These gluten-free chewy pumpkin cookies have a little trick to getting them chewy!
So I created a little food holiday in my head a few years ago. October 1. October 1 was to be the opening of the fall baking season and I’d bake up a storm and use lots of cinnamon, pumpkin and white chocolate. Now I start fall baking earlier because I can’t wait (thanks to those of you who started pinning fall baked goods at the beginning of August ;)) but October 1 is still the start of pumpkin baking season to me. So let’s have a pumpkin party! You can add links to your favorite pumpkin recipes below the recipe.
I made chewy pumpkin cookies for the party. I don’t have nearly enough cookie recipes on here which is just silly because cookies are probably my favorite baked good. I’m just bad at creating cookie recipes. After many, many batches of these cookies, I finally have some chewy ones. That actually taste pumpkiny!
They weren’t nearly pumpkiny enough the first few times. Then I got an idea. The cream cheese over here is filled with extra whey so I’m used to draining it with a kitchen towel so it’s like the US stuff. And with the pumpkin? It worked! I got rid of half the water and that left me with some dense pumpkin puree. Less watery puree = chewier pumpkin cookies. Not that these cookies have the same texture of a normal flour containing cookie. Because they don’t. But at least they’re not cakey. These totally win over cakey pumpkin cookies.
By the way, they don’t have canned pumpkin over here. I don’t even think it exists outside of the US. And it’s a pain in the butt. My parents brought me over a dozen cans last year and I have to carefully plan what to do with them until I can get a refill. So appreciate your canned pumpkin. :)
These pumpkin cookies are kind of ugly. And they make uglier cookie sandwiches so I recommend just drizzling them with some white chocolate. White chocolate + pumpkin is kind of the best thing ever. The filling in the cookies pictured is white chocolate, by the way.
I just realized I haven’t posted a single non autumnal recipe since September 4. Sorry to any apple and pumpkin (because the fall madness will continue) dislikers out there! Five apple recipes in a row. What great variety I offer. ;)
Gluten-free Chewy Pumpkin Cookies
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 30 one-inch cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup (133 grams) almond flour or almond meal
- 1 cup (93 grams) oats (gluten-free oats for gluten-free)
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1.18dl) drained pumpkin (from 1 cup pumpkin)1
- 1/4 cup (56 grams) coconut oil2
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 egg
- 6 tablespoons (120 grams) honey
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 325°F / 162°C and line two cookie sheets with Silpats or pieces of parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. Set aside.
- In another medium bowl, mix together the wet ingredients. The drained pumpkin won't combine easily at first, but just keep stirring and it'll come together nicely.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix just until combined.
- Shape little balls, about 1" each. Flatten them to the exact size you want them because they don't spread while baking.
- Bake for 17 minutes. The cookies will still appear soft and they will not brown around the edges. Let cool and then drizzle with melted white chocolate if desired.
Notes
- Use a clean kitchen towel to drain the pumpkin. Measure out 1 cup of pumpkin, put it in the middle of the towel, and then squeeze it dry. Keep squeezing until it looks like it's about 1/2 cup. If you want to be exact, weigh the one cup of pumpkin. After draining it, it should be half of what it was originally. If you drain too much, just add a little water or more pumpkin puree.
- I used refined coconut oil because that's all I have access to. Unrefined coconut oil might have a coconutty taste, but refined does not.
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67 comments on “Chewy Pumpkin Cookies (gluten-free, dairy-free)” — Add one!
Do you really need coconut oil? I dont like coconut! Do you have a substitute?
I haven’t tried it with anything else. Sorry about that!
I would love to try these but my son has a tree nut allergy. Could I substitute a different flour for the almond or would that just ruin the flavor and texture?
Almond flour is only interchangeable with other types of nut flours. I’ve heard of people using sunflower seed flour but I’ve never tried it and have no idea if it’d work here. Sorry about that!
Hi the recipie looks great but what can subsitute the canola oil for I prefer not to use it ?
Thank you !
So sorry for the slow reply! I’ve had a bit of a comment issue. Coconut oil should work fine! :)
I don’t comment a lot, but I had to thank you for this wonderful post on so many wonderful pumpkin recipes. My daughter and I are gluten free and she is now also dairy free…so hard to find recipes that work! I’m so excited to try these cookies…they look amazing.
Again, many thanks for sharing…
Heidi :)
I’m so happy that you found some pumpkin recipes you can try out! Thanks so much for your kind comment. I hope you and your daughter will enjoy the cookies! :)
These look great! Pinned it.
We have canned pumpkin in Canada too. Very convenient.
Thanks for pinning! And yes… love canned pumpkin! So much more convenient. :)
I made these cookies and they are very good. BUT they fell apart and did not keep thier shape. The recipe does not call for exanthum gum should there be some to hold them together. Would like to know what went wrong I really like the taste and texture of these, but I had do put it is a dish and eat with a spoon. Although really good on ice cream for a topping.
Hi Jane! I'm sorry to hear that they didn't keep their shape. I've gotten quite a bit of feedback on these but nobody has mentioned them falling apart. Could it be that the pumpkin was drained *too* much? That's all I can think of. Oh, and did you use honey or something else? I tried a few different sweeteners when making this recipe and honey was the only one that worked (the others resulted in cookies that fell apart). I've never used xanthan gum so I'm sure I didn't unintentionally leave it out of the recipe. If you think this recipe would benefit from it, I hope you give it a try and let us know how it worked! I wish I could tell you how much to use but again, I have no experience with it. Thanks for your feedback and I'm happy you can still enjoy them despite their crumbly-ness. :)
These look fabulous! I just found your blog and everything looks wonderful! I love baking with almond meal so I can't wait to make these :)
I hope you'll enjoy them! Thanks a bunch for stopping by to say hi. :)
I LOVE pumpkin and I will make these this weekend but with fresh baked pumpkin. Amazing recipe, thanks! I really like your blog! :)
Thank you! :) Just remember, you've really got to get that water out of the pumpkin or they won't be chewy. It might be more difficult with homemade puree but I imagine still delicious. :) Good luck!
OOO these look tasty tasty! I need to get on to more pumpkin baking this month.
Do it! You won't regret it. :)
it's not ugly at all :) and yes, I've never seen a can with pumpkin in Europe hahaha.
But apparently they exist in London!
Oh man, you HAVE made me appreciate my canned pumpkin convenience :) These sound delicious!
Good! That was my purpose. :)
Wow, this was my first time linking (brand new blog) and you made it incredibly easy! The cookies look amazing, by the way.
Thank you! And I'm happy the linking thing was okay. It was my first time using it!
I would never complain about an apple or pumpkin recipe! Tis the season!! These sandwich cookies look incredible! :)
Thanks! And I'm happy you're okay with lots of apple / pumpkin recipes. Lots more to come. :)
I am obsessed with pumpkin recently, there are so many things I want to make. Can't believe you don't have canned pumpkin over there, hope you get a refill soon :)
Cookies sound awesome, love that they aren't cakey!
I'll get my refill in June, thanks. :) And yay… pumpkin obsession!
Ooooooooo I love these and I love this pumpkin party! I just posted a recipe for butternut squash whoopie pies but I guess that won't make the cut hahahahahhaha so I will just admire for now! XO
Hey, it's Nora! Butternut squash is close enough, isn't it? :) Gotta go check them out!
These are delicious! I made them yesterday. My 9-year-old son had 2 friends over and both of them asked for a copy of the recipe to take home to their moms. I put chocolate chips in some of them. Will definitely make them again! Thanks for the great recipe.
You made them already?! That's great. I'm so happy that you, your son and his friends liked them! I bet their moms will be impressed that you got them to eat some "healthified" sweets. :) Thank you so much for leaving feedback! I really, really appreciate it.
I've never actually baked with pumpkin (although you can buy the cans of pumkin puree in London if you're ever over here!) but these cookies sound really delicious. I need to get on this train!
Really?! Thanks for the tip! The next time someone I know goes to London, I'll beg for some canned pumpkin. And what?! You've got to start baking with pumpkin! You know I'm super picky and don't like veggies or veggie like things but I love all pumpkin sweets.
I'm ok with all fall baking! I was hanging onto summer, but now I'm so ready for fall. These sound awesome!
I was hanging onto summer too until all the good fruit disappeared. And then I gave up and started with apples. :)
These look so festive! And delicious.
Thanks! :)
I LOVE how adorable they are! great tip about letting the water out of the pumpkin puree. I'm going to keep that in mind for my pumpkin cookies! :)
If you want chewy cookies, anyway. And I know you do because you're kind of the Cookie Queen and Cookie Queens don't want no lame cakey cookies. ;)
Those are gorgeous. And i love a good holiday that revolves around fall baking. Especially when pumpkin is involved!!!
It's the best holiday of the year. :)
I knew I liked you for some reason! (just kidding I like you for many reasons but this is an awesome reason) I have been saying for years that fall does not start until October 1st no matter what! So therefore no one should be baking with pumpkin until October 1st, but no one listens to me. It's quite sad, but now that it's October I can't wait to get my pumpkin on! :)
By the way I added two links to the party just because I couldn't decide which one was better :P
Haha. Your comments are cracking me up lately. And I saw you baking with pumpkin the other day, PRE October 1. But you made my pumpkin donuts so I'm cool with it. ;) Add as many links as you want! The more the merrier. :)
I know what you mean about not having certain baking goods over there because each time I go to Spain it happens to me. I have to plan accordingly to make sure I bring everything with me that they don't sell over there. A royal pain in the butt :-)
These look really chewy, and I don't think they look ugly at all. Great idea about the pumpkin add links :-) Thanks!!
Thank you and thanks for adding your link. :) And the baking in another country thing stinks. Do you have to bring stuff from Spain back with you? To bake special Spanish things, I mean.
These look so chewy! I love the sandwiches!
Thanks! :)
These sound wonderful! I don't know if I could handle having to plan out my pumpkin recipes to conserve pumpkin!
Yeah, it's kind of sad. And I can't make full batches of things so that I can make more variety. Oh well. At least I have some. :)
These look fantastic + you're right – they'd look great drizzled with white chocolate. If you ever need me to ship you a big ol' box of canned pumpkin, just let me know – i'm happy to help. For real!
That's so nice of you but it's really, really expensive to ship stuff. I looked it up just now. To ship one can of pumpkin, it'd be $11.60. Yikes. Thanks for offering, though. :) And let me know if you ever want something from here!
Somehow the thought of pumpkin cookies never came to my mind. Your's sound really yummy. Totally feel with you on the lack of canned pumpkin. Thanks for the link-party :)
And thank you for adding your link. :) And yes… someone who understands what it's like to not have basic ingredients! I'm so happy to have met you. :)
Aww…Erin, you are so sweet. And I am soo glad I stumbled upon your site <3
Nice! You are like German's Test Kitchen. ;) These sound delicious!!
Eee! I love that! And it's true. I am Germany's Test Kitchen for Americans. :)
What is the filling?
What I did was melt some white chocolate and added a little buttermilk (because I had no cream and I know milk doesn't work) until it the consistency was like ganache. It was maybe two teaspoons or so. Very little. But I didn't like it so much which is why I suggest just drizzling some white chocolate on top. Much better. :)
I kept scrolling to find what the middle was! My granddaughter is gluten, dairy and soy free, so it’s hard to find recipes. I LOVE your site. So far, I’ve made the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies and sent them to her as she lives states away from me. I’m waiting for her reply. My granddaughter is 6 years old. Her mom doesn’t cook yummy things. Wish I could send a whole crock pot full of meals!! Thank you!
It’s white chocolate. :) That’s so nice of you to send your granddaughter sweets in the mail! Hopefully her mom will get the hint. ;) Thanks so much for the kind words and for your feedback! By the way, I’m not so sure these would ship well.
These are gorgeous. I love the color and can just imagine how wonderful they taste.
Thank you! I was surprised how orange they were even after all the spices.
I love that October 1st is the first time you'll bake with pumpkin! I wish I followed that rule! I will from now on!
SO sorry about your lack of pumpkin in Germany :( Let me know if I can send you some!
Well now that I have a blog it would be irresponsible of me not to have a pumpkin recipe up by October 1 so I was forced to bake with pumpkin a few days ago. :D And thanks for the pumpkin offer but it'd be too expensive to ship. I'll just continue to ration it. I have a can a week for the next two months. Not so bad. :)
You know how I feel about pumpkin!! Great idea to create a pumpkin link-up party =).
I just opened a can of pumpkin and I'm making that pudding of yours tomorrow. Yay! I'll let you know how it comes out. :)