Packed with the warm comforting flavors of fall, these sourdough pumpkin maple snickerdoodles are a perfect fall twist on a classic snickerdoodle cookie. Soft and chewy, coated in sweet sugar cinnamon, and topped with a maple glaze.
Inspiration of these sourdough pumpkin maple snickerdoodles
I created the easiest, softest, most delicious pumpkin snickerdoodle recipe but if you know me, you know that I love all things sourdough. It got me thinking, how could I incorporate sourdough discard into this cookie? Then I began working on this new cookie recipe and now I get to share it with you!
It is next level with browned butter, sourdough discard for depth of flavor and texture, and a hint of maple. PLUS I added a maple glaze to go on top for an extra touch of flavor.
Brown butter FAQs
What is brown butter? Brown butter is simply just butter, melted down to a golden amber color with some browned flecks in it. By cooking butter, it provides a warm, nutty flavor that enhances any baked good.
How do I make brown butter? All you need is a shallow skillet or saucepan, a whisk, and a stovetop. The entire process can be done in 5 steps:
- Melting – In a shallow saucepan/ skillet over medium heat on the stove top, melt down the butter.
- Bubbling – Once the butter is fully melted, it’ll begin to bubble slightly. Remember to occasionally stir. Be patience during this step- this step takes the longest.
- Foaming – The bubbles will begin to multiply and turn into a soft foam at the top of the melted butter. It will be difficult to see what’s underneath because of the foam so you will need to whisk consistently at this point. Once the foam forms, the browning happens VERY quickly so don’t look away!
- Browning – While whisking constantly, the butter will turn golden brown. As you stir, you’ll see milk solids settling at the bottom of the pan as well. When these turn a light brown, take the pan off the heat and keep whisking. The heat from the pan will continue to brown the milk solids, creating a deep amber color, which is what we are aiming for!
- Cooling – After browning, pour the butter into a glass jar or heat-resistant container to cool. Don’t discard the dark bits at the bottom—they’re packed with flavor!
How long does it take to brown butter? The cooking time depends on the size and shape of the pan. A smaller, deeper pan will take longer (15-20 minutes), while a shallow pan will be quicker (10 minutes). The more spread out the butter is, the faster it will brown.
Timing is key: The longer you cook it, the stronger the nutty flavor becomes. I aim for a golden-brown color with a few flecks, but avoid overcooking it, which can make it taste bitter. If you accidentally overcook it, you can strain out some of the browned bits to reduce the burnt taste.
Heat of butter in a recipe: Make sure when baking with brown butter that it’s NOT piping hot; the trick is to cool your butter before using it. If the butter is too hot, the butter can affect the sugar and other ingredients in a recipe, causing them to melt or dissolve too quickly.
How to make these snickerdoodles fool-proof crowd winning every time
Measuring ingredients correctly: The most common pitfall with baking is people not properly measuring by not using a scale. If you like to measure by volume (measuring cups and spoons), here are some tips to be successful in measuring.
- Flour: fluff your flour in the bowl or container where it is stored, spoon in the flour into the dry measuring cup (making sure not to shake or tap the cup), and level with something flat or straight like a straight edge spatula. Shaking, scooping, or packing the flour will give you too much flour and leave you with a really dry cookie.
- Sugar: scoop and level
- Brown Sugar: make sure to pack in the brown sugar into the dry measuring cup and level it. You know you did it right when you tip it over to pour it out- it should hold the shape of the measuring cup you measured with.
- Eggs: crack eggs in a separate bowl so that way if you get a bad egg or you break a shell piece into the eggs, it will be easier to start over or get that pesky egg shell out.
Using the correct pumpkin filling: If you didn’t know it already, using the pumpkin puree that the recipe creator suggests (like Libby’s) is what you should use for that recipe. Each brand’s pumpkin puree has different water content, texture, color, etc. So if you decide to use a different brand, it can’t be guaranteed that the baked product will turn out the way it was intended. For my recipes, I use Libby’s pumpkin puree, I personally like the flavor and color it gives all my baked goods!
On Instagram, I talked about Libby’s vs an off brand!
Use cookie scoops: This cookie scoop is really the perfect size. It makes larger cookies, without being crazy jumbo like Crumbl. It is my go-to and it’s also the scoop I use to fill my muffin tins too. Dual purpose! This size is going to give you that perfect “chew to outside crisp” ratio!
Properly use sourdough discard: When wanting to use discard as an adder to unleavened baked goods (brownies, cookies, pancakes), I recommend following these guidelines:
- Remove equal parts liquid & flour to replace equivalent of starter. ex: if adding 100 g starter, remove 50 g liquid + 50 g flour from recipe amounts.
- Amount of starter to add depends on how big the recipe is. I usually start with adding ~100 g starter for every 2 cups of flour called for.
- Anytime a recipe calls for greek yogurt or sour cream, you can usually sub in starter 1:1.
Chill time: These cookies need to be chilled for at least 30 minutes in the fridge to help it set up properly. During this chilling time, the flour soaks up the liquid ingredients more, leaving you with a less grainy texture. This chill time also helps cool down your butter as well so your cookies spread less while in the oven.
Can I make this dough in advance? Yes! The dough will be fresh for up to 5 days in the fridge, or you can freeze the individual dough balls as well making it easy to pull out, thaw, and bake.
Try these other recipes this fall
Pumpkin Streusel Bread (with brown sugar maple glaze)
Caramel Apple Pecan Sticky Buns
or here is a list of my Best Fall Baking Recipes
Sourdough Pumpkin Maple Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 113 g. (1 c.) unsalted butter browned
- 100 g. (1/2 c.) granulated sugar
- 230 g. (1 c.) brown sugar
- 125 g. (~1 c.) sourdough starter discard (unfed)
- 80 g. (1/3 c.) Libby’s pumpkin puree
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 3 tbsp. pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (see notes)
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 420 g. (3 1/2 c.) all purpose flour
Rolling Sugar
- 100 g. (1/2 c.) granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp. cinnamon
Glaze
- 113 g. (1 c.) powdered sugar
- 2-3 tbsp. maple syrup
- ~1 tbsp. Cream or milk till consistency is as a glaze
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla bean paste optional
Instructions
- Brown the butter by heating up in a small sauce pan or skillet over the stove for about 6-10 minutes until golden brown flecks appear through out the butter. Transfer to another container to quickly cool. (You can also place in fridge or freezer to expedite cooling.)
- Once butter is still liquid but cooled down, place in a bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, or large bowl with a hand mixer.
- Add white and brown sugar. Mix together for 1 minute.
- Add sourdough starter and pumpkin puree. Mix together until just combined.
- Add egg, egg yolk, pure maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Mix until just combined.
- Finally add dry ingredients – pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour. Mix until just combined.
- The dough will be pretty sticky. Scoop into dough balls on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone mat. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
- While chilling, preheat your oven to 350 F.
- Once firmed up a bit, roll the balls of dough into your cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake right away or chill until ready to bake.
- Bake for about 8-12 minutes until edges are set and centers look mostly done.
- Pull out and keep on pan for 5 minutes. Keep in mind it will continue to slowly finish baking on the pan as it cools.
- While cooling, whisk together the glaze. Drizzle on cookies and enjoy!
- Cookies are soft enough they can even be made day before. Will keep fresh 3-4 days. You can also freeze the dough or cookies.
Notes
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
