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 gray recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Notes about the ingredients
Pumpkin puree either canned (I used Libby's) or homemade. I used as much pumpkin as possible in this cookie recipe, for extra flavor! If you want to make homemade pumpkin puree, scroll down for some tips.
Granulated sugar helps the cookies spread and keeps them a lovely orange color whereas 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 the pumpkin puree
Pumpkin puree contains a lot of liquid which can give cookies a cakey texture. 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, you just need to beat the wet ingredients, and then mix in the dry ingredients.
Some tips for making the dough:
- Measure your flour accurately using the spoon and level method (more details are in the recipe card) or using an electric scale. Using your measuring cup to scoop flour out of the container will add too much flour to the dough and make the cookies cakier and they will spread less.
- If you cooked your pumpkin puree, 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, you'll get cakey cookies. 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, I strongly recommend using 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 damp hands, gently shape the cookie dough into rough balls. Then toss them in sugar.
The cookie dough balls are delicate so it's easier to sprinkle the sugar on top of the balls and gently toss them rather than to vigorously roll them in sugar.
TIP: for very crackly cookies, don't roll the cookie dough into perfect balls. Any imperfections or cracks in your cookie balls will bake into pretty cracks!
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 form beautiful cracks!
How do I make pumpkin puree at home?
1. First, peel and cut your pumpkin into cubes and steam it until it's soft. 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. 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 sugar, 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 (95g) 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
- Pinch of salt
To coat
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar, or as needed
Instructions
Reduce the pumpkin puree:
- Place a few sheets of paper towels on a plate or bowl. Spread the pumpkin on top and blot with extra paper towels. Alternatively, add the pumpkin puree to a large saucepan over medium heat and cook until your puree has thickened. Allow the puree to cool. Whichever method you use, you should end up with around ¾ 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 the sugars and 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 in the sugar and gently toss them in the sugar. You can reshape the balls before or after tossing them in 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. Allow the cookies to 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, you can keep them in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or freezer for up to 2 months. Allow the cookies to come to room temperature or warm 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 for the best results.
- To make pumpkin pie spice, combine 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger and ¼ teaspoon ground cloves. If you don't have any nutmeg, ginger or cloves, add more cinnamon.
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Hi Anthea, thanks for a soft crisp vegan pumpkin cookie recipe! I added home cooked Seminole pumpkin and white whole wheat flour instead of AP. I added 1 1/4 cup of sugar but it still was a little too sweet for me, how can I manipulate the recipe to use only 1 cup of sugar? Thanks, Nicole
Hi Nicole, glad that you enjoyed these cookies! If you want to use less sugar, I would just flatten the cookies a little more. You might need to adjust the amount of milk, but everything would stay the same otherwise. I hope that helps!
I always wait this time of the year to cook pumpkin cookies, bread, pie. I just love the color and autumn taste. I baked these wonderful cookies and gave them as a present. They couldn’t believe they’re vegan and healthy!! 🧑🏼🍳🧑🏼🍳😃😃 (by the way I’m from México 🇲🇽)
Hi Ana, isn't Autumn baking the best?! I'm so so glad that others loved these cookies. Thanks so much for your kind feedback!
Big hit! Light and flavourful were among my family’s similar comments. I rolled the balls smaller, two-bites size … making more cookies to share😉
Hi Jolanta, I'm so thrilled that you and your family loved these cookies! I love the sound of smaller cookies too - so cute! Thanks so much for your feedback 🙂
Yum! These are super fluffy with a nice crispy bottom edge. Perfect amount of sweet.
Hi Robin, I'm so glad that you enjoyed them! Thanks so much for your feedback 🙂