Light and crispy gluten-free pumpkin spice cookies are a must-make Fall cookie. They’re perfectly spiced and topped with a creamy, pumpkin-y icing. You’ll be making these crowd pleasing, allergen-friendly cookies on repeat.
As the creator of an online dairy-free and gluten-free baking school, I know how difficult it is to find delicious gluten free baked goods that are just as delicious as conventionally made treats. I guarantee these Pumpkin Cookies are sure to please the entire family.
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Is it even fall without pumpkin desserts? Pumpkin recipes are the perfect welcome to this cozy season and the Heal Me Delicious library is full of delicious gluten free pumpkin desserts. Check out some of my other Fall favorites for gluten-free pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, grain-free pumpkin scones, pumpkin banana muffins, and my gluten-free and dairy-free pumpkin pie.
If you enjoy my gluten-free sugar cookies or my strawberry cookies you are going to love this pumpkin spice variation. While many pumpkin cookies are chewy and soft, these are light and crispy with a subtle pumpkin flavour. They’re easy to make with just a couple bowls, and don’t require any specialized ingredients.
To keep the cookies crispy, there is no pumpkin puree in the cookie batter itself. Rather, the cookies include a homemade pumpkin spice mixture. A blend of cinnamon for natural sweetness, ground cloves and ginger for a bit of spice and zest, and nutmeg (or mace for AIP) to round the flavors off with a slightly nutty, warm taste. The cookies are iced with a vegan pumpkin buttercream-style frosting which uses pumpkin puree for a beautiful warm color and flavor.
They’re easy to make with just a couple bowls, and don’t require any specialized ingredients.
Full Recipe Ingredients
- Cassava flour
- Tapioca starch
- Baking soda
- Sea salt – I never make a sweet recipe without salt. Salt is key for balancing out the sweetness and bringing together flavors!
- Pumpkin Spice – This is where that pumpkin feel really comes from in this recipe. A blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, powdered ginger and ground cloves provides those comforting warm notes characteristic of Fall and pumpkin season.
- Coconut oil – if you want to keep these pumpkin cookies coconut-free, you can substitute it for solid palm shortening.
- Maple syrup
- Vanilla
- Dairy free cream cheese – I like the kite hill brand. if you want to keep these cookies autoimmune paleo (AIP) compliant, you can substitute palm shortening here
- Pumpkin puree – you can use canned pumpkin puree, but ensure it’s 100% pumpkin like this one here. Many canned varieties are actually pumpkin pie filling that are already spiced and sweetened with refined sugar. Alternatively, you can steam or roast pumpkin to make make your own. Learn how to make homemade pumpkin puree here.
How to Make Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Step 1: Prep the Oven
First, preheat the oven to 350F.
Step 2: Make the Cookie Dough
Combine the dry cookie dough ingredients in a large bowl. Then fold in the wet ingredients.
Next, use your hands to bring the dough together into a ball.
Step 3: Roll Out then Chill the Dough
On parchment paper, roll out the dough ball into a rectangle a minimum of 1/4-inch thick. Refrigerate dough for 5-7 minutes.
Step 4: Cut out cookies.
Use a cookie cutter of your choice (any size and shape) to cut out the cookies.
Step 5: Bake cookies for 11-12 minutes
Step 6: Make Icing
While cookies bake, make the vegan pumpkin buttercream frosting.
Step 7: Let Cool
Ensure the cookies cool completely before handling!
Step 8: Ice and decorate
Frost and decorate cookies with the pumpkin icing and a sprinkle of cinnamon or cinnamon sugar.
Expert Tips and Tricks
- The cookie dough should be rolled out to no less than 1/4-inch thickness.
- Be mindful of your chill-time. The purpose of chilling the dough is so that it is not as soft and breakable, but over-chilling will result in stiff dough that will also crack. If your dough over-chills:
- Allow it to warm up a bit before using the cookie cutter.
- Use fingers to smooth over cracks and bring the dough back together.
- Ensure cookies are all the same thickness so they bake evenly.
- Allow the cookies cool fully before handling or icing or they will crack/crumble.
- Once removed from the oven, leave the cookies on the baking sheet for several minutes. Then gently transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Wet ingredients in the frosting like the pumpkin purée and palm shortening/dairy-free cream cheese or vegan butter should be at room temperature rather than very cold, so they mix easily and evenly.
- The pumpkin frosting doesn’t harden much once it’s set. Lay these out flat on a plate or dish to serve rather than stacking them or they will stick together.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can make the dough the day before using. Keep the ball of dough wrapped in plastic and stored in the fridge.
Allow to chill before rolling it out and cutting into cookies (no need to re-chill).
Alternatively, you can freeze the dough wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in a freezer bag for up to 30 days. Allow the dough to come to thaw in the fridge for 12 hours before using.
These crispy pumpkin sugar cookies can be stored (un-frosted) in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days.
If frosted, store in the fridge for up to a week.
These crispy pumpkin cookies can be stored in the freezer in a freezer bag for up to three months. Allow to thaw in the fridge for 12 hrs before serving.
Check the thickness of your cookies. The cookie dough should be rolled out to no less than 1/4-inch thickness. This is important to ensure the cookies don’t crack during or post baking.
If hope you love these Gluten Free Pumpkin Cookies. If you do, I would appreciate it if you would give the recipe a rating and review. Be sure to snap a picture of the finished product and share it with me on Instagram by tagging @healmedelicious and using the hashtag #healmedelicious.
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Pumpkin Spice Cookies (Gluten Free, Vegan)
- Total Time: 31 minutes
- Yield: 15, 2.5inch diameter cookies 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Light and crispy gluten-free pumpkin spice cookies that are perfectly spiced and topped with a creamy, pumpkin-y icing. You’ll be making these crowd pleasing, allergen-friendly cookies on repeat.
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cookies
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp cassava flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca starch
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp powdered ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Pumpkin “Buttercream” Frosting
- 1/2 cup dairy-free cream cheese, palm shortening or vegan butter
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp tapioca starch
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of sea salt
Instructions
Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a large bowl, combine cassava flour, tapioca starch, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and ground cloves.
- Make a well in the center and add coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.Then use your hands to bring the dough together.
- Place dough between two pieces of parchment paper and roll out to a rectangle 1/4-inch thick.*
- Refrigerate sheet of dough 5-7 minutes.
- Cut out cookies from dough using cookie cutter of your choice (any size).
- Transfer cookies on parchment paper to a large baking sheet. Bake in the middle rack of the oven for 11 minutes.
- Allow cookies to cool before touching them/removing from cookie sheet, or they will break apart.
- Once completely cooled, ice and decorate as desired.
Frosting
- In a stand mixer or food processor, combine room-temperature vegan butter, dairy-free cream cheese or palm shortening with tapioca starch, cinnamon, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, vanilla extract and pinch of sea salt (if necessary).** Whisk or pulse until combined. Add more tapioca starch if you desire a thicker frosting.
- Use a spoon to add a dollop of icing to each cookie and spread lightly.
- Sprinkle with cinnamon or cinnamon sugar, if desired.
Notes
*Ensure not to roll out the cookies too thin or they will crack.
**If you are using dairy-free cream cheese or vegan butter and it contains salt, you can omit the additional salt here.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 11 minutes
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
I made these the other day for me and my family and they were delish! I love pumpkin pie spice so the moment I saw this recipe I knew I had to make them. I did feel like the cookies turned out a little dry (maybe the brand of cassava flour?). Besides that though, they were so good! And the frosting was divine, I couldn’t keep myself from eating it off a spoon… multiple times. I used palm shortening and added a lot more tapioca flour because I wanted a thicker frosting (so I could pipe it onto the cookies). All in all, these cookies are a fun fall treat that I will definitely make again. Thanks so much for the recipe!
You say that I can substitute it (coconut oil) for palm shortening if I want to go coconut free, HOWEVER, this means that I originally had palm shortening and substituted coconut oil in its place. In other words, I’m no longer making a coconut-free recipe. You have to construct it the other way: I can substitute palm shortening for coconut oil.
What df cream cheese do you recommend? Some have added ingredients that are not AIP friendly so I didn’t know if there was a brand you use typically.
Hi! My recommendations are listed under full recipe ingredients in the blog post!