These Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cookies are packed with pumpkin flavor, lightly spiced with cinnamon, and loaded with chocolate chips. They are extremely easy to make and require simple ingredients you might already have in hand. Slightly chewy in the middle with crispy edges, these pumpkin-flavored chocolate chip cookies are the perfect snack for everyone.
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These soft and pillowy Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cookies are best when made with homemade pumpkin purée but canned pumpkin purée would also work. They are lightly spiced with a small amount of cinnamon for perfection. And the addition of chocolate chips makes them a perfect treat for the holiday season!
Why This Recipe Works?
- Same as my other cookie recipes Turkish Apple Cookies (Elmali Kurabiye) and Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies, it is a very easy recipe to follow with step-by-step pictures and instructions.
- They have a soft and pillowy middle with crispy edges, a perfect fall treat loved by everyone!
- These delicious Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cookies are lightly spiced with cinnamon and have the perfect amount of pumpkin flavor.
- They freeze beautifully. You can keep these Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cookies in the freezer for up to 3 months before or after baking them.
Ingredients and Substitutes
- Pumpkin purée - Pumpkin is the star ingredient and I prefer making my own purée from a fresh pumpkin for this recipe. It is so easy to make and tastes much better. However, you can also use canned pumpkin purée if you prefer. When buying canned pumpkin purée, make sure it is not pumpkin pie filling as it contains sugar and other ingredients that we don’t need in this recipe.
- Gluten-free flour - Use your favorite all-purpose gluten-free flour. Most gluten-free flour contains xanthan gum. If your blend doesn't contain it, add ½ teaspoon to the flour blend before using.
- Sugar - A mixture of dark brown sugar and caster sugar gives these gluten-free pumpkin cookies a chewy and fudgy texture as well as a rich molasses flavor.
- Melted butter - Using melted butter helps the cookies spread while baking rather than rise, resulting in more chewy and dense cookies that we love. Use unsalted butter and let it slightly cool down before whisking it with sugar and cream cheese.
- Chocolate chips - I use a mixture of dark chocolate chips and chopped chocolate pieces to create different textures. Milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips would work just fine too.
- Egg yolks - This gluten-free pumpkin cookie recipe requires egg yolks instead of a whole egg. The protein in the egg yolks provides a rich&chewy texture for these cookies. Bring your eggs to room temperature before using them.
- Cream cheese - The addition of a small amount of cream cheese helps to cover any grit and gives a smoother texture to cookies. Bring it to room temperature before using it.
- Xanthan gum - Optional! It replaces gluten in gluten-free flour and helps to bind the ingredients together. Only add it if your gluten-free flour blend doesn't already contain it.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Scroll down to the recipe card for the full, printable recipe!
It is very easy to make these delicious gluten-free pumpkin cookies and to achieve the best results, you need to follow a few simple steps:
Make the Pumpkin Purée
Making your own pumpkin purée is extremely easy and makes a huge difference in taste. Skip this step if you using canned pumpkin purée.
To make pumpkin purée, cut the pumpkin (or butternut squash) in half, and carve out the seeds.
Place them on a parchment paper lined sheet pan, and toss with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Bake at 200° C (395° F) for 30-40 minutes, or until fork-tender.
When the pumpkin is cooked, let it cool down until you can touch it without burning yourself, remove the skin, and then purée the flesh using a food processor.
Bring the pumpkin purée to room temperature before using it in this recipe. Whatever you don't need can be kept refrigerated in an airtight container for up to a week, or frozen for up to 3 months.
Prepare the Cookie Dough
Place the melted butter, cream cheese, brown sugar, and caster sugar in a large bowl, and whisk for a couple of minutes, until smooth and fluffy. You can use a handheld mixer or stand mixer for this step.
Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl using a rubber spatula, and whisk it for another 30 seconds before adding the vanilla paste, pumpkin purée, and egg yolks.
Whisk the mixture for another minute or so, until they all blended nicely and the mixture is soft and fluffy.
In a separate bowl, whisk the gluten-free flour together with the cinnamon, xanthan gum, baking soda, and salt.
Add the dry ingredients along with the chocolate chips/pieces to the wet mixture, and combine gently on low speed. You can make this step by hand using a rubber spatula.
Let the cookie mixture cool for 30 minutes in the fridge before shaping them.
Shape and Bake
While the cookie dough is cooling in the fridge, preheat the oven to 175° C (350° F) and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Once the pumpkin cookie dough is chilled and firm, scoop out 1 ½ tablespoon of dough ball (40 grams) onto the baking sheet with the help of a cookie scoop.
Repeat the same with the remaining cookie dough, and line them in a single layer on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Make sure to leave at least 5 cm (2") between each ball.
Bake the cookies for 13 -15 minutes, until the middle is slightly soft and the edges are very lightly browned. Sprinkle on some sea salt at this stage to balance the sweetness (optional).
Remove them from the oven and let the cookies cool down on the tray for 10 minutes before removing them to a wire rack.
Let them completely cool down for a couple of hours before eating them. They are even chewier and tastier after a day or two!
Top Tips From the Chef
- If your gluten-free all-purpose flour blend doesn't contain xanthan gum or another binder, make sure to add ½ teaspoon binder into your flour before using it.
- Don't reduce the amount of sugar stated in this recipe. In baking, sugar helps baked goods spread evenly and consistently. It also adds moisture and color, not only sweetness.
- Use egg yolks instead of whole eggs.
- Gently melt your butter on low heat and let it slightly cool down before using it.
- The dough for these gluten-free pumpkin cookies is quite sticky and soft to work with. Therefore cooling the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes before shaping them will make things easier.
- After removing the baked cookies from the oven, let them cool down on the tray for 10 minutes before placing them on a wire rack.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can freeze the dough for up to 3 months. I suggest you shape them into balls, and place them onto a parchment-lined sheet pan. Freeze them for 2 hours and then transfer them to a freezing bag. You can bake them from frozen, simply by adding 2-3 minutes to the baking time.
The leftover gluten-free pumpkin cookies would keep for up to 5 days at room temperature when stored in airtight containers.
Alternatively, you can place them in airtight containers or freezer bags, freeze them and keep them for up to 3 months.
Xanthan gum is a popular food additive that's commonly added to foods as a thickener, emulsifier, or stabilizer that prevents ingredients from separating.
In this recipe, xanthan gum is replacing the gluten, to help bind together the ingredients, and prevent your cookies from falling to pieces.
Don't use more than the stated amount in this recipe.
Related Recipes
For more delicious recipes made with pumpkin why not try:
Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.
I hope you enjoy the process of making these soft and chewy Gluten-free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies as much as you enjoy eating them! 🙂
Bon appétit! / Afiyet olsun!
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 130 g melted butter
- 100 g caster sugar
- 175 g brown sugar
- 50 g cream cheese
- 2 medium egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
- 125 g pumpkin purée
- 300 g all-purpose gluten-free flour
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 150 g chocolate chips or/and pieces
Instructions
Preparing the Pumpkin Purée
- To make pumpkin purée, cut the pumpkin (or butternut squash) in half, and carve out the seeds.
- Place them on a parchment paper lined sheet pan, and toss with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Bake at 200° C (395° F) for 30-40 minutes, or until fork-tender.
- When the pumpkin is cooked, let it cool down until you can touch it without burning yourself, remove the skin, and then purée the flesh using a food processor.
- Bring the pumpkin purée to room temperature before using it in this recipe. Whatever you don't need can be kept refrigerated in an airtight container for up to a week, or frozen for up to 3 months.
Preparing the Cookie Dough
- Place the melted butter, cream cheese, brown sugar, and caster sugar in a large bowl, and whisk for a couple of minutes, until smooth and fluffy. You can use a handheld mixer or stand mixer for this step.
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl using a rubber spatula, and whisk it for another 30 seconds before adding the vanilla paste, pumpkin purée, and egg yolks.
- Whisk the mixture for another minute or so, until they all blended nicely and the mixture is soft and fluffy.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the gluten-free flour together with the cinnamon, xanthan gum, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients along with the chocolate chips/pieces to the wet mixture, and combine gently on low speed. You can make this step by hand using a rubber spatula.
- Let the cookie mixture cool for 30 minutes in the fridge before shaping them.
Shaping the Cookies and Baking
- While the cookie dough is cooling in the fridge, preheat the oven to 175° C (350° F) and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Once the pumpkin cookie dough is chilled and firm, scoop out 1 ½ tablespoon of dough ball onto the baking sheet with the help of a cookie scoop.
- Repeat the same with the remaining cookie dough, and line them in a single layer on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Make sure to leave at least 5 cm (2") between each ball.
- Bake the cookies for 13 -15 minutes, until the middle is slightly soft and the edges are very lightly browned.
- Remove them from the oven and let the cookies cool down on the tray for 10 minutes before removing them to a wire rack.
- Let them completely cool down for a couple of hours before eating them. They are even chewier and tastier after a day or two!
Notes
- If your gluten-free all-purpose flour blend doesn't contain xanthan gum or another binder, make sure to add ½ teaspoon binder into your flour before using it.
- Don't reduce the amount of sugar stated in this recipe. In baking, sugar helps baked goods spread evenly and consistently. It also adds moisture and color, not only sweetness.
- Use egg yolks instead of whole eggs.
- Gently melt your butter on low heat and let it slightly cool down before using it. The dough for these gluten-free pumpkin cookies is quite sticky and soft to work with. Therefore cooling the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes before shaping them will make things easier.
- After removing the baked cookies from the oven, let them cool down on the tray for 10 minutes before placing them on a wire rack.
- The leftover gluten-free pumpkin cookies would keep for up to 5 days at room temperature when stored in airtight containers.
- Alternatively, you can place them in airtight containers or freezer bags, freeze them and keep them for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
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Gemma
Just made these and they came out yummy! I will add more chocolate chips next time.