Are you one of those people who goes crazy for pumpkin spice everything every fall?
If so, you are going to love these Sourdough Pumpkin Spice Cookies. They are so soft and are filled with earthy pumpkin puree and the perfect amount of delicious warm spices.
This quick one-bowl recipe is so simple and easy to make.
Adding pumpkin puree to these cookies eliminates the need for eggs and adds tons of moisture.
One of my favorite ways to use up extra sourdough discard is to add it to cookie dough! Here are a few of my favorites: Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies, Sourdough Gingerbread Cookies, Sourdough Shortbread Cookies, Sourdough Snickerdoodles, Sourdough Sugar Cookies, Sourdough Ginger Molasses Cookies, Sourdough Discard Peanut Butter Cookies, and thick Sourdough Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.
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If you really love pumpkin try one of these other recipes: Pork and Pumpkin Stew, Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cheesecake, Pumpkin Pecan Cobbler, Pumpkin Spice Simple Syrup, and Sourdough Pumpkin Bread.
Recipe Ingredients
You will need the following ingredients to make these soft Sourdough Discard Pumpkin Cookies.
Unsalted Butter: Room temperature butter is easier to cream together with the sugar. I use unsalted butter. If you only have salted butter, reduce the salt to ½ teaspoon. There is about ¼ teaspoon of salt per stick of salted butter.
Brown Sugar and Granulated White Sugar: This recipe uses both types of sugar. The brown sugar adds moisture while the white sugar helps the cookie dough spread while it is baking.
Sourdough Discard: Don't worry your cookies won't be sour. This is plenty of sugar to eliminate the sourdough flavor. Bring your sourdough discard to room temperature before adding it to the recipe. It will be easier to incorporate. Active starter or sourdough discard can be used for this recipe.
Pro Sourdough Tip: Keep a glass jar in your refrigerator to store your sourdough discard. Continue adding to it until you have enough to make your chosen sourdough discard recipe.
Pumpkin Puree: Make sure you are using pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie mix. The pumpkin pie mix has additional spices added in. If you only have pumpkin pie mix then I would suggest not adding any additional spices.
Bread Flour: I typically use bread flour rather than all-purpose flour in my cookie recipes. Bread flour helps to create a chewier cookie. For accuracy, the best way to measure the flour is by using a digital kitchen scale.
Tip: If you don't have a digital scale, spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it with the back of a butter knife. Try not to compress the flour into the measuring cup.
Salt: I add at least a pinch of salt to all of my recipes. Salt complements and intensifies the other flavors. For all of my recipes, I use Morton Kosher Salt which packs more densely than Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. If you are using Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt you will want to double the amount of salt you add.
Spices: These cookies are filled with lots of different spices; cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. You could also substitute 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice for the spices.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Are you new to sourdough? I have plenty of information to help you on your sourdough journey.
Substitutions and Variations
- Sourdough Discard: You can use either sourdough discard or active sourdough starter.
- Pumpkin Puree: If you don't have plain pumpkin puree then you can substitute pumpkin pie filling. I would suggest not adding any additional spices since they are already in the pumpkin pie filling.
- If you don't have bread flour, you can substitute regular all-purpose flour. Because of its lower protein content, cookies made with all-purpose flour will be crispier.
- Spices: These cookies are filled with lots of different spices; cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. You could also substitute 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice for the spices.
Step by Step Directions
Step 1: In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the softened butter, and sugars with the paddle attachment on medium speed until smooth.
Step 2: Lower the mixer speed to low speed and add the sourdough discard, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract. Mix until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds.
Step 3: Add the bread flour, kosher salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda and cloves. Mix on low speed until just combined.
Wrap the dough in wax paper and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
Step 4: Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
In a small bowl stir together the ingredients for the cinnamon-sugar coating.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it into balls, about 2 tablespoons of dough each.
Roll the cookie dough balls in the cinnamon-sugar mixture coating thoroughly and place them on the baking sheet about two inches apart.
Tip: Be careful to not over mix. Over-mixing will create tough cookies.
Tip: The chill time allows the butter in the dough to firm up and allows the flour to fully hydrate. Which prevents the cookies from spreading too much.
Tip: To quickly portion out the dough use a knife to cut the chilled dough into smaller pieces.
Step 5: Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned but the center is still soft.
Allow the cookies to cool for at least 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Tip: Use a light-colored cookie sheet. Dark cookie sheets absorb too much heat and can cause your cookies to overbake. Check out this post from Handle the Heat to see a comparison of cookies baked on different types of cookie sheets.
Tip: For crispier cookies increase the bake time by 2-3 minutes.
Make-Ahead, Storage, and Freezing Instructions
Make-Ahead: Mix up the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Chilling cookie dough keeps it from spreading too much as it bakes by hydrating the flour and solidifying the butter.
Storing: Baked Sourdough Pumpkin Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for two to three weeks.
Freezing Cookie Dough: Unbaked cookie dough balls can be frozen for up to 3 months. I always have a batch of Condensed Milk Chocolate Chip Cookie dough in my freezer for when a cookie craving strikes.
After rolling the dough into balls place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until solid. Once frozen, remove them from the baking sheet and place them in a zip-top bag. Label with the date and contents.
When you are ready to bake, remove the cookie dough balls from the freezer, let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, preheat the oven, and then roll them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Freezing Baked Cookies: Baked cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Once the cookies have cooled completely, place them on a sheet pan and freeze until solid. Transfer the frozen cookies to an airtight container or zip-top bag. Label with the date and contents.
Thaw frozen cookies overnight in the refrigerator or on the counter.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can. Sourdough starter is usually fluffier than sourdough discard so it will measure differently. The most accurate way to the sourdough starter is with a kitchen scale.
Possibly. One of the best things about canned pumpkin puree is that its moisture level is always consistent. Homemade pumpkin puree may be wetter or drier which will affect the consistency of the dough.
Make sure you chill the dough for at least 2-3 hours to firm up the butter. This will help prevent the dough from spreading too much.
You will also want to make sure you accurately measure the flour. To little flour will allow the cookies to spread too much.
Expert Tips
- Use a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients rather than the cup measurements. In baking accuracy matters. If you don't have one this is my favorite kitchen scale, because the display pulls out making it easy to see even if you are using a large bowl.
- Make sure all of the ingredients are at room temperature. This ensures the ingredients mix evenly and will give you the best final texture.
- Don't over-mix the dough once the sourdough discard and flour have been added. Over-mixing will create too much gluten and cause the cookies to be tough.
- You must chill the dough for at least 2-3 hours before baking. Because we browned the butter the fats need to re-solidify. Chilling also allows the flour to absorb more liquid further solidifying the dough. If the dough is baked without chilling it first, the cookies will spread while baking and become thin, hard, and crispy.
- To quickly portion out the dough use a knife to cut the chilled dough into smaller pieces.
- For a crispier cookie, bake them for slightly longer (about 2-3 minutes more).
- Baking times for all recipes are only suggestions. The actual baking time will vary depending on your oven. It is helpful to know your oven and worth purchasing an inexpensive oven thermometer. Oven temperatures can vary as much as 50 degrees plus or minus.
- Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. These pumpkin cookies are soft and fluffy when they first come out of the oven. They may fall apart if you try to move them too soon.
More Sourdough Discard Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Sourdough Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter room-temperature
- 1 cup brown sugar light or datk
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- ¾ cup sourdough discard room-temperature
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 ½ cups bread flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- ¼ cup granulated white sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the softened butter, and sugars with the paddle attachment on medium speed until smooth.
- Lower the mixer speed to low speed and add the sourdough discard, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract. Mix until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds.
- Add the bread flour, kosher salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda and cloves. Mix on low speed until just combined.
- Wrap the dough in wax paper and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).In a small bowl stir together the ingredients for the cinnamon-sugar coating. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it into balls, about 2 tablespoons of dough each.Roll the cookie dough balls in the cinnamon-sugar mixture coating thoroughly and place them on the baking sheet about two inches apart.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned but the center is still soft.Allow the cookies to cool for at least 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Use a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients rather than the cup measurements. In baking accuracy matters. If you don't have one this is my favorite kitchen scale, because the display pulls out making it easy to see even if you are using a large bowl.
- Make sure all of the ingredients are at room temperature. This ensures the ingredients mix evenly and will give you the best final texture.
- Don't over-mix the dough once the sourdough discard and flour has been added. Over-mixing will create too much gluten and cause the cookies to be tough.
- You must chill the dough for at least 2-3 hours before baking. Because we browned the butter the fats need to re-solidify. Chilling also allows the flour to absorb more liquid further solidifying the dough. If the dough is baked without chilling it first, the cookies will spread while baking and become thin, hard, and crispy.
- To quickly portion out the dough use a knife to cut the chilled dough into smaller pieces.
- For a crispier cookie, bake them for slightly longer (about 2-3 minutes more).
- Baking times for all recipes are only suggestions. The actual baking time will vary depending on your oven. It is helpful to know your oven and worth purchasing an inexpensive oven thermometer. Oven temperatures can vary as much as 50 degrees plus or minus.
- Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. These pumpkin cookies are soft and fluffy when they first come out of the oven. They may fall apart if you try to move them too soon.
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