Pumpkin Snickerdoodles - Sweetness & Spice & Everything Nice

Today was a busy day here. I worked most of the day on Thanksgiving dinner prep. I made my stuffing bread to make grain free stuffing and chopped lots of celery and onions for my stuffing and other various casseroles. I sliced up and cooked the squash for my squash casserole; cooked the green beans for my green bean casserole; roasted sweet potatoes to mash; made pumpkin custard cups and also managed to create a new recipe for Pumpkin Snickerdoodles! I wanted something else "pumpkiny" to have for Thanksgiving. I still have lots to do tomorrow but feel like I made a significant dent in my meal preparation today. 

These cookies are soft and have a wonderful texture. A snickerdoodle is a type of cinnamon cookie. Cream of tartar adds a very slight tang to them that separates them from basic sugar cookies. Traditional snickerdoodles are soft cookies with an ever so slight chewiness but not as much as a gingersnap. These snickerdoodles also have a bit of pumpkin added which complements all the spices. To help create a different texture and enhance the pumpkin and spice flavors, I added 1 teaspoon of blackstrap molasses (optional) which yields a similar flavor that brown sugar would add if it were used. The amount I added is so small that it doesn't increase carbs or sugar much at all with only 1 teaspoon distributed between the entire batch of cookies (it can be omitted if desired). I also added a bit of xanthum gum for texture. If you prefer not to use it, you can omit it as well. I chose not to make the cookies overly sweet but if you prefer them a little sweeter, taste your dough and adjust the sweetness accordingly. These cookies taste best when completely cooled...and the texture is also best when cooled. Otherwise when warm, they are simply a soft cookie. I kept them uncovered for a couple of hours and they actually were better after sitting for a while. I snapped a few photos and included the recipe below. Enjoy!

Dough is scooped onto the cookie sheet

Dough has been rolled between palms until smooth and in "cinnamon sugar"

Fresh out of the oven

BOOM!

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Makes about 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups blanched almond flour
2 tablespoons coconut flour
1 teaspoon xanthum gum
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup confectioners style Swerve sweetener (or powdered sweetener equivalent)
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) butter, softened
1 teaspoon blackstrap molasses, optional
1 egg
1/4 cup PLUS 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons granular Swerve sweetener (or other granular sweetener equivalent)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, coconut flour, xanthum gum, cream of tartar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and ginger until combined. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and confectioners sweetener together with a hand mixer on low speed until combined. Add molasses, egg, pumpkin puree, and vanilla and beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add dry ingredients, one third at a time, beating until combined after each addition. If dough is too thick for hand mixer, finish combining by hand with a wooden spoon. Cover dough and refrigerate; chill 1 to 2 hours or until firm. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. While oven is preheating, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons granular sweetener and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon together. Using a 1 tablespoon retractable cookie scoop, scoop small balls of dough, approximately 1-inch in diameter, onto prepared baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart. Roll each ball of dough between palms to smooth out, then roll in cinnamon sweetener mixture and place back on baking sheet. Bake 14-15 minutes (do not overcook). Cookies will be soft when done. After removing from oven, pat down slightly with back of spoon. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.