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Sweet, warming, and delicious White Chocolate Chai Pumpkin Snickerdoodles. Homemade snickerdoodle cookies, made with spiced pumpkin butter, and swirled with white chocolate chips. Each cookie dough ball is rolled through chai spiced sugar just before being baked to perfection. Each bite is soft and chewy with sweet notes of vanilla and chai.
Cookie season is very much upon us and I’m starting a little early. Because let’s be honest, you can already feel the holiday craze. Cookies are needed!
It’s true, I was just talking to my mom and we’re both shocked at how soon the world seems to have moved into all things Christmas. What happened to Thanksgiving?
Either way, things are busy and some nights just need a good cookie. I made these with Thanksgiving in mind, but tonight’s a perfect night to test out the recipe, you know?
These are the perfect November cookie!
I made them with my favorite pumpkin butter and then swirled white chocolate chips into the cookie dough for a sweet holiday touch that feels extra special.
And then, chai spice. I know some might not consider these “chai” because there’s no tea involved. But my spice blend uses all the same spices found in a warm cup of chai. It’s the perfect spice blend and is so delicious when you roll these into pumpkin snickerdoodles.
The steps
Thankfully, if you want to bake these up tonight…the process is simple.
As usual with most cookies, start out by beating the butter and sugar together. I love to use dark brown sugar for an added depth of flavor. Next, beat in the pumpkin butter, lots of vanilla, and an egg.
Next comes the dry ingredients. Once you mix everything in you’ll have yummy pumpkin snickerdoodle cookie dough.
To make the dough even more delicious stir in a handful of white chocolate chips. They add a sweet specialness to every bite.
Moving onto the chai spiced sugar. This really is the heart of the recipe, and where a good amount of the warming flavors come from.
The spices include lots of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, all-spice, and a tiny pinch of black pepper. Just add sugar to the mix to make it perfectly sweet! It’s cinnamon sugar, just kicked up a notch.
Roll each cookie dough ball through the sugar, then place them on a baking sheet, flatten the dough balls down a bit and bake!
Everything about these cookies is delicious. They’re sweet, chewy, soft, cinnamony, and all things cozy…my favorite word this time of year.
If you eat them warm, they really will melt in your mouth.
These aren’t your average cookies, but they’re such a nice switch up! Bake them up tonight to enjoy, share them with family on Thanksgiving, and maybe even package them up in your Christmas cookie boxes. They really are loved by all!
Looking for other sweet pumpkin recipes? Here are my favorites:
Pumpkin Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies
Pumpkin Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Vanilla Chai Pumpkin Latte Cupcakes
Cream Cheese Swirled Cinnamon Pumpkin Butter Bread
Lastly, if you make these White Chocolate Chai Pumpkin Snickerdoodles, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
White Chocolate Chai Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Servings: 18 cookies
Calories Per Serving: 166 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) salted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup pumpkin butter (see note)
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (see note)
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
Chai Sugar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon all-spice
- 1 tiny pinch black pepper
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until combined. Add the pumpkin butter, egg, and vanilla and beat until combined. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Fold in the white chocolate.3. To make the chai spice sugar, combine all ingredients in a shallow bowl. 4. Roll the dough into rounded 1 tablespoon size balls and then roll through the chai sugar. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Using the palm of your hand, gently flatten the dough balls down a little. 5. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and tap the baking sheet on the counter 2 times to flatten them down. Return to the oven and bake another 2-3 minutes or until the cookies are just beginning to set on the edges, but still doughy in the center. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet. They will continue to cook slightly as they sit on the baking sheet. Eat warm or let cool and then store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
Pumpkin Butter: if you don’t have pumpkin butter, use 1/3 cup canned pumpkin puree, but blot away any excess water/moisture with a paper towel to remove the added moisture.
Flour: if the dough is feeling too sticky to touch, add 2-6 tablespoons additional flour.
This post was originally published on November 9, 2021
any suggestions for substitutes if we don’t have cardamom on hand?
Hi Shannon! I would use allspice, or a mixture of ginger and cinnamon! 🙂 xTieghan
These were great! Very easy to make and will pair nicely with eggnog later in the season. Will add more white choco next time, just for personal preference. My husband loved them and we have a few snickerdoodle recipes we enjoy, so this made the cut!
Hey! Thank you so much for trying out this recipe, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Happy Monday ? xTieghan
Delicious! Went amazingly with my ginger tea 🙂 Will make again for sure
Hey Sue! Thank you so much for trying out this recipe, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Happy Monday ? xTieghan
These came out a little thicker and fluffier than yours. How can I fix that next time? A chewier batch is better. I did add a bit of extra flour as the dough was pretty sticky.
Hi Danielle! The extra flour could be giving it the fluffier texture! xTieghan
These are about to become a staple in our house! Delicious.
Hey Mandy! Thank you so much for trying out this recipe, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Happy Monday ? xTieghan
I just made these & they are SO good. I got a little carried away and actually made three batches (I just used one batch of the chai sugar for three batches of dough).
They’re the perfect fall cookie!
Would these freeze well in dough form?
Hi Maggie! I think these would freeze perfectly in dough form. I would just roll them and freeze them without the chai sugar and then when you get them out to bake make sure they thaw out and then roll them in the chai sugar. I freeze cookie dough all the time! Good luck!
Hey Maggie! Thank you so much for trying out this recipe, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! The dough should freeze great! Happy Monday ? xTieghan
Hi there! i was thinking of doubling/tripling this recipe as well, wondering if you just tripled the measurements without any issue or if you ended up making each batch separately?
Hey Shelbee,
For best results, I would do separate batches. I hope you love the recipe, let me know how it turns out! xTieghan
My question is about the coffee mug. Where did you get it? It’s so cute.
Hi there! I’m so sorry, the mug is from anthropologie years ago! xTieghan
Can cookie butter be a substitute for pumpkin butter? We don’t like pumpkin
I used apple butter and it worked the exact same, not sure if that helps! (:
Hi there! I haven’t tried this with cookie butter, but it should work fine! 🙂 xxTieghan
I’d love to make these for thanksgiving but my mother in law is allergic to gluten. Is there any substitute you recommend for flour?
Hi – Bob’s RedMill makes “1 to 1” gluten free baking flour that’s a good substitute. Make sure you buy that variety and not his regular gluten free flour. It works well!
Hi there! Yes, I would use Bob’s Red Mill Flour 🙂 xxTieghan
I love the flavors and wonderful aroma but had the same issue as some other reviewers. The dough was very sticky and difficult to work with, even after adding the extra flour and chilling in the fridge. I was disappointed that the cookies turned out cakey, not gooey/chewy at all, and looked nothing like the photos. I’m not sure where I went wrong… Maybe I over-mixed the dough or baked them a minute too long? I’ll probably try making them once more, but it would be helpful to know what to do differently next time.
These look amazing!! Would applesauce/applebutter work here instead of pumpkin butter?
Hi Sarah! Yes, that should work just fine! 🙂 xxTieghan
My family isn’t sure about white chocolate but it looks so good in this recipe! Will def give it a try but my sister won’t eat it unless it is dark…Do you think it would also work with dark chocolate? Or should I just leave it out?
Hi Florence! I was wondering about the dark chocolate as well. I’m not sure if it will be strange with the chai and pumpkin flavors. If you try it let me know!
Hey there! Yes, this should work great with dark chocolate! 🙂 xxTieghan
So excited to make these! My husband is allergic to regular (not white) chocolate and loves snickerdoodles, so this will be a great surprise for him to come home to during the week ?
Hey Kaley! I hope you love this recipe! xxTieghan
I’m in New Zealand and would love to make these but we cant buy pumpkin butter or tinned pumpkin. Can I boil pumpkin and puree it with a dollop of butter?
Hi Pali,
She actually has a pumpkin butter recipe. I made it a few weeks ago to make her pumpkin bread. Super easy and takes only 30 minutes on the stove. You would probably be able to substitute apple butter as well.
Hi there! I would use a homemade pumpkin puree recipe! This one looks good:
https://www.loveandlemons.com/how-to-make-pumpkin-puree/
Best of luck! xxTieghan
My house smells fantastic because of these right now! I doubled the recipe, used a 3 Tbs and wound up with 25 or so cookies, and they’re fantastic!
Hi Micaela, I’m so happy you enjoyed these cookies! xxTieghan
Soooo good! The ultimate snickerdoodle cookie.
Hey! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂 xxTieghan