It’s still short-sleeve weather, but I’m already in the mood for pumpkin – are you? Luckily this gluten free pumpkin cookie recipe is an easy answer!
Pumpkin is one of my favorite baking ingredients, as it’s nutritious, moist and thick, so it can replace eggs, add chew, and of course, add that distinctive pumpkin flavor that pairs so well with all my favorite sweet spices. Grab a gluten free pumpkin cookie for the perfect way to dive right into pumpkin season; with or without the glaze, these gluten free pumpkin cookies are light, cakey and just so scrumptious.
I’ve made this dough vegan as well, by using applesauce (or applebutter), but feel free to grab an egg instead if you’d prefer; however, I must say that applesauce makes these yummy gluten free pumpkin cookies even more autumnal! (For more gluten free pumpkin recipes and how-to videos, check out my gfJules YouTube channel linked here!)
The cookies pictured here are browner than others because I made them with unrefined coconut palm sugar; if you use regular white and brown sugar, they will be a lovely orange color instead (see below).
Another benefit of this recipe’s easy versatility is that it can be made entirely refined sugar free. Use maple sugar, coconut palm sugar and even products like Swerve Confectioner’s Sugar for the glaze, and you’ve got yourself a treat that is easy to justify enjoying well into the winter months if you’re a pumpkin lover like I am!
To watch me make these cookies with pumpkin (not from a can!), check out my YouTube video by clicking here.
For even more pumpkin inspiration, check out this Foodista highlight of my Fox 5 video on Perfect Pumpkin Desserts:
Jules Shepard, author of Nearly Normal Cooking For Gluten-Free Eating, Free for All Cooking: 150 Easy Gluten-Free, Allergy-Friendly Recipes the Whole Family Can Enjoy and the gluten free genius behind gfJules Gluten Free Flour Blend shares 4 perfect gluten free pumpkin recipes on Fox – Washington D.C.’s local newscast!
Click on the the video below to see more on these deli
cious gluten free confections, and don’t miss recipes like my favorite, easy Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread!
For even more gluten free pumpkin recipes, just type “pumpkin” into the search bar on my gfJules site. Happy Pumpkin Season!
Gluten Free Pumpkin Cookie Recipe
Light, cakey and full of autumnal spice, these gluten free pumpkin cookies are the answer to your pumpkin cravings!
Ingredients
Gluten Free Pumpkin Cookies:
- 2 1/2 cups gfJules™ All Purpose Gluten-Free Flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 cup butter OR non-dairy alternative (e.g. Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks)
- 1/2 cup granulated cane sugar (OR 1/3 cup maple sugar OR 1/2 cup Swerve)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar OR coconut palm sugar
- 1/4 cup molasses (Blackstrap Molasses is very strong flavored; Grandma's Molasses is preferred, flavor-wise) OR date syrup
- 1 cup pumpkin purée (canned or fresh, cooked)
- 1/4 cup no-sugar added applesauce (OR 1 egg)
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Glaze:
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar (or Swerve confectioner's sugar)
- 2 Tbs. milk or non-dairy alternative like vanilla soy, almond, coconut or hemp milk
- 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Whisk together all the dry ingredients except the sugars in a large bowl and set aside.
Using an electric mixer, cream the sugars and butter until fluffy. Add the molasses, pumpkin, egg and vanilla, beating until creamed. Stir in the dry ingredients until combined.
Preheat oven to 350° F for static ovens, 325° F for convection.
Prepare a cookie sheet by covering with parchment paper. Drop the cookies by rounded tablespoons onto the parchment paper. For smoother cookies, use a cookie scoop dipped in water between making each cookie or smooth tops with a rubber spatula dipped in water. Flatten cookies slightly with the back of a spoon or spatula.
Bake for 10 minutes, or until they resist falling when lightly touched with a finger.
Set the cookies aside to cool while preparing the icing by stirring the ingredients together in a small bowl until all the lumps are incorporated and the glaze is not too watery -- test with a spoon to make sure that the consistency is thin enough to drizzle but not so thin that it will just run off the cookies.
When the cookies are fully cooled, drizzle the glaze onto the tops of the cookies in a criss-cross pattern or over the entire tops with a spoon.
Just made these for my husband’s birthday. They taste and smell wonderful. Do have a couple questions. How is the best way to store these cookies? There is only the two of us and don’t want to loose them. Can they be frozen? Will they stay soft as they are now? Thanks for all the great GF recipes.
SO pretty, Carol!!! What a nice birthday treat! They will stay soft like that stored in a sealed container on the counter for several days, but the glaze will sink into the cookies rather than staying on top in lines like pictured. You can also freeze them and when they come to room temperature later, they will be soft again. In the future if you know you will not be eating them all or serving them right away, save the rest to ice them later, as that’s the only fussy part of cookies like this with that thin icing/glaze because it can get sticky the next day.
Happy birthday to your hubby!
~jules
Can you leave the molasses out? It’s on my diet restrictions with my “condition” or what can I use instead?
Thank you.
Hi Carol, what other liquid sweeteners can you use? Agave, coconut nectar, honey … any of these could work instead. They’ll add different flavor but the cookies will still be the right texture.
~jules
these were a huge hit last year with my whole family. thanks jules! your gluten free recipes are the best. and we only use your flour nothing else comes close.
So glad to hear it, Lucy! It makes me so happy to know my recipes are being put to good use and that folks like you are loving your baking results again!
~jules
Can I reduce the sugar and/or replace some of it with banana? I do this with non-gf recipes but i didnt know if it would come out the same with gf flour…?
Hi Kim, you can reduce the sugar in this recipe, but it will affect the texture some. In cookies, the sugar acts to help it caramelize, especially around the edges. This is a cakier cookie though, so that reduction won’t matter as much. I don’t think I’d recommend using banana in place of sugar though. There’s already pumpkin and applesauce in this recipe; I think adding banana will just be too much. You could also try sugar replacements like Swerve if that helps you.
~jules
Yumm didn’t think about pumpkin seed — great idea. I was thinking craisins too- but I may save them for the oatmeal cookie!
Hi Elle, the pumpkin seeds were a nice counter-point and were super yummy!
~jules
Could I use your cookie mix for this? I’m wanting to make these for my daughter’s birthday celebration.
Interesting idea, Yvette! I’d think this would work with my cookie mix. From the recipe, leave out my flour, the baking powder and baking soda, sugar and molasses. Add the spices and all other ingredients (eggs, butter, vanilla, pumpkin, etc). Let me know how it goes!
Yummm I was just thinking about this. Plus I have to make your pumpkin chocolate chip nut loaf— gotta find the recipe. I can’t wait!!
Yum! Anything pumpkin and you’ve got me, Elle. Those of two favorite recipes, that’s for sure!
~jules
I’ve been looking for this recipe for long. Years ago, when I was teenager, my sister and I made this at home but we didn’t keep the recipe. And now, with the help of uncle google, there it is, this recipe popped up before my eyes through your blog. Thanks for sharing. It’ll bring a great memory of the old day
Yay! So happy to help bring back a happy family memory/recipe, Deedee!
These are wonderful! They’re like little, individual gingerbread cakes. Delightful!
Cassie – I like that idea! They do quite resemble individual cakes!
These are chilling in my fridge right now ready to hop in the oven in a bit– after my Thanksgiving rolls are done baking (your recipe- yum!).
I didn’t see where it is written to put the molasses in, so I put it with the other wet ingredients- egg, pumpkin, etc. Am I just blind, or… Just wanted to give a heads-up in case I am not blind! And my house smells delicious right now with all that cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg- so yummy!
Jocelyn – I absolutely love the smell of those spices filling my kitchen! Such wonderful memories they evoke, too! I reviewed the recipe and you are right that I neglected to include the molasses in the directions, so I fixed it. Thanks for the heads up!
Delicious! I was impressed to have GF cookies turn out so moist and fluffy – not thin, crispy and tasteless. Thanks for a great recipe!
These are SUPER DELICIOUS!!! I put the glaze in a cake decorating bag, used a chip clip on both ends (so it didn’t ooze out), then carefully took the chip clip off the piping end to create a really professional looking cookie. I took them to a party, and they were a HIT!!
Annie – very smart! Sounds like they were not only tasty but looked professionally-decorated! Glad you were able to indoctrinate gluten eaters into the joys of delicious gluten-free eating!!!