These soft & chewy Vegan Pumpkin Cookies are a healthier twist on a classic! Packed with warm, fall flavors and made with no butter, oil, or refined sugar. (Vegan, gluten-free, refined oil-free.)
These soft-baked pumpkin cookies are a healthy twist on a classic favorite! They're so cozy, delicious, and made with signature fall flavors like pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice. (Yum!)
The texture is soft and chewy, and the flavors are delightfully balanced. Not overly sweet, and just the right amount of warm, welcoming spice.
They're a perfect fall treat and great for snacks or a healthy dessert.
Plus you can enjoy them plain or drizzle them with sweet icing on top - your choice! They're delicious both ways.
Ingredients for Vegan Pumpkin Cookies
For this recipe, you'll mix together then bake in the oven:
- Oat flour: Be sure to use gluten-free if needed. It can be helpful to measure flour ingredients by weight for better precision. (Toggle the button to metric in the recipe card below to show these specific amounts.)
- Almond flour: I use super-fine, blanched almond flour. Blanched means the dark brown skins of the almonds have been removed.
- Ground flaxseed: This is also known as flax meal. Just a couple tablespoons acts as an egg replacer and binder in baked goods, waffles, etc. (Either brown or golden flax works great.)
- Pumpkin pie spice: This is such a warm blend of cozy flavors. Pumpkin spice generally combines ingredients like cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. But it can also contain allspice, cardamom, black pepper, etc.
- Cornstarch: This helps give the cookies a soft, tender texture and fluffy lift.
- Baking powder: I use Bob's Red Mill double acting baking powder with no added aluminum. Be sure yours is fresh and not expired for proper rising.
- Baking soda
- Salt: I use fine grain sea salt for this recipe.
- Coconut sugar: This is a refined-free sugar with a caramel-like taste. You can try swapping in cane sugar, or light or dark brown sugar instead but I haven't tested these.
- Pumpkin puree: I use canned pumpkin puree which comes in a 15-ounce can. (Be sure to get 100% pure pumpkin, not the canned pumpkin pie mix which has added sugar and spices.)
- Almond butter
- Vanilla extract: I use pure vanilla extract.
Customizing
Flour: You can experiment as desired but I tested this recipe so many times, and found I prefer the oat flour + almond flour combination best. (But I always love hearing your thoughts if you try something else!) When I used gluten-free all-purpose flour (Bob's Red Mill brand) the taste was off and the cookies were too dense. I also tried all oat flour, and while the cookies were tasty, they were a bit more dense that way as well.
Chocolate variation: Stir in a quarter cup (more or less) of vegan chocolate chips or mini chips to the cookie dough. Or simply press a few into the top of the formed cookies before baking.
Nuts: You can add crushed pecans or walnuts on top of the cookies before baking as well. (Or stir some of them into the batter.)
Maple extract: For more maple flavor, you could add a tiny splash of maple extract to the wet ingredients. (I haven't tested this, but am thinking it could be tasty!)
Helpful Tools
Hand mixer: I use a handheld electric mixer on low speed to combine the batter in a large bowl, but you can use a stand mixer if you prefer.
Cookie scoop: I highly recommend these for baking cookies! I use a medium (#40) 2-tablespoon scoop with thumb lever release. These are really helpful in creating uniform cookie balls. This recipe yields 18 small cookies if using this scoop.
Parchment paper: Use this to line your baking sheet for easy, non-stick baking (and quick clean-up)! Or use a Silpat baking mat instead.
Serving
Frosting: If you're feeling a little indulgent, I included a recipe for my quick & easy powdered sugar icing in the recipe notes. (I love these cookies both with and without the icing!) But of course feel free to add your own dairy-free frosting, cream cheese frosting, or other glaze to these cookies. If you want a refined sugar-free option, use a cashew glaze sweetened with pure maple syrup or dates.
Storing
Allow the cookies to cool completely, then store in a sealed container. I find they keep for about 3-4 days at room temperature. (Anything past that I'm not sure because they never last that long!) You could also store them in the fridge if desired. I haven't tested freezing these cookies, so I'm not sure how well that would work.
For more inspiration, also browse all vegan fall recipes or dessert recipes.
Vegan Pumpkin Cookies (Gluten-Free!)
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 1 cup oat flour
- 3/4 cup almond flour (blanched)
- 2 Tbsp. ground flax
- 1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp. cornstarch
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
Wet ingredients:
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (canned)
- 2 Tbsp. almond butter
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or Silpat). Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, add all dry ingredients. Stir together and set aside.
- In a separate large mixing bowl, add all wet ingredients. Using a hand mixer, cream together the wet ingredients for about 20 seconds until smooth.
- With the mixer running, slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop, begin scooping out dough balls. (I get 18 cookies using the 2-Tbsp. cookie scoop.) Lightly wet your hands to prevent sticking and roll the dough ball in your palms. Then press to slightly flatten until the cookies are about 2" wide. Place cookies on the lined baking sheet. (They don't expand too much during baking, so I'm able to fit all 18 cookies on a large baking sheet.)
- Place in the oven and bake for about 14-16 minutes. (Times can slightly vary based on your oven and size of your cookies.)
- Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before moving them. (They'll be soft when they come out of the oven, but gradually firm up as they cool.) Then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling. At this point you can enjoy them plain or add an icing or glaze if you wish.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container. I find they keep for about 3-4 days at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving (Estimate)
Sodium content: This is omitted as I cannot provide an accurate number. I encourage you to calculate your own to provide a much more precise reading based on the exact ingredients, brands, and amounts you're using.
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Jennifer says
Happy Fall Kaitlin! 🍂 Today was the perfect fall day to try these cookies. I followed your recipe exactly but added about 1/16 tsp ground clove along with the pumpkin spice. I find my mix needs that extra boost from the clove (plus I love the smell). These came out perfectly - perfect tasty morsels of warm autumnal spices in bite-size cookies. Delicious! I didn't add the glaze as I think they are awesome as is. I highly recommend these cookies!!
Kaitlin says
Jennifer! It's amazing to hear from you - you've been on my mind the past couple weeks. Absolutely thrilled to hear you're moving around the kitchen and thanks for giving these a try! So glad they were enjoyed and great call with the extra pinch of clove. I'm not a baker by nature, so I ended up testing these about a dozen times to get them "just right". 🙂 Thank you for letting me know they worked out for you!
J says
Favorite cookies