We’re fully in fall now, meaning Pumpkin Spice lattes are in full swing, along with sweaters and all things warm and cozy. This recipe will definitely scratch that itch for pumpkin flavors and go perfectly with a night by a fire.
These cookies are crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. The cinnamon sugar on the outside hits on the classic snickerdoodle texture and flavor, while the white chocolate chips and pumpkin add in an unexpected twist. If you’re more of a purest feel free to leave the white chocolate chips out.
To make these, first get some canned pumpkin. I like organic canned pumpkin either from Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods.
For gluten-free flour, I used King Arthur’s Gluten Free Measure for Measure. I know it is Vegan and Non- GMO along with being gluten-free. They are one of the best 1 to 1 replacements.
For the white chocolate chips, Enjoy Life is a well known dairy-free, vegan option. A lessen known option, but still great is Pascha chocolate. Both are free from most allergens. I have found the Enjoy Life at Walmart and Food Lion. When I see them, I buy 3-4 bags at a time. Or you can buy both of them in bulk on Amazon. This is has become more of the habit of mine recently so I always have them in my pantry for cookies.
For vegan butter, I like to use Earth Balance in stick form or Melt sticks.
Before you start making these cookies, you will want to blot the pumpkin with a paper towel. I measure the pumpkin out into a paper towel in a bowl and give the paper towel a squeeze. This will get the excess moisture out. You don’t have to do this, but it will help make sure your cookies stay together. This recipe doesn’t use eggs because the pumpkin is the binder instead of eggs. Pumpkin is 90% water, and cookies don’t typically have liquid added to them, so my suggestion is to squeeze out the excess water.
Since these are snickerdoodles, we will roll the dough balls in a cinnamon-sugar mixture before placing them on the baking sheet. After that, flatten the balls slightly with the back of the spoon or a measuring cup. These won’t spread out unless given some assistance.
Once you take them out of the oven, let them sit on the cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes for the cookies to firm up a little more. Then, move the cookies to a cooling rack and let them completely cool. Trust me, these cookies get more flavorful once fully cooled. They will still be soft and chewy. Great for a party, to share at the office, or just to keep for sweet treat as the leaves change.
Gluten-Free Vegan Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Vegan Butter, melted sightly & cooled 8 Tbsp. I use Melt or Earth Balance Sticks
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar Can be light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated suger
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 6 tbsp Canned Pumpkin Squeeze some of the water out in a paper towel. See details in post.
- 1 & 1/2 cup Gluten-free 1 for 1 all-purpose flour mix King Arthurs Gluten-Free 1 for 1 mix
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 & 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips Enjoy Life White Chocolate Morsels
Coating
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Slightly melt your vegan butter, and let it cool
- Measure out canned pumpkin into a paper towel, wrap the paper towel around the pumpkin, and give it a squeeze, then set aside
- Whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together in a medium bowl until no lumps remain in the sugar.
- Whisk in the vanilla extract and blotted pumpkin until smooth
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice together.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix a large spoon or rubber spatula.
- The dough should be soft. If added white chocolate, fold in the chips. It will take time to mix them in.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let chill for 30 minutes.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
- Combined the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl for the snickerdoodle coating
- Scoop about 1.5 tablespoons of the dough and roll into a ball. Once formed, roll the dough in the sugar mixture.
- Place the dough ball on a cookie sheet and flatten it slightly with the back of a spoon or measuring cup. Repeat until you have 12 dough balls on the sheet.
- Cooke for 13-15 minutes or until the cookies are slightly brown on the edges and on top.
- Once slightly brown on the edges, remove from the oven and let the cookies sit on the sheet for a few minutes.
- Then move to the cooling rack to completely cooled.
- Once cooled, enjoy. Place in an air-tight container for up to a week.
