Sourdough Pumpkin Maple Cookies

Pumpkin and maple are a perfect fall flavor combo that come together in these chewy Sourdough Pumpkin Maple Cookies.

The sourdough discard pumpkin cookies are made real pumpkin puree, brown butter, warming pumpkin pie spices, maple syrup, and rolled in cinnamon sugar.

The cookies stay chewy and moist for days and store extremely well. You can even make or freeze the batter in advance, so you can have sourdough pumpkin cookies on a whim.

The recipe walks through how to keep these cookies chewy (there’s an unexpected and unconventional technique!) and all of my ingredient recommendations and possible substitutions. These cookies are easy to make and I know you’re going to love making them this fall!

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👍 Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Made with real pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice (or pumpkin pie spices/warming spices)
• Chewy texture for days
• No fancy equipment needed to make- just a bowl, spatula, and whisk.
• Can make the dough ahead and rest in the refrigerator to bake later (can even freeze them!).
• Store well and keep for a week

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🔍 Tips for Making Sourdough Pumpkin Cookies

• It may sound unorthodox, but to keep the cookies flat and chewy, press down on them after baking. It’s normal if they puff up some during baking, but flattening them while warm will keep them chewy and not cakey! I learned this technique from this Black Sesame Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.
• Let the cookie dough rest and chill for at least 4 hours before baking. This allows the dough to hydrate, lets the flavors meld, and makes scooping easier. I do this for many cookie recipes like my Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Cookies.
• Because sourdough discard is 50% water, browning the butter, using only an egg yolk, and patting the pumpkin puree dry helps remove some of the extra liquid and moisture from the recipe.
• If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, you can make your own with a mélange of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves.
• Finally, when you mix the cookie dough, only mix until the flour is hydrated and no more. Overmixing will lead to more gluten development and a less tender cookie.

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🛠 Tools Needed

You don’t need any fancy equipment to make sourdough pumpkin cookies, but I list my tool recommendations below so you’ll have the most success!

• Baking scale
  • Ingredients like flour and sourdough starter weigh differently from person to person when measured by volume. For the best results, I recommend using a baking or kitchen scale.
• Whisk & Spatula
• Large cookie scoop (3 TBS, #20 cookie scoop)
  • Optional, but helpful. A cookie scoop will help you portion out even-sized cookies. This recipe makes about twenty 45g cookies. Alternatively, you can use a large spoon and weigh out the dough.
• Half-sheet pans lined with parchment paper

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🛒 Ingredients Needed

See below for my ingredient recommendations and possible substitutions.

• All-purpose flour
  • If you use whole wheat flour, the cookies will not spread as much and may be denser, but they will also have a more robust and hearty flavor.
• Baking soda
  • Helps the cookies spread and brown.
• Salt
• Pumpkin pie spice
  • You can find pumpkin pie spice at most grocery stores, or you can make your own with a combination of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. At the most basic level, use mostly cinnamon and ¼ tsp of another spice, and you’ll get a similar-tasting result!
• Pumpkin puree
  • I like using Libby’s canned pumpkin which is 100% pumpkin puree in my recipes. It’s consistent, orange, and works well. But you can make your own pumpkin at home, too, if you prefer.
  • Blot the puree with paper towels to help remove some of the moisture.
• Egg Yolk
  • I don’t use the full egg in order to reduce some of the moisture in the recipe. If you want an eggless recipe, just remove the egg yolk completely and the cookies will still turn out well.
• Unsalted butter
  • Browning the butter adds a caramel flavor to the cookies, enhances the sweetness, and removes some extra water.
• Maple syrup
  • Only use real maple syrup in this recipe, not maple-flavored syrup.
  • I recommend dark, robust maple syrup for most baking recipes, including the filling for my Sourdough Pumpkin Whoopie Pies for the most maple flavor.
• Light brown sugar
  • Contributes to the sweetness, acidity, spreading, and chewy texture of the cookies.
• Sourdough discard (or active starter)
  • Sourdough discard is unfed sourdough starter that you can use in sourdough discard recipes. When I feed my starter, I store the discard in the refrigerator so there’s no waste. Learn how to make sourdough starter from scratch and my top sourdough starter tips.
• Vanilla extract
  • Vanilla brings out more depth in these cookies so the pumpkin and spices shines even more!
• Granulated sugar
  • For rolling the cookies in before baking.

Variations and Other Inclusions

• Chocolate chips or toffee: Add ½ cup of chocolate chips or toffee morsels to the cookies (about 90g).
• Toasted nuts: For some crunch, add ½ cup of chopped, toasted pecans, walnuts, or other nuts.
• Candied ginger: a few TBS of candied ginger is a nice, zingy addition that goes well with pumpkin! I use it in my Sourdough Zucchini Bread too.
• Cream cheese morsels: It may be going overboard some, but cream cheese morsels are a fun addition that pair well with the pumpkin and maple flavors. It’ll taste similar to my Sourdough Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins.

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🎃 How to Make Sourdough Pumpkin Maple Cookies

Follow this visual recipe guide as you make these sourdough pumpkin maple cookies. It includes additional tips and photos to help you throughout the process.

1. Brown the Butter

Browning butter adds a caramel, nutty flavor to baked goods and is one of the easiest ways to elevate your baking! I use it in many recipes, including Brown Butter Sourdough Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, Sourdough Oatmeal Cream Pies, and the frosting for my Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls.

To brown the butter, place two sticks of unsalted butter in a small saucepan or skillet (preferably with a light-colored bottom so it’s easy to see when it starts to brown).

Heat over medium heat, stirring often with a spatula. After a few minutes, it will melt and begin to bubble and foam rapidly.

Keep an eye on it constantly as it can burn quickly! Keep stirring, and in a couple of more minutes, the milk solids will start to brown and the butter will take on a fragrant, popcorn-like aroma.

Remove from the heat and pour the brown butter into a large mixing bowl to cool for at least 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, blot the pumpkin puree in a small bowl with paper towels to remove some of the extra moisture.

2. Mix the Dry Ingredients

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, salt, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spices.

Set aside as you mix your wet ingredients.

3. Mix the Wet Ingredients

To the bowl of cooled brown butter, pour in the blotted pumpkin puree, egg yolk, vanilla extract, maple syrup, light brown sugar (break up any clumps before adding), and sourdough discard.

Whisk together until you have a thick and gooey pumpkin mixture with no clumps of sugar remaining.

4. Mix the Cookie Dough

Dump the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients. Then, use a spatula to mix the dough together just until the flour is hydrated.

Don’t overmix, or you’ll get a tougher and denser cookie.

5. Rest & Chill the Dough

At this point, the batter is too soft and wet to roll out.

Chilling the batter for at least a few hours will allow the flour to hydrate further, let the flavors meld, make portioning easier, and allow you to bake on your own schedule.

Cover and transfer the bowl of dough to the refrigerator to chill for at least a few hours and up to a couple of days in the refrigerator.

6. Portion and Roll in Sugar

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC) with a rack in the middle.

Combine the granulated sugar and ½ tsp of pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.

Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Using a large cookie scoop or spoon, portion out 20 large cookies (about 3 TBS or 45g each). Then, roll the cookies in the bowl of cinnamon sugar and space them a few inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.

Before baking, I like to add another sprinkle of sugar on top of the cookies.

7. Bake

Bake the cookies one pan at a time in the center rack of the oven for 12-14 minutes until the cookies are puffed up in the centers and the edges brown slightly and set.

When the cookies come out of the oven, press down on them with a spatula or the palm of your hand (just be careful if they’re hot). This will help them spread and keep the centers gooey and chewy!

Finally, transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

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How to Store

These homemade sourdough pumpkin cookies store very well due to the moisture content of the pumpkin puree, maple syrup, and fermented qualities of sourdough discard.

I’ve been able to store these pumpkin cookies in an airtight container for up to a week! Store the cookies on top of each other so they don’t bend or fall apart. I like storing them in reusable deli containers.

For freezing, I recommend freezing the portioned dough before baking for up to a few months and keeping in the frozen balls in a freezer-safe bag or container. Then, thaw the portioned cookies overnight in the refrigerator and bake them following the same instructions above.

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❓ FAQs:

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Other Sourdough Fall Recipes You May Enjoy:

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