• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Recipes
  • Lovely Ideas
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
She Keeps a Lovely Home
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Lovely Ideas
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
×
Home » Autumn » Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles with French Vanilla Chai Glaze

Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles with French Vanilla Chai Glaze

Published: Oct 15, 2019 · Modified: Sep 20, 2022 by Genevieve Morrison · This post may contain affiliate links

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

These pumpkin spice snickerdoodles have a French vanilla chai glaze that makes these already delicious cookies even more delicious! They’re chewy and fluffy, delicate, shiny, and absolutely, perfectly spiced. Perhaps the loveliest cookie to serve with coffee on a crisp Autumn day, and definitely the very best cookie at the Halloween party!

Let’s take a traditional snickerdoodle recipe and dress it up for Fall!

7 glazed cookies on lace, beside a pumpkin gourd.
Contents hide
1 How to Make These Snickerdoodles – Step by Step
2 Common Questions
3 A Few Tips
4 A Few More Lovely Pumpkin Recipes
5 Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles with French Vanilla Chai Glaze

Heaven knows I love pumpkin spice. I don’t care if it makes me square. I have so many tasty pumpkin desserts like pumpkin cheesecake mousse, pumpkin flan, mini-pumpkin pies, and even pumpkin-spiced cocktails like this precious white rum and vanilla White Pumpkin cocktail!

October first, I go FULL PUMPKIN SPICE… until I start craving apples… and butternut squash… and every other kind of Autumn cocktail. But until then, it’s pumpkin spice snickerdoodles with my coffee, and everything else.

16 balls of sugar-coated dough on a parchment-lined baking pan.

How to Make These Snickerdoodles – Step by Step

1. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together 3 cups flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, 2 tsp. cream of tartar, 1½ tsp. pumpkin spice and ½ tsp. kosher salt. Set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup (8 oz.) softened, unsalted butter, 1 cup white granulated sugar, ½ cup brown sugar, 2 tsp. real vanilla extract, 1 egg, and 1 egg yolk.

3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.

4. Mix thoroughly with your hands until all ingredients are combined into a dough. Either place in a covered container or wrap with cellophane and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

A collage of 4 numbered images showing how to make pumpkin spice snickerdoodle batter.

5. Preheat oven to 350 F. (175 C.) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and remove the dough from the fridge. In a small bowl, mix 4 tbsp. white granulated sugar, 1 tbsp. Sugar in the Raw (optional – if not adding, simply add another tbsp. white granulated sugar) and 2 tsp. pumpkin spice. Roll 1 tbsp. of dough in your hands and coat in sugar/pumpkin spice until you have about 16 balls.

6. Place dough balls on a baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Don’t flatten them, unless you want a thinner cookie.

7. Bake for 7-12 minutes (checking the bottom of a cookie after 7 minutes to see if it’s golden brown – if not, place it back in the oven). Bake cookies in batches, and after each batch, leave them to sit for 5 minutes, then remove them from the pan to cool on a rack for 20 minutes.

8. While snickerdoodles cool, make the glaze. Add 1 teabag of Twinings French Vanilla Chai Tea to 4 oz. of hot water and let it steep for 10 minutes.

A collage of 4 numbered images showing how to make pumpkin spice snickerdoodles.

9. In a small bowl, combine 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 tbsp. French vanilla chai tea, 1 tsp. real vanilla extract and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

10. Gently glaze the cookies with a pastry brush. If you don’t have a pastry brush, you can dip them in the glaze, but make sure to let it drip off a lot of glaze, otherwise, it will be too thick. You want just a thin layer. Place cookies in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes to quickly dry the glaze.

2 numbered images showing how to glaze pumpkin spice snickerdoodles.

They will be perfectly moist and tasty for 1 week in a sealed container. After a week, they’ll start to lose their moisture, but will still be delicious until about 2 weeks when they’ll become a bit stale.

Common Questions

1. What’s pumpkin spice made of?


You may be surprised to discover that pumpkin spice doesn’t include any pumpkin at all (this fact just shocked a friend of mine to her core). It’s simply the spice that makes pumpkin taste like pumpkin pie. That wonderful Autumn mix of spices we all associate with Halloween and Thanksgiving.

If you can’t find pre-mixed pumpkin spice in your food store, simply combine 4 tsp. of ground cinnamon, 2 tsp. ground ginger, 1 tsp. ground cloves and ½ tsp. ground nutmeg.

2. Can snickerdoodles be frozen?


Freezing the cookies will, unfortunately, dry them out, however, you can freeze the cookie dough and make cookies at another time! Simply freeze the dough in cellophane after mixing. To thaw, place dough in the refrigerator overnight (or for about 8 hours) before scooping, rolling, and baking.

3. Do they need the glaze to be tasty?


Not at all! They’re incredible cookies all on their own, without the glaze… but goodness, the glaze makes them extra, EXTRA special. It’s the difference between hearing people at the Halloween party say “Now that’s a tasty snickerdoodle” and discovering guests smuggling a dozen out in their pockets.

8 baked snickerdoodles on a baking rack.

A Few Tips

1. This recipe calls for 4 kinds of sugar, but you can use only 3 if you like.

I use both white granulated sugar and brown sugar in the cookie dough, powdered sugar in the glaze, then white granulated sugar and Sugar in the Raw in the cookie coating because it gives the snickerdoodles a more interesting texture. But if you don’t want to pick up a 4th kind of sugar, you can just use white granulated sugar instead of Sugar in the Raw.

2. Don’t skip the refrigeration step!

Once your dough is done, you might be tempted to just start scooping… stop right there! Wrap that dough in cellophane or place it in a sealed container and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. It’s far too warm after it’s been mixed, and without refrigerating, you’ll just have unappetizing, deflated, flat cookie disks instead of tasty, moist, chewy pumpkin spice snickerdoodles if you put them right in the oven.

3. Ovens vary, so watch your cookies carefully while they bake.

I find that, depending on your oven, these cookies can take between 7 minutes and 12 minutes to be perfect. That’s quite a range, so give them 7 minutes, then check the bottom of one. It should be a light, golden brown.

The texture will feel REALLY soft and undercooked, even if they’re perfect. They harden on the outside and stay nice and chewy on the inside as they cool, so don’t use the texture as a gauge – just the color of the bottoms.

Fingers holding a snickerdoodle showing the brown bottom above a baking pan.
Fingers holding a bitten, glazed cookie above a pile of others.

For more inspiration, subscribe to my newsletter, and follow me on Instagram, on Pinterest, tiktok, and Facebook! And if you ever make any of my tasty drinks or treats, take a picture and tag me. I want to see!

A Few More Lovely Pumpkin Recipes

  • 2 bowls of pumpkin risotto, garnished with sage leaves, on a lace table cloth with 3 small pumpkins in the background.
    Instant Pot Pumpkin Risotto with Caramelized Onions
  • 6 carrot cupcakes on a plate in front of white pumpkins.
    Pumpkin Spice Carrot Cupcakes
  • 2 pumpkin flans on plates on a table, topped with chai whipped cream, with a small cup of coffee.
    Pumpkin Flan with Chai Whipped Cream
  • Pumpkin scones beside a small pumpkin and sunflower on a wooden board.
    Pumpkin Scones With Rum Raisins
Glazed cookies on lace.

Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles with French Vanilla Chai Glaze

These pumpkin spice snickerdoodles have a French vanilla chai glaze that makes these already delicious cookies even more delicious! They’re chewy and fluffy, delicate, shiny, and absolutely, perfectly spiced.
5 from 9 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: International
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes
Refrigeration: 30 minutes minutes
Total Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes
Servings: 40 cookies
Calories: 130kcal
Author: Genevieve Morrison

Equipment

  • large mixing bowl
  • medium mixing bowl
  • small mixing bowl
  • whisk
  • mixing spoon
  • baking sheet with rack
  • parchment paper
  • basting or pastry brush

Ingredients

For the Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles

  • 3

    cups

    flour

  • 1

    tsp.

    baking soda

  • 2

    tsp.

    cream of tartar

  • 1½

    tsp.

    pumpkin spice

  • ½

    tsp.

    kosher salt 

  • 8

    oz.

    unsalted butter

    – softened

  • 1

    cup

    white granulated sugar

  • ½

    cup

    light brown sugar

  • 2

    tsp.

    real vanilla extract

  • 1

    large

    egg

  • 1

    large

    egg yolk

For the Sugar Coating 

  • 4

    tbsp.

    white granulated sugar

  • 1

    tbsp.

    Sugar in the Raw

    – optional
  • 2

    tsp.

    pumpkin spice

For the French Vanilla Chai Glaze

  • 1

    cup

    powdered sugar

  • 2 tbsp.

    French Vanilla Chai Tea

    – I used Twining's
  • 1 tsp.

    real vanilla extract

Instructions

For the Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles

  • In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together 3 cups flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, 2 tsp. cream of tartar, 1½ tsp. pumpkin spice and ½ tsp. kosher salt. Set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup (8 oz.) softened, unsalted butter, 1 cup white granulated sugar, ½ cup brown sugar, 2 tsp. real vanilla extract, 1 egg, and 1 egg yoke. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
  • Mix thoroughly with hands until all ingredients are combined into dough. Either place in a covered container, or wrap with cellophane and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 350 F. (175 C.) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and remove the dough from the fridge. In a small bowl, mix 4 tbsp. white granulated sugar, 1 tbsp. Sugar in the Raw (optional – if not adding, simply add another tbsp. white granulated sugar) and 2 tsp. pumpkin spice. Roll 1 tbsp. of dough in your hands and coat in sugar/pumpkin spice until you have about 16 balls.
  • Place dough balls on baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake for 7-12 minutes (checking the bottom of a cookie after 7 minutes to see if it’s golden brown – if not, place it back in the oven). Bake cookies in batches, and after each batch, leave them to sit for 5 minutes, then remove them from the pan to cool on a rack for 20 minutes.

For the French Vanilla Chai Glaze

  • Add 1 tea bag of Twinings French Vanilla Chai Tea to 4 oz. of hot water and let it steep for 10 minutes.
  • In a small bowl, combine 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 tbsp. French Vanilla Chai Tea, 1 tsp. real vanilla extract and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
  • Gently glaze the cookies with a pastry brush. If you don’t have a pastry brush, you can dip them in the glaze, but make sure to let it drip off a lot of glaze, otherwise it will be too thick. You want just a thin layer. Place cookies in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes to quickly dry the glaze.

Notes

They will be perfectly moist and tasty for 1 week in a sealed container. After a week, they’ll start to lose their moisture, but will still be delicious until about 2 weeks when they’ll become a bit stale.
A Few Tips:
1. This recipe calls for 4 kinds of sugar, but you can use only 3 if you like.
I use both white granulated sugar and brown sugar in the cookie recipe, powdered sugar in the glaze, then white sugar and Sugar in the Raw in the cookie coating because it gives the snickerdoodles and more interesting texture. But if you don’t want to pick up a 4th kind of sugar, you can just use white sugar instead of Sugar in the Raw.
2. Don’t skip the refrigeration step!
Once your dough is done, you might be tempted to just start scooping… stop right there! Wrap the dough in cellophane or place it in a sealed container and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. It’s far too warm just after it’s been mixed, and without refrigerating, you’ll just have unappetizing, deflated, flat cookie disks instead of tasty pumpkin spice snickerdoodles if you put them right in the oven.
3. Ovens vary, so watch your cookies carefully.
I find that, depending on your oven, these cookies can take between 7 minutes and 12 minutes to be perfect. That’s quite a range, so give them 7 minutes, then check the bottom on one. They should be a light, golden brown. The texture will feel REALLY soft and undercooked, even if they’re perfect. They harden on the outside and stay nice and chewy on the inside as they cool, so don’t use the texture as a gauge. Just the color of the bottoms.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 130kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 62mg | Potassium: 61mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 155IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 1mg
« 5 Pretty Rose Garnishes for Cocktails, Appetizers & Entrees
10 Elegant Halloween Cocktails »
  • Facebook80
  • Twitter

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anonymous

    December 13, 2023 at 3:10 pm

    The icing is amazing!!

    Reply
    • Genevieve Morrison

      December 13, 2023 at 3:30 pm

      Thank you!! xoxo

      Reply
    • Kaitlyn

      October 02, 2024 at 12:33 am

      Loved these! I didn’t have the special tea, so I used a teaspoon of chai spice blend instead, and then some water to make up for the liquid. So yummy!

      Reply
5 from 9 votes (7 ratings without comment)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




I accept the Privacy Policy

Primary Sidebar

Hello there!

Hello there!

My name is Genevieve, and I'm just trying to be a little fancier today than I was yesterday. Sharing recipes for the creative host or hostess that are simple, elegant and colorful too!

Winner!

Awards Banner

Summer Inspiration

A cocktail garnished with a small slice of ginger on a dark table beside 2 roses.

The “Distract-A-Bee” Ginger Rose Cocktail

A purple cocktail in a tumbler on a wooden table, garnished with tropical dry and fresh flowers.

The “S.S. Minnow at Midnight” Lambrusco Cocktail

A wooden bowl of Esquites on a lace table cloth.

Esquites (Mexican Street Corn Salad)

Raspberry marbled lemon cheesecake bars on a marble table.

Beautiful Lemon and Raspberry Cheesecake Bars

A bowl of gnocchi with a title that says "A Lovely Tuscan Lunch."

A Lovely Tuscan Lunch

3 pink gin and tonic cocktails on a lace table cloth garnished with and surrounded by floral greenery and thyme, beside an egg in an egg cup.

Pretty Pink Gin & Tonics

Featured In

A list of 7 logos.

Footer

↑ back to top

Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

About

About Me

Contact

Email Me!

Copyright © 2025 She Keeps a Lovely Home

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.