Go Back

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodle Cookies

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodle Cookies with a classic cinnamon-sugar coating and a tender, crinkled surface baked at 375°F. These cookies use a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend (with xanthan gum) and extra-dry pumpkin puree for the right snickerdoodle texture.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 32 minutes
Servings: 28 cookies
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 120
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Gluten-free all-purpose flour blend (with xanthan gum)
  • 2.75 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour blend (with xanthan gum) Use a blend that includes xanthan gum for cookie structure.
Cream of tartar
  • 2 tsp cream of tartar
Baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking soda
Cinnamon
  • 2 tsp cinnamon Measure for the dough; additional cinnamon goes into the rolling mix.
Pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice Use ground spice blend for the dough and rolling mix.
Nutmeg
  • 0.25 tsp nutmeg
Salt
  • 0.5 tsp salt
Unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened Soften until spreadable for creaming.
Granulated sugar
  • 1.5 cup granulated sugar Used for dough sweetness and also part of the rolling mix.
Egg
  • 1 egg
Pumpkin puree (blotted extremely dry)
  • 0.33 cup pumpkin puree (blotted extremely dry) Blot very dry so GF cookies don’t turn cakey or spread too much.
Vanilla
  • 1 tsp vanilla
For rolling: cinnamon-sugar pumpkin spice mixture
  • 0.33 cup sugar Sugar for rolling.
  • 2 tsp cinnamon Cinnamon for rolling.
  • 0.25 tsp pumpkin pie spice Pumpkin pie spice for rolling.

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Preheat and prepare
  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F and line baking sheets with parchment or a silicone mat (visual cue: sheets ready and flat).
  2. Blot the pumpkin puree extremely dry; this is especially important for gluten-free cookies (visual cue: puree looks thick, not wet or glossy).
Make the cookie dough
  1. Beat the softened butter and granulated sugar until very fluffy (visual cue: lighter in color and noticeably airy).
  2. Beat in the egg, then mix in the blotted pumpkin puree and vanilla (visual cue: batter looks smooth and unified).
  3. Fold in the gluten-free flour blend, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, and salt (visual cue: no dry streaks remain).
Roll and bake
  1. Mix the rolling spices in a shallow bowl using the sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice (visual cue: evenly speckled cinnamon-sugar).
  2. Scoop about 1 1/2 tablespoon balls, then roll generously in the cinnamon spice sugar (visual cue: each ball is fully coated).
  3. Bake for 10–12 minutes at 375°F until the edges look set and the tops look crinkled (visual cue: crackled crinkle surface forms).

Notes

Pro tip: blot the pumpkin puree very dry before mixing—this helps gluten-free snickerdoodles bake up properly and keeps the crinkle surface from collapsing. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days; freeze baked cookies in a sealed bag for up to 2 months and thaw at room temperature. For dairy-free: replace butter with a 1:1 plant-based butter and cream as directed.