Gluten-Free Vegan Pumpkin Sugar Cookies - Rhian's Recipes (2024)

4.16 from 20 votes

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: gluten-free pumpkin cookies, vegan pumpkin cookies, vegan thanksgiving dessert

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Author: Rhian Williams

For the cookies:

• ▢ 30 g (⅛ cup) coconut oil (or sub coconut butter)
• ▢ 10 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other similar sweetener)
• ▢ 225 g (1 cup) pumpkin purée (shop-bought or make your own)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 150 g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) *
• ▢ 150 g (1 ¼ cup) gluten-free flour blend plus more for rolling (or sub rice flour, or plain flour if not gluten-free)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
• ▢ 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice to taste (or sub a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ground ginger)

For the frosting:

• ▢ 100 g (⅔ cup) cashew nuts soaked in cold water overnight or in hot water for 15 minutes
• ▢ 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• ▢ 3 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk (or sub any other plant-based milk)

For the cookies:

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).

• Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave.

• Add the maple syrup, pumpkin purée and vanilla and mix well.

• Measure out the ground almonds, gluten-free flour and baking powder and mix well.

• Add these to the other ingredients and mix well.

• Lay out a sheet of greaseproof baking paper on a counter. Sprinkle the surface of the paper and a rolling pin with a generous amount of flour and roll out the cookie dough until about 1cm (½ inch) thick
.

• Use a circular cookie cutter to cut shapes out of the dough - you will probably have to roll the dough a few times until you use it all up.

• Transfer the cookies onto two baking trays/baking sheets lined with greased baking paper.

• Bake in oven for around 10 minutes, until firmer and lightly browned.

• They will be slightly soft when you remove them from the oven - leave to cool completely to let them harden before applying the frosting.

For the frosting:

• Drain the soaked cashews and add to a food processor with all the other ingredients.

• Whizz until completely smooth, adding more milk or water if necessary.

• Use a knife to spread a little bit of frosting over each of the cookies.

• Sprinkle over ground cinnamon to decorate, if desired.

• Taste best when fresh, but keep covered in the fridge for up to a few days.

*You can alternatively use almond flour.

I decided to roll out the dough and cut out shapes because I found the texture of the cookies turned out better that way. However, you can alternatively use your hands to shape the cookie dough into little patties and bake them that way instead. This cookie dough won’t spread out as it bakes as the ingredients are different from traditional cookie dough.

Nutrition Facts

Gluten-Free Vegan Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

Amount Per Serving

Calories 139Calories from Fat 63

% Daily Value*

Fat 7g11%

Saturated Fat 2g10%

Sodium 4mg0%

Potassium 103mg3%

Carbohydrates 17g6%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 9g10%

Protein 3g6%

Vitamin A 1667IU33%

Vitamin C 1mg1%

Calcium 49mg5%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.