Vegan Pumpkin Cookies
These soft and chewy vegan pumpkin cookies have crisp edges, puffy centers, and are packed with pumpkin puree! They are made with simple ingredients and are the perfect Fall treat.
Ingredients You’ll Need
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Notes About The Ingredients
Pumpkin puree, either canned (I used Libby’s) or homemade. I tested this recipe over and over to pack in as much pumpkin as possible to get a bold flavor without giving these cookies a cakey texture. If you want to make your own pumpkin puree at home, scroll down for some tips.
Granulated sugar helps the cookies spread and keeps them a lovely orange color, whereas light brown sugar adds depth of flavor and complements the warm spices.
Baking soda encourages the cookies to turn golden brown and spread. We’re also using baking powder to give the cookies some height so they’re not mushy from the high amount of pumpkin puree.
Reducing Pumpkin Puree
Pumpkin puree naturally contains a lot of liquid, which can make cookies cakey. However, reducing the moisture in the pumpkin makes these cookies chewier, minimizes any cakiness and intensifies the pumpkin flavor.
There are two ways to reduce the pumpkin puree:
- Cook the puree in a large saucepan over medium heat until a lot of the liquid has evaporated (pictured below).
- Blot the pumpkin between a few paper towels until the puree is thick. You can see how I did this in my pumpkin chocolate chip cookies post.
You can still make these vegan pumpkin cookies without reducing the puree. However, your dough will be very sticky and your cookies will be cakier.
Making the cookie dough
These vegan pumpkin cookies come together in one large bowl. Like many other vegan cookie recipes, all you need to do is beat the wet ingredients, then mix in the dry ingredients.
Some tips for making the cookie dough:
- Measure your flour accurately using the spoon and level method (more details are in the notes of the recipe card) or using an electric scale. If you use your measuring cup to scoop flour out of the container, it will add too much flour to the dough, which will make your cookies cakier with less spread.
- If you reduced your pumpkin puree on the stove, let the puree cool down before adding it to the butter mixture.
- Due to the high amount of pumpkin, the dough is very soft and sticky. Avoid adding more flour otherwise, your cookies will be cakey. If your dough is very sticky, let it sit at room temperature for around 30 minutes to let the dry ingredients absorb the wet ingredients.
Tips For Shaping and Baking The Cookies
As the dough is very sticky, it’s easiest to use a cookie scoop to divide the dough. After you’ve scooped the dough, you can either:
- Drop the cookie dough balls in the sugar and toss to coat. Then gently roll each scoop into a ball (pictured below). If the sugar dissolves, you can always toss the balls in sugar again.
- With slightly damp hands, gently shape the cookie dough into rough balls. Then toss them in sugar.
As the cookie dough balls are delicate, it’s easier to sprinkle the sugar on top of the balls and gently toss them rather than vigorously roll them in sugar.
TIP: To make pretty cookies like those pictured, don’t roll the cookie dough into perfect balls! Any imperfections in your cookie balls will bake into pretty cracks and bumps!
When you remove the cookies from the oven, they will be very puffy and might look like whoopie pies. In a few minutes, the cookies will deflate and beautiful cracks will form!
Making Homemade Pumpkin Puree
1. First, peel and cut your pumpkin into cubes and steam it until it’s fork-tender. OR cut your whole pumpkin in half, remove the seeds and roast the pumpkin (flat side down) until it’s soft and tender. Scoop out the flesh and discard the skin.
2. Then, use a food processor or stick blender to puree the pumpkin. Ideally, your pumpkin puree should have a similar consistency to the canned pumpkin puree in the ingredients image above.
Mix-ins and Decorations
These cookies are seriously delicious as they are! However, for extra special cookies, you can mix other ingredients into the dough such as:
- Chopped pecans or walnuts.
- Dairy-free chocolate chips (or check out my pumpkin chocolate chip cookies)
- Replace pumpkin spice with ground chai spices.
You can also top the cookies with:
- Simple powdered sugar icing, such as from my coffee cake cookies.
- Vegan cream cheese frosting, such as from my pumpkin cupcakes.
- Classic vanilla buttercream, from my vegan ginger cake. Feel free to add a dash of maple syrup or cinnamon to the buttercream for extra flavor!
Customizing These Cookies
Readers have told me that these cookies work well with King Arthur’s measure for measure gluten-free flour. However, I haven’t tested it so I can’t vouch for results.
Coconut sugar is the easiest 1:1 substitution for both granulated and brown sugar. However, it will make your cookies drier and darker in color and your cookies may not spread as much. Liquid sweeteners will make the dough very sticky so I don’t recommend it.
Pumpkin bakes differently from other fruits and vegetables (even sweet potato) due to different amounts of natural sugars, starch and moisture. However, these cookies are similar in texture to my vegan snickerdoodles, vegan ginger cookies and vegan strawberry cookies. Otherwise, you’re welcome to do some experimentation!
More Vegan Cookies
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Vegan Pumpkin Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (225g) pumpkin puree, canned or homemade, not pumpkin pie filling (see the post for making your own pumpkin puree)
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar, or more light brown sugar
- ½ cup (100g) packed light brown sugar, or more granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (170g) vegan butter, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
- 2 ½ cups (315g) all-purpose plain flour, spoon and leveled (note 1)
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, (note 2 for homemade blend)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
To coat
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar, or as needed
Instructions
Reduce the pumpkin puree:
- Blot method: Place a few sheets of paper towels on a plate or bowl. Spread the pumpkin on top and blot with extra paper towels. Stovetop method: Alternatively, add the pumpkin puree to a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir and cook until the puree has thickened then allow to cool completely. Whichever method you use, you should end up with around 3/4 cup (170g) of pumpkin puree (more puree will create cakier cookies whereas less puree will make chewier cookies).
Prepare the cookie dough:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Add both sugars and the butter to a large mixing bowl (if using a hand mixer) or the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the reduced pumpkin puree and vanilla extract. Beat until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. The dough should be very sticky and soft. If your dough is too sticky, let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes (however, I usually just go ahead with the sticky dough).
Shaping the cookies:
- Add the granulated sugar to a small bowl.
- Using a large cookie scoop, divide the dough into balls about 3 tablespoons (60g) each. Drop each ball into the sugar and gently toss it in the sugar. You can gently reshape the balls before or after tossing them in the sugar.
- Arrange the cookie dough balls on your lined baking sheets, with about 2 inches (5cm) between each. Gently flatten each ball with your fingers.
Baking and storing the cookies:
- Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes or until the edges appear cooked and the cookies have puffed up. The centers will look soft and the cookies will continue baking on the trays. When you remove the cookies from the oven, they will deflate and cracks will form on the surface. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for about 15 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Alternatively, store them in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Let the cookies come to room temperature or warm them up before enjoying again.
Notes
- To spoon and level your flour, fluff up the flour in its container, use a spoon to add flour to your measuring cup, and level it off with a knife. Using your measuring cup to scoop flour out of the container will pack in too much flour and result in cakey cookies. Alternatively, use the gram measurements afor the best results.
- To make pumpkin pie spice, combine 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves. If you don’t have any nutmeg, ginger or cloves, add more cinnamon.
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I wonder if I could use a sprouted whole wheat flour
Hi Brenda, we haven’t tried it with sprouted whole wheat flour, so can’t promise the exact result. However, whole wheat flour tends to be more absorbent than all-purpose so it might cause the cookies to spread less, be less moist and have denser, nuttier texture. Would love to hear how it turns out if you give it a go!
I tried to leave a review twice and both suddenly disappeared. Cookies are good. Need maybe a half teaspoon of salt. Refrigerate the dough for about four dozen smaller softer cookies.
Hi Alice, I’m sorry your comment disappeared – I can’t see it on my end either. Nevertheless, thanks for your feedback about the cookies!