Cooking and Serving: 29 minutes | 22 cookies
Ingredients
Ingredient substitutions
Description
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 14 minutes | Total Time: 29 minutes | Servings: 22 cookies
Ingredients
Expert tips
Ingredient substitutions
Instructions
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Soft, chewy, and perfectly spiced without the bitterness that can come from too.
much cinnamon, these are simple, cakey pumpkin cookies that you can sink your.
These cookies are easy to make with simple ingredients in one bowl, and without.
any specialized ingredients.
Unlike our gluten free pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, where we work hard to.
remove at least half the moisture in canned pumpkin puree, this recipe embraces.
the puffy texture that extra moisture creates.
3 baked pumpkin cookies on white paper on tray.
baked pumpkin cookies on white paper on tray.
RECIPE INGREDIENTS
Pumpkin puree – Be sure to use plain canned pumpkin puree here, and measure.
out 5 ounces on a kitchen scale. A small can of pumpkin is usually 15 ounces,.
so you’re using a third of the can. Refrigerate the rest in a sealed.
container for up to a week.
Granulated sugar – Adds sweetness and tenderness to these cookies.
Light brown sugar – Adds sweetness, depth of flavor from the added molasses.
Molasses – A single tablespoon of unsulphured molasses deepens the flavor.
without having to add extra brown sugar. It also adds some color to the.
Melted butter – Adds moisture and flavor. Using melted butter makes the.
cookies a bit chewy to balance the extra softness that pumpkin puree adds.
Egg – Adds some lift and structure without too much extra puffiness.
Gluten free flour blend – Any high-quality all purpose gluten free flour.
blend that has superfinely ground rice flour as a base should work here. I.
like Better Batter’s original blend, Nicole’s Best multipurpose flour with.
added xanthan gum, and Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 (in the blue bag) to with.
additional 1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum.
Salt – Enhances the other flavors and balances the sweetness.
Baking soda – Reacts with the acidity in the molasses to add some rise, and.
helps the cookies brown.
Pumpkin pie spice – A mix of all the best warm ground spices (cinnamon,.
ginger, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg) that adds more pumpkin flavor than the.
actual pureed pumpkin itself.
CHILL THE COOKIE DOUGH FOR EASIER HANDLING
The cookie dough begins so soft that it almost feels like it would be made into.
a cake. It will thicken a bit as it stands and the liquids hydrate the flour,.
but it will remain quite sticky to work with, but chilling the dough for about.
10 minutes helps make the dough much easier to handle. Don’t chill for too long,.
though, or they won’t spread in the oven at all.
USE TWO WET SMALL SPOONS FOR UNIFORM SIZING
I often like to portion gluten free cookies.
a spring-loaded ice cream scoop, often a #50 scoop (that just means that it.
would take 50 of that size scoop to make a quart of ice cream). You can make.
these portions that way, of course, but this dough is so sticky that I find it’s.
easier to use 2 teaspoons to scoop and then scrape off this cookie dough.
HANDLE THE COOKIE DOUGH WITH WET HANDS
The dough is too sticky to handle with dry hands. So roll it into rounds and.
press into flat 1/2-inch thick disks with wet fingers and hands.
MAKE PERFECT ROUNDS WITH A WET COOKIE CUTTER
To ensure that your baked cookies are truly round, not oval, moisten a 2½-inch.
or 3-inch metal cookie cutter and use it to coax the raw dough into a rounder.
BE CAREFUL ABOUT OVEN TEMP
The molasses in these cookies makes the cookies more vulnerable to burning. Most.
ovens run hot, so be sure to check your oven temperature with a simple analog.
standalone thermometer, and let that guide you to a proper 325°F. The bottoms.
COOL BEFORE ICING OR SERVING
The freshly-baked cookies are fragile. Let them sit undisturbed for 10 minutes,.
then lift with a thin spatula onto a wire rack so they cool completely. And let.
them cool entirely before trying to dip them in the icing or the tops of the.
cookies will come off in the icing, and the icing will melt right off.
Orange colored cookie batter in large metal mixing bowl.
colored cookie batter in large metal mixing bowl.
3 disks of raw pumpkin cookie batter on white paper on tray.
disks of raw pumpkin cookie batter on white paper on tray.
DAIRY FREE
The only dairy in these cookies is from the melted butter. To make them.
dairy-free, you can try using vegan butter. Melt and Miyoko’s Creamery are my.
favorite brands. I would not try using shortening, as it has no moisture and.
your cookies will be way too puffy and almost dry.
EGG FREE
Try a “chia egg” to replace the one egg (1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds +.
1 tablespoon lukewarm water, mixed and allowed to gel). Bob’s Red Mill Egg.
Replacer may also work
Pumpkin cookies with white icing dripping on wire rack.
cookies with white icing dripping on wire rack.
GLUTEN FREE PUMPKIN COOKIES RECIPE
Prep Time: 15 minutes mins.
Cook Time: 14 minutes mins.
Chilling time (optional): 10 minutes mins.
These gluten free pumpkin cookies are soft and cakey, wonderfully spiced treats.
with a sweet white icing. Sink your teeth into them!
EQUIPMENT
#50 spring loaded ice cream scoop (optional).
Plain metal cookie cutters (optional).
FOR THE COOKIES
5 ounces canned pumpkin puree, at room temperature.
½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar.
¾ cup (164 g) packed light brown sugar.
1 tablespoon (21 g) unsulphured molasses.
9 tablespoons (126 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled.
1 (50 g (weighed out of shell)) egg, at room temperature, beaten.
2 ¼ cups (315 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend.
FOR THE COOKIES
5 ounces canned pumpkin puree, at room temperature.
½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar.
¾ cup (164 g) packed light brown sugar.
1 tablespoon (21 g) unsulphured molasses.
9 tablespoons (126 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled.
1 (50 g (weighed out of shell)) egg, at room temperature, beaten.
2 ¼ cups (315 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend.
Notes
* 1 teaspoon xanthan gum, (omit if your blend already contains it)
* ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
* ¾ teaspoon baking soda
* 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
FOR THE ICING (OPTIONAL)
* 1 cup (115 g) confectioners’ sugar
* 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, (plus more
* Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper
* In a large mixing bowl, place the pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, brown
sugar, molasses, melted butter, and beaten egg. Mix until very smooth,
working out any lumps in the brown sugar.
* Add the flour blend, xanthan gum, salt, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice,
and mix until fully combined. The cookie dough will be very soft, but will
thicken as it stands.
* For easier scooping and shaping, chill the dough in the refrigerator for
* Scoop the slightly chilled dough into portions about 1 1/2 tablespoons in
volume (a heaping #50 scoop or two teaspoons will work well).
* With wet hands, shape the mounds of cookie dough into rounds, then press into
disks about 1/2-inch thick.
* For the roundest cookies, moisten the bottom edges of a 2½-inch round cookie
cutter, place it over each disk of raw dough, and move around in concentric
circles to help round out any misshapen edges.
* Place the cookies in the preheated oven and bake for 14 minutes or until top
springs back when pressed very gently in the center. The cookies should no
longer glisten on top, as if wet.
* Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes on the
baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
MAKE THE (OPTIONAL) ICING.
* In a medium-sized bowl, place the confectioners’ sugar. Add the water, and
mix until smooth. It will form a very thick paste.
* Add a bit more water, and mix until smooth and well-combined. The icing
should be bright white and opaque but thickly pourable.
* If you’ve added too much water, balance it easier to thin with a few drops of water than to thicken with more sugar,
though, so proceed carefully.
DECORATE THE COOKIES.
* Dip the tops of the cooled cookies into the sugar glaze into the bowl of icing, and bob up and down a few times to make sure the
* Let excess icing drip off, then twist the cookie as you return it to a
right-side up position to try to prevent the glaze from dripping off the
side. Return the cookies to the wire rack to sit until the icing is fully
Flour blends: For best results, use a high-quality all purpose gluten free flour
blend with superfine rice flour as its base. I recommend Better Batter original
blend or Nicole’s Best. If using Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1, add an extra 1/2
teaspoon xanthan gum. I don’t recommend Cup4Cup. For DIY options, see my all
purpose gluten free flour blends
Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 1157IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 13mg |
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an
These cookies are so moist and tender that they stay fresh-tasting for quite a
while. I don’t like to stack them when they’re at room temperature, since they
do tend to stick to one another.
You can, and should, freeze these cookies if you’d like to store them touching
one another and don’t want them to stick. Just lay them out in a single layer,
with or without the icing, on a rimmed baking sheet that is small enough to fit
in your freezer. Freeze the cookies until firm, then pile them into a
freezer-safe container and enjoy them either right from the freezer or at room
Pumpkin cookies with icing and without with bowl of icing in background.
cookies with icing and without with bowl of icing in background.
Can I make these cookies with almond flour?
No, this recipe must be made with a rice-based all purpose gluten free flour
blend. It isn’t designed to be made with almond flour. To make almond flour
requires a recipe specifically formulated for that flour.
How long is the raw cookie dough good for? Can I freeze it?
You can wrap this cookie dough well and store it in the refrigerator for at
least a week. It will be easy to shape, but make sure you let the raw cookies
come to room temperature before baking them or your cookies will be too puffy.
Why are my cookies sticky?
The cookie dough is naturally quite sticky, which we manage and handling it only with moistened hands and tools. If your baked cookies are
very sticky, they’re probably underbaked—or you overmeasured one of the wet
ingredients, and they have too much moisture.
* Add some pumpkin pie spice or plain ground cinnamon (just about 1/8 teaspoon)
to the confectioners’ sugar in the icing for a little extra zip
* Top with a cream cheese frosting like we used in our gf pumpkin bars
* Sprinkle the top of each raw cookie with coarse sugar before baking for a
* Dust the baked, un-iced cookies with powdered sugar after they’re baked and