Gluten Free Pumpkin Cookies

Gluten Free Pumpkin Cookies are the ultimate fall cookie. It's a season of warm blankets, cozy sweaters, and, most importantly, delightful treats that capture the essence of autumn. And what could be more quintessentially fall than the rich, earthy flavor of pumpkin?

These Gluten Free Pumpkin Cookies are soft and chewy and delicious. If you happen to have some leftover cream cheese frosting from my Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread Recipe, it would make an amazing filling to create pumpkin sandwich cookies. And those would definitely be an amazing fall dessert.

Recipe Ingredient Notes

Gluten Free Flour: In this gluten free pumpkin cookie recipe I use my gluten-free flour blend. I also tested this recipe with Bob’s Red Mill 1 – to 1 and King Arthur Measure for Measure Flour and both blends work great. If you use Cup4Cup the cookie dough might be on the stickier side and the cookies might be thinner. All those blends mentioned already contain xanthan gum. This recipe will not work with a single flour like almond flour or oatmeal flour. I always recommend using a blend.

Pumpkin Puree: Make sure to use100% canned pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling. They often sit next to each other on shelves at the grocery store and have very similar labels. As much as I love making everything from scratch, canned pumpkin puree is very convenient. This recipe is the perfect way to use up leftover pumpkin.

Brown Sugar: Unlike most other cookie recipes, this gluten free pumpkin cookie recipe is made with all light brown sugar. Dark Brown Sugar does work as well. The moisture from the molasses gives them not only a wonderful texture but also keep the cookies from drying out too quickly. You can also use white sugar but the cookies most likely will be more compact.

Spices: I use a mix of ground cinnamon, ground ginger and nutmeg but if you like may replace all 3 spices with 1 ¾ teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice.

Note about Gluten Free Pumpkin Cookies

The dough for these Gluten Free Pumpkin Cookies is very straight forward and does not require much prep time. It does need to be refrigerated for 20-30 minutes or otherwise the dough is too soft to scoop and roll in the Cinnamon Sugar. Pumpkin cookies tend to be puffy BUT, after 8 minutes of baking, I remove the pan from the oven and tap the baking sheet onto a towel-covered countertop a few times. You can also carefully lift the sheet pan in oven 3-4 inches and drop it on the oven rack. I repeat this 2-3 times toward the end of the baking time. Now if you like puffy cookies, you don't need to do this.

How to make Pumpkin Cookie Dough

Step 1: In a separate bowl combine the gluten free flour, baking soda, kosher salt and spices. Whisk to combine and set aside.

Step 2: In the bowl of the stand mixer or large mixing bowl combine the room temperature unsalted butter, brown sugar, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Feel free to use dairy-free butter if needed.

Step 3: Cream the ingredients at a medium-low speed for 1-2 minutes, until fully combined. While I normally recommend creaming butter and sugar for at least 3-4 minutes, less creaming means less air incorporated into the dough and the cookies will not puff up as much.

Step 4: Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a flexible spatula. Add the pumpkin puree and egg yolk and whisk for 30 seconds until fully mixed in. The mixture may look broken but that's totally normal.

Step 5: Add the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl to ensure everything is combined well.

Step 6: Cover the mixing bowl with some plastic wrap or transfer the pumpkin cookie dough to an airtight container and refrigerate for 30-45 minutes. This will make scooping the gluten free cookie dough a lot easier.

How to bake Gluten Free Pumpkin Cookies

Once the pumpkin cookie dough has been chilled for 30-45 minutes, its time to bake some delicious gluten free cookies. If you choose to refrigerate the batter for an extended period of time or freeze it, the cookies will spread less.

This recipe makes 12-14 cookies if using a medium cookie scoop, around 1.5 tablespoons of dough.

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Step 2: To make the cinnamon sugar used to roll the cookie dough before baking, combine the granulated sugar with cinnamon and set aside. You can also use pumpkin spice to make the sugar for rolling.

Step 3: Using a medium cookie scoop divide the pumpkin cookie dough into equal-sized portions. With clean hands roll the cookie dough into balls and roll in the cinnamon sugar to coat. The cinnamon sugar really helps to bring out the pumpkin flavor.

Step 4: Arrange half of the cookie dough balls on the sheet tray and bake at 350F for 8 minutes.

Step 5: Remove the pan from the oven (make sure to close the oven door) and tap the baking sheet onto a towel-covered countertop a few times. You can also carefully lift the sheet pan in oven 3-4 inches and drop it on the oven rack. This will help the cookies to spread and deflate. And, get a crinkle topping. (If you prefer puffy, cakey cookies, clearly skip this step)

Step 6: Return the sheet tray to the oven and continue to bake for another 3-4 minutes. Yes, the gluten-free cookies will puff up again but when you remove them from the oven, repeat the tapping against the counter and they will be flat with a crinkle topping.

Step 7: Once they're out of the oven, use a round cookie cutter slightly larger than the cookies to give them a neat shape. Allow them to cool on the sheet tray for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely. Sprinkle them with some additional cinnamon sugar if you like.

These cookies are supposed to be slightly underbaked which will result in softer cookies. Repeat with the leftover cookie dough.

Storage & Freezing

Store fully baked and cooled gluten free pumpkin cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you plan on having them around longer, I recommend freezing the baked cookies. These cookies are on the softer side. If you are in a hot, humid climate they may stay VERY soft for days. To thaw them place them in the fridge or the kitchen counter for a few hours.

I have not tested freezing the gluten free pumpkin cookie dough. So if you give it a try, make sure to share your feedback in the comment section.

How do you keep gluten free cookies from falling apart?

Gluten-free cookies can be more delicate than traditional cookies made with wheat flour because they lack the gluten protein that provides structure and elasticity. However, you can take several steps to prevent gluten-free cookies from falling apart and ensure they hold together well:

Use the Right Flour Blend: Choose a high-quality gluten-free flour blend specifically formulated for baking. These blends often contain a combination of rice flour, potato starch, and tapioca starch, which can mimic the texture of wheat flour more closely.

Add Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum: To replace the binding properties of gluten, add xanthan gum or guar gum to your cookie dough. These ingredients help improve the structure and texture of gluten-free cookies. Follow the recommended proportions on the packaging of the gum.

Chill the Dough: After mixing the cookie dough, chill it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or longer. Chilling helps solidify the fats in the dough, hydrates the gluten free flour and makes it easier to handle. It also reduces the chance of cookies spreading too thin during baking.

Use Additional Binders: Consider adding extra binders like eggs, ground flaxseed mixed with water (as a vegan egg substitute), or mashed banana to provide additional structure and moisture to your cookies.

Adjust Baking Time and Temperature: Gluten-free cookies may require slightly different baking times and temperatures than traditional cookies. Pay close attention to your recipe's instructions and bake until the edges are golden brown and the centers are set. Overbaking can result in dry cookies.

Use Parchment Paper: Line your baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent cookies from sticking to the pan. This also helps with easy removal.

Don't Overmix the Dough: Overmixing can lead to tough or crumbly cookies. Mix your gluten-free cookie dough until the ingredients are just combined. Overmixing can cause excess air incorporation, which can make cookies too fragile.

Size and Shape Matters: Be mindful of the size and shape of your cookies. Smaller cookies may hold together better, so consider making smaller portions. Using a cookie scoop can help create uniform shapes.

Allow Cookies to Cool: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. Gluten-free cookies often firm up as they cool.

Store Properly: Store your gluten-free cookies in an airtight container to prevent them from drying out or becoming too crumbly.

FAQ - Gluten Free Pumpkin Cookies Recipe