writing and all the things! And I suppose I need the pause as well. During the 2024 school year, I focused on getting as much content on the blog as possible. And now, I want to take time to polish and deliver quality content.
Reducing Food Waste: Pumpkin Surplus
I mentioned resourceful recipe creation. This sourdough snickerdoodle recipe bloomed from a fixation on creating a cookie using frozen pumpkin puree.
A few years ago, I took our beautiful decorative pumpkins after November, roasted and stored them in our freezer. Well, those decorative pumpkins were huge. And they created so much pumpkin puree! I mean, they took up almost an entire shelf in my freezer. My freezer is not big, so I must organize and fill it well. To fill an entire shelf with pumpkin puree was a big commitment.
I told myself I would do all kinds of wonderful pumpkin things with it over the next year. I did not want to fathom wasting gorgeous pumpkin puree. (As a side note, now that I have a thriving compost pile, I should probably donate some to it.)
Try as I may, I still have a ton of pumpkin puree in my freezer.
I have created a spectacular sourdough pumpkin coffee cake recipe with the pumpkin. We made the coffee cake often from fall to spring. I made pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pie, and even delicious pumpkin smoothies. I also have plans to craft a facial mask with it. I add it to soups and stews like my Texas-style chili. I also use it in risotto and ravioli.
All Things Pumpkin
How I Created These Pumpkin Sourdough Snickerdoodles
I came up with these pumpkin sourdough cookies while trying to develop an after-school snack for my kids. Chocolate chip cookies are usually my go-to cookies. But sometimes I’m not in the mood for chocolate. Not that I am baking these for myself, right!?
As soon as I thought of pumpkin and cookie together, I thought, “cinnamon.” And then, poof – the notion of warm, soft sourdough pumpkin snickerdoodles started to dance around in my head.
Curating Pumpkin Snickerdoodles via AI
I’ve mentioned my love of AI in my kitchen endeavors before. Instead of scrounging the internet for a recipe to tweak, I went to ChatGPT instead. My chatbot allowed me to pitch my specific, curated idea. I prompted it for a soft, sourdough pumpkin snickerdoodle cookie recipe. And then I went back and forth until the ingredients, quantities, and flavor sounded right. If you’re intrigued and want to learn more, buy The Modern Cook: Conversational Cooking with AI book! It’s inspirational and will truly change your cooking!
Ingredients for Sourdough Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Pumpkin, Sourdough & Soft Wheat
I wanted these cookies to be reminiscent of a typical snickerdoodle cookie we all love. Warm, soft, and cinnamon-y with a slight crisp to the edge, but pillowy and chewy inside. I knew pumpkin would keep things moist and pair with cinnamon snickerdoodles.
When allowing these pumpkin sourdough cookies to ferment, the sourdough picks up the pumpkin flavor. Fermentation enhances the cookie texture and provides the cookies’ lift and intrigue. Of course, you don’t have to ferment these cookies. Feel free to make, chill, and bake to your liking.
These cookies are still delicious if you don’t have a sourdough starter. Replace the sourdough amount with equal amounts of flour and liquid.
Soft wheat is optional as well. The wheat gives the pumpkin sourdough snickerdoodles fiber, flavor, and depth. It also accentuates their chewiness.
Buckwheat Flour
Buckwheat can impart an umami flavor to baked goods. I knew earthy buckwheat would complement the pumpkin and spices well. Too much of it would make an entirely different type of cookie, so I only added a little. Again, feel free to leave this flour out if you don’t have it. But next time you’re at the store, grab some!
Olive Oil & Egg Yolk
I use extra virgin olive oil in most of my baking recipes. The fruity, sometimes spicy, intense oil pairs well with the pumpkin, cinnamon, and buckwheat additions. And the oil keeps these sourdough pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies nice and soft.
The water content in sourdough and fresh pumpkin is high. So, I used two egg yolks rather than one whole egg. If you choose not to use sourdough, use one whole egg.
Soft Sourdough Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookie Recipe
I’m so glad I followed my whims and spent time crafting these soft sourdough pumpkin snickerdoodles. They turned out amazing. I highly recommend eating these pumpkin sourdough cookies warm. Or room temp. Or cold. And with a cup of coffee or milk.
They would be perfect for a casual dinner party dessert, after-school snack, late-night snack, or even a Halloween party!
My kids loved these pumpkin sourdough cookies. So many moans and groans were made.
Happy baking!
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 120 g sourdough discard 1/2 cup
- 120 g pumpkin purée 1/2 cup(I used fresh; do not use pumpkin pie filling)
- 100 g cane sugar 1/2 cup
- 50 g brown sugar 1/4 cup
- 80 ml extra virgin olive oil 1/3 cup
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 200 g all-purpose flour 1 3/4 cups
- 30 g buckwheat flour 1/4 cup (optional)
- 60 g soft wheat flour 1/2 cup (or use more all-purpose)
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
For the cinnamon-sugar coating:
- 50 g granulated sugar 1/2 cup
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
Dough Prep:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sourdough discard, pumpkin purée, granulated sugar, brown sugar, olive oil (or butter), egg yolks, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, soft wheat flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until a soft dough forms.
- Cover the bowl and let the dough rest at room temperature for 2-3 hours, allowing sourdough fermentation to develop. This step is optional.
Chill the Dough:
- After resting, refrigerate the dough for 2-3 hours or overnight.
Bake the Cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl for the coating.
- Scoop roughly 2 tablespoon portions of dough and roll into balls. Coat each ball in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Place the dough balls on the baking sheet and gently flatten them.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are set but the centers remain soft.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.
Notes
- This dough is sticky! Roll it gently and expect a little mess. If it looks too wet after mixing and you cannot roll it into balls, add a bit more all-purpose flour. It should barely come together, but you should be able to somewhat form it into a ball.
- If you omit the sourdough, use 1 whole egg instead of 2 egg yolks.
- Feel free to omit the buckwheat. If you have it though, definitely use it! The earthy flavor it imparts compliments the pumpkin and spices so well.
- Adjust the spice level to taste, or substitute pumpkin spice for a more intense fall flavor.
- For a crisper cookie, bake 12-14 minutes instead of 10-12.
Nutrition
More Holiday Baking Ideas
If these soft sourdough pumpkin snickerdoodles got you thinking about holiday baking–I’ve got some more seasonal baking ideas for you below.
