Pumpkin Snickerdoodles with Chai
If you were to wrap up fall in a single cookie you would have these vegan pumpkin snickerdoodles with chai straight out of the oven.
If you were to wrap up all the things you love about Fall, toss them in cinnamon sugar, and throw it all in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 8-10 minutes, you’d have these Pumpkin Snickerdoodles cookies.
Now that it’s cold(ish), grey, and rainy, (yay!) every afternoon, during this sweet spot which my kids are simultaneously occupied, I find myself pacing my kitchen dreaming up cookie recipes. Or doughnuts. Or muffins. It’s like I suddenly cannot have enough warm sweets around the house. And it’s not because I want to eat them (although that part is pretty fun) but there is something unequivocal to the calmness I find in baking.
And any calmness I can find these days, I submerge myself in fully.
It took me three batches (which neither I nor my neighbors minded at all) to perfect these Pumpkin Snickerdoodles cookies, but once I did…oh, my. These cookies are everything you love about snickdoodles – the crunchy outside giving way to a soft chewy inside, the slight tang of cream of tartar lingering a little bit after your last bite. But mixed with pumpkin, black tea, and all your favorite Autumal spices, these Pumpkin Snickerdoodles cookies are a little taste of nirvana.
If you were to wrap up fall in a single cookie you would have these vegan pumpkin snickerdoodles with chai straight out of the oven.
Cuisine: Vegan
Keyword: Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Servings: 18 cookies
Calories: 126 kcal
Author: Sarah McMinn
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon black tea, about 2 bags
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 cup 1 stick non-dairy butter (I used Earth Balance)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon
- In a food processor combine all the dry ingredients and pulse until well blended.
- In a stand-up mixer beat the non-dairy butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the pumpkin puree and beat to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. It will look curdled at this point which is fine.
- Add the flour mixture in two batches, scraping down the sides in between. Mix until it comes together. Do not over-mix.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Roll dough into balls about 1 tablespoon big, toss in cinnamon sugar. Place on the baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. They should look slightly underdone but will continue to harden as they cool.
- Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
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Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a 12-year (and counting) vegan, professionally trained photographer, former pastry chef, author of the 
Jennie says
December 21, 2018 at 7:19 PMSo when you say black tea, you mean the actual tea leaves, like opened up and taken out of a tea bag???
Sarah says
December 23, 2018 at 2:32 PMYes, that’s correct.
daisy skinner says
December 9, 2018 at 6:20 AMHi! Just found your site. I have a box of Chai tea bags; could i sub for the black tea and just omit the spices?
OR, should I put a bit of the spices in with the Chai tea bags?
Going to make these today or tomorrow. thank you
daisy
Sarah says
December 10, 2018 at 9:52 AMI would still have some of the spices as the chai tea bags won’t be as strong. Start with perhaps half of the spices
Laurel says
October 28, 2018 at 7:17 PMWow! These were excellent! I used 1 black tea bag and opened it to pour in instead of 2. I used coconut sugar for the sugar. So good! Very light and fluffy. Thanks!
Karolyn says
September 23, 2018 at 2:27 PMThese are so yummy! I made one batch already and I’ve eaten most of them. Now I am making another batch to share at a potluck and a ladies Bible Study.
Heidi Knowlton says
February 5, 2018 at 6:47 PMThese look wonderful and I want to make them. However, I live in Mexico and it is hard to find the appropriate non-dairy butter in stick form. My choices for fat for the cookies would be Smart Balance buttery spread, coconut oil, or Crisco. Which should I use or should I use some combination? As a side note, that 1 small container of Smart Balance buttery spread cost me $13 here. We pay a lot for exported items so I want to use the spread carefully and not waste it on something that might not turn out. Thank you.
Sarah says
February 7, 2018 at 10:04 AMI think Smart Balance would be the best option for these cookies but sounds like that’s very expensive! You could try coconut oil (not melted). I’m not sure how to adjust for that exactly without having tried it myself.
lisa says
December 22, 2017 at 9:14 AMI doubled the recipe using fresh pumpkin puree and coconut oil, not melted and whoa…way too soft dough and the cookies just didnt make cookies, ANYONE FOR FLAT PANCAKES? WHOOPS! I could’ve used another whole cup of flour at least and probably a vegan egg to hold it all together.
Sarah says
December 23, 2017 at 8:08 AMWithout more detail, I can’t help you to figure out what went wrong. It’s not the result anyone else has gotten so it seems you must have gotten some of the measurements mixed up when you doubled the recipe.
Heidi Knowlton says
February 5, 2018 at 8:45 PMIf you used fresh puree from a pumpkin you cooked, it probably had more liquid than what comes in the canned version of pumpkin puree. I’ve tried using fresh pumpkin puree in other recipes and they also just didn’t come out as tasty as using the can, again I think from the higher liquid content. Maybe it could be strained in cheesecloth to get some of the water out.
Lorie says
December 12, 2018 at 11:00 PMI’ve used fresh pumpkin pure as well you can bake it in foil so it does not absurd the water or rub a touch of any oil on the whole piece leave the peel on put it upside down bake then scrape the pumpkin out and let cool before adding to recipe
Nicole Theresa says
September 24, 2017 at 4:35 PMI made these tonight and they were INCREDIBLE. My whole family (non of whom are vegan) absolutely loved them. There’s a perfect bit of crunch on the outside, giving way to a super fluffy inside. Perfect blend of sweetness and spice. The only change to the recipe I made was omitting the black tea. I had my doubts because since becoming vegan a year ago, I haven’t been able to find many cookie recipes that are actually good. These were perfect. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Nancy says
September 29, 2016 at 6:07 PMDefinitely a keeper. I am not vegan but try to find recipes to make for my special vegan friends. These cookies are delicious. Mine turned out more flat as the picture but I think it is due to using spreadable vegan butter as I made the recipe exactly as printed. Thanks for a great recipe.
Nancy says
September 29, 2016 at 10:46 AMI would like to make these today and have a question re. the black tea. Do you mean the dry tea leaves from the bags. Sorry to be dense but I have never used tea leaves in a recipe before.
Sarah says
September 29, 2016 at 10:47 AMYep, that’s what I mean! You could also omit it. That wouldn’t do anything to the texture, just for flavor.
Courtney says
October 28, 2015 at 8:56 AMThese are so amazing!! My friend introduced me to them and we can’t get enough. My very picky two year old would eat the whole batch if I let him! Theser remind me of all things fall in a cookie form. Thanks for the amazing recipe!!
Camille says
January 19, 2015 at 3:16 PMI have baked many many batches of cookies in my day, and these are THE. BEST. Pumpkin chai snickerdoodles, you have ruined me for all other baked goods!!
Sarah says
January 19, 2015 at 7:07 PMI’m glad you liked them so much, Camille. Thanks for taking the time to tell me.
Katie @ Produce On Parade says
October 30, 2014 at 12:42 PMOh yum! I could definitely go for one of these right now! What a great combo, pumpkin and snickerdoodles!
Sarah says
October 30, 2014 at 1:01 PMThanks! Its kinda perfect for fall, right?
Ida Lupines says
October 23, 2014 at 8:42 AMI am definitely making these!
Lisa says
October 22, 2014 at 11:38 AMThese look amazing–and I love your description of fall being all wrapped up in these baked treats. I’m making some. Today.
Meredith @ Unexpectedly Magnificent says
October 22, 2014 at 8:19 AMOoh, YUM! I love the idea of combining pumpkin and snickerdoodles. Two of my favorite things! 🙂
Ceara @ Ceara's Kitchen says
October 21, 2014 at 11:19 PMI cannot wait to try these. I am exactly like you – when I need a moment of calm or need to de-stress. The first thing I want to do is get in the kitchen and bake something. The entire process gets me lost in my thoughts and works wonders on making me feel calm again!
And these snickerdoodles – they look amazing! I cannot wait to try them this Fall! Pinned 🙂
Sarah says
October 22, 2014 at 8:10 AMI’m glad you understand 🙂
Hetal says
October 21, 2014 at 7:11 PMI can practically smell these right now. They look delicious! 🙂
Emma says
October 20, 2014 at 10:30 AMPerfectly pillowy! Who doesn’t love those autumn spices?!
I know what you mean about baking being soothing but lately whenever I bake I make a big mess in the process which to me is pretty stressful! It’s only once everything is cleared away and I’m tucking into whatever I’ve pulled out of the oven that calm is restored 🙂