Name: Pumpkin spice snickerdoodles
Ingredients: 4 tsp ground cinnamon; 2 tsp ground ginger; ¼ tsp ground cloves; 1 tsp ground nutmeg; 50g demerara sugar; 340g plain flour; 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 1 tsp cream of tartar; 250g unsalted butter, at room temperature; 300g caster sugar; flaked salt; 1 tsp vanilla bean paste; 1 egg, lightly beaten

Baking Autumn

Makes 22

Prep 15 min

Cook 50 min

Chill 1 hr

Snickerdoodles are hard not to love at any time of the year: they’re slightly cakey in the centre, crisp at the edges, cracked on top and rolled in cinnamon sugar; they’re also great as the base for an ice-cream sandwich. Here, we’ve given them an autumnal, pumpkin spice twist. The cookies keep in a sealed jar for up to a week, and can also be baked straight from frozen, in which case add a minute to the baking time.

Ingredients

FOR THE PUMPKIN SPICE MIX
4 tsp	ground cinnamon
2 tsp	ground ginger
¼ tsp	ground cloves
1 tsp	ground nutmeg
50g	demerara sugar
FOR THE SNICKERDOODLE DOUGH
340g	plain flour
1 tsp	bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp	cream of tartar
250g	unsalted butter, at room temperature
300g	caster sugar
	flaked salt
1 tsp	vanilla bean paste
1	egg, lightly beaten

Method

First make the pumpkin spice mix. Put the cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg in a small bowl, spoon two teaspoons of the mix into a large bowl, add the flour, bicarb and cream of tartar, and set aside. Add the sugar to the remaining spice mix in the small bowl and set that aside, too.
Now for the dough. Put the butter, sugar and half a teaspoon of salt in the bowl of a free-standing mixer with the paddle attachment in place. Mix on a medium-high speed for 10 minutes, until light and fluffy, then add the vanilla and egg, and continue mixing on a medium-high speed for one minute, until everything is well incorporated. With the motor running, add the flour mixture in three batches, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go. Scrape the dough to the bottom of the bowl, making sure there are no bits stuck to the sides, then cover and refrigerate for an hour, until firm and rollable.
Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F. Divide the dough into 40g pieces and roll into firm balls: you should end up with 22. One at a time, roll the balls in the spice and sugar mixture, to coat well (if it doesn’t stick, warm the balls slightly in your hands first). Lay the balls on a large oven tray lined with greaseproof paper, spacing them out well apart – they will spread a lot while baking, so leave at least 5cm between each ball, and if need be use two trays and/or bake them in batches.
Bake for nine minutes for a gooier cookie and up to 12 for a firmer one, then remove, transfer to a rack to cool and serve warm or at room temperature.