Gluten Free Pumpkin Cheesecake Snickerdoodles

Gluten Free Pumpkin Cheesecake Snickerdoodles put a fun twist on a classic fall cookie. Soft, chewy pumpkin snickerdoodles are filled with a sweet and tangy cheesecake center, then rolled in spiced sugar for the perfect pumpkin spice finish. If you love pumpkin cheesecake and snickerdoodle cookies, you’re going to want to make these.

Recipe Ingredient Notes

Gluten Free Flour: I tested this recipe for Gluten Free Pumpkin Cheesecake Snickerdoodles with Bob's Red Mill 1-1 and King Arthur Measure for Measure. While both gluten free flour blends work for gluten free cookie recipes, I prefer the cookies made with Bob's Red Mill. The cookies made with King Arthur stay more compacy and spread less (also are more cakey).

Cream of Tartar: Also known as potassium bitartrate, cream of tartar gives snickerdoodles their distinctive tangy flavor. It also helps to give them their soft, chewy texture.

Canned Pumpkin: Please make sure to buy 100% canned pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling. They often sit next to each other on shelves at the grocery store and have very similar labels. As much as I love making everything from scratch, canned pumpkin is very convenient.

Pumpkin Pie Spice: Pumpkin Pie Spice is a blend of warm spices - typically cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. It gives pumpkin desserts their signature flavor and aroma.

Cream Cheese: I use full fat cream cheese in all my recipes, the one that's sold in blocks. Make sure it is at room temperature before using it in this recipe. This way it's easier to mix together with the sugar and vanilla extract.

Cheesecake Filling

The cheesecake filling comes together in no time. You can mix it with a stand mixer, hand mixer or just use a fork or spatula (That's what I use). Just make sure it is at room temperature.

1. Step 1: Combine the room temperature cream cheese, granulated sugar and vanilla extract in a small mixing bowl. With a fork or a whisk combine the ingredients until smooth. This can also be done with an electric mixer.

2. Step 2: Line a small sheet tray (small enough to fit in freezer) with parchment paper.
3. Step 3: With a small scoop, around 1 teaspoon, or two small spoon, scoop the cheesecake filling into 16 portions. Freeze the cheesecake balls until they are frozen and very firm.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Dough

Please keep in mind, the dough for the pumpkin cheesecake snickerdoodles must be refrigerated for at least 2hrs before shaping and baking Gluten Free Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies.

1. Step 1: In a small bowl combine the gluten free flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, pumpkin spice and kosher salt. Stir to combine and set aside.

2. Step 2: In the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the room temperature unsalted butter, granulated sugar and light brown sugar.
3. Step 3: At a medium speed, cream the ingredients together for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Make sure to scrape down the sides with a flexible spatula halfway through.

4. Step 4: Add the pumpkin puree, egg yolk and vanilla extract to the creamed butter sugar mixture.

5. Step 5: Mix on low speed for about 30 seconds, until fully incorporated. The mixture may look slightly broken or curdled at this stage - this is completely normal.

6. Step 6: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix to combine. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl to ensure everything is combined well

6. Step 6: Cover the mixing bowl with some plastic wrap or transfer the dough for gluten free pumpkin cheesecake snickerdoodles to an airtight container and place it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. This will make scooping and filling the gluten free cookie dough a lot easier.

How to assemble

While testing this recipe, I quickly realized that the colder the gluten free pumpkin snickerdoodle dough is, the easier it is to fill and shape the cookies.

If your kitchen is warm, I recommend keeping the scooped cookie dough in the refrigerator and working with only 4-6 dough balls at a time. This keeps the remaining dough as cold as possible while you assemble the cookies

1. Step 1: Line a sheet tray with parchment paper. You can use this to portion out the cookie dough but also place the filled cookie dough ball dough on.
2. Step 2: Using a medium cookie scoop (about 2 tablespoons), portion out the gluten free pumpkin snickerdoodle dough. Depending on the size of your scoop and how much cookie dough you snacked on, you should get 16–18 cookies.

3. Step 3: Flatten each portion of dough into a 1½- to 2-inch disk. No need to measure - just eyeball it.

4. Step 4: Place a frozen cheesecake ball in the center of the dough. Gently wrap the dough around the cheesecake filling, making sure it is completely enclosed.

5. Step 4: Roll the filled dough into a smooth ball. Make sure the cheesecake center is completely covered and no filling is peeking through.
6. Step 5: At this point you may refrigerate the filled pumpkin cheesecake snickerdoodles up to 24hrs before baking. Make sure to cover them.

Baking Instructions

Keep in mind that pumpkin adds moisture, creating steam as the cookies bake - this makes them puff up. About halfway through baking, remove the cookie sheet and tap it firmly on a towel-covered counter. This helps the puffed centers collapse, creating rippled edges and a crinkly finish. If you like repeat this once the cookies are done baking.

1. Step 1: When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Step 2: In a small bowl combine the granulated sugar and pumpkin pie spice and mix.
3. Step 3: Roll the cookie dough in the pumpkin spice sugar to coat.

4. Step 4: Arrange 6 - 8 of the cookie dough balls on the sheet tray. Gently pat down the dough balls. This will give the cookies a head start with spreading.
5. Step 5: Bake at 350F for 12-13 minutes. The cookies will be puffy.

7. Step 7: Remove the pan from the oven (make sure to close the oven door) and tap the baking sheet onto a towel-covered countertop a few times. This will help the cookies to spread and deflate. And, get a crinkle topping. (If you prefer puffy, cakey cookies, clearly skip this step)
8. Step 8: Use a round cookie cutter slightly larger than the cookies to give them a neat shape.

9. Step 9: Allow the Gluten Free Pumpkin Cheesecake Snickerdoodles to cool on the sheet tray for 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely. Sprinkle them with some additional pumpkin spice sugar if you like.

How to Store and Freeze Pumpkin Cheesecake Snickerdoodles

Because these cookies have a cheesecake filling, they should be stored in the refrigerator. Let the cookies cool completely, then place them in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. For the best texture, let the cookies sit at room temperature for about 15–20 minutes before serving.

To freeze: Place the completely cooled pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies on a baking sheet and freeze until firm. Transfer them to a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag, placing parchment paper between layers if needed. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw the cookies overnight in the refrigerator, then let them sit at room temperature for 15–20 minutes before serving.

What's the pan banging technique?

Pumpkin Cookies tend to bake up puffy and tall. Pumpkin is full of water, which adds steam during baking. That steam puffs the cookies up.

Since I prefer my gluten free pumpkin cheesecake snickerdoodle cookies flat and chewy instead of puffy and cakey, I fall back on the pan banging technique to gently deflate them and create those perfectly crinkled tops.

About halfway through baking, carefully remove the cookie sheet from the oven and tap it firmly against a towel-covered countertop. This forces the puffed-up centers to collapse, creating rippled edges and a beautiful crinkle finish. You can repeat this step once or twice more after returning the cookies to the oven for maximum effect.

Note about Salt in my Recipes

I use Diamond Kosher Crystal Salt in all of my recipes unless otherwise stated. If use use a different brand or kind of salt in your kitchen please adjust accordingly since some salts can be saltier. If you use Morton’s Kosher Salt please be aware that their salt granules are smaller in size, denser, and crunchier and twice as salty.

Baking in grams

I share my recipes in grams and by weight since baking by weight is the most accurate way to bake. Digital Scales are very affordable and easy to use. You can purchase them on Amazon for less than a set of measuring cups. For small amounts under 10 grams, I like to use this Precision Pocket Scale. Measuring cups are very inaccurate which can cause significant errors when it comes to gluten-free baking or baking in general. Especially since I bake with gluten-free flours which weigh differently than “regular” flours. I do provide some ingredients like spices and leavening agents in measuring spoons. To learn more about Baking with a digital scale, make sure to check out my post about Baking by weight.

Note about Ovens and Oven Temperatures

All my recipes are tested and developed with a conventional oven. I always bake my baked goods on the rack placed in the MIDDLE of my oven. This way the heat coming from the bottom will not burn my baked goods.

If you are baking with convection (fan-forced), please adjust the recipes accordingly. Convection oven can cause baked goods to dry out quickly and still be raw inside. Since takes at least 15-20 minutes for a standard American Oven to be fully preheated. I highly recommend investing in an Oven Thermometer.

Substitutions and Modifications

Any dietary or ingredient modifications/substitutions to this recipe may alter the end result in appearance and taste. I test my recipes several times as published in this post and The Gluten Free Austrian Blog is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe you find on our website.