White Chocolate Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

The holidays are upon us, dear readers, and let’s be honest, one of the best things about holiday gatherings is the food! I come from a large family, and our Thanksgiving feast covers every surface of my aunt’s kitchen, dining room, and even the laundry room! 

To feed so many mouths, everyone contributes with a dish or two or five, even those — like myself — who are coming in from out of town. This means that I have to prepare my dishes in advance, which comes with a unique set of challenges itself. I don’t want to serve my loved ones something packaged or stale; what’s a traveling mama to do?

Enter these incredible White Chocolate Pumpkin Snickerdoodles from Sally’s Baking Addiction.

These are not just cookies, my friend. These are gifts from the Good Lord himself. They have every element needed for holiday goodness and gluttony: pumpkin, because fall, of course; white chocolate, because creamy delicious sweetness; chewy perfection, OMG; sweet, crispy outside, thanks cinnamon-sugar!; and they actually get better a few days after baking. That makes these White Chocolate Pumpkin Snickerdoodles the perfect make-ahead dessert for your Thanksgiving table, Christmas party, or heck, just keep ’em in a Tupperware on your kitchen counter — I’m telling you, you will never again want to live your life without these cookies. 

White Chocolate Pumpkin Snickerdoodles (from Sally’s Baking Addiction)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup light or dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 Tbs. pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon, divided
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup white chocolate chips or chunks

Instructions:

1. Melt the butter in the microwave or on the stovetop. 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.
2. In a large bowl, toss together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, and the 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 nor 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 three days. Chilling is required!
3. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
4. Roll the dough into balls, about 1 1/2 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 onto baking sheets. Slightly flatten the dough balls because the cookies will only slightly spread in the oven.
5. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. The cookies will look very soft and underbaked, but resist the urge to keep adding time on the clock. Keeping them in the oven for longer may dry them out. Remove cookies from the oven and press a few more white chocolate chips onto the tops, if desired. (This just makes them look pretty.)
6. 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. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. 

Do you have a favorite holiday baked goods recipe? Share with us by leaving a comment and let us know how much you love these White Chocolate Pumpkin Snickerdoodles!