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Gluten Free Pumpkin Cookies are so light and fluffy, they practically melt in your mouth! So easy to make using gluten free flour, sugar and spice and of course canned pumpkin! These delicious little mounds of heaven are topped with a simple cream cheese frosting that everyone will love!
Whether you bake gluten free due to allergies or preference, you'll love these delicious pumpkin cookies!
So soft and pillowy, they are the perfect gluten free dessert for fall!
How to make gluten free pumpkin cookies
Step 1 - Mix wet ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, beat sugars, oil, pumpkin, eggs and vanilla until well combined.
Step 2 - Mix dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice.
Step 3 - Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together until it forms the cookie dough. The batter will be very thick.
Step 4 - Bake the cookies. Use a cookie scoop to create 1 tablespoon sized dough balls. Place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Wet your fingers lightly with water and smooth the tops to create a disk shape. (optional) Bake at 350°F (176°C) for 11-13 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool before frosting.
Step 5 - Make the frosting. Beat the cream cheese, Greek yogurt and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.
Step 6 - Frost the cookies. Use a spatula or butter knife to spread frosting onto each cookie. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon if desired.
Tips for making gluten free pumpkin cookies
- Use a pre-made all-purpose gluten-free flour blend. Brands that I've tried and love are: Pillsbury, Bob's Red Mill and Krusteaz. If you bake often, save money by making your own blend with this recipe All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour Mix.
- Use canned pumpkin puree, NOT pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling has spices and sugar already added to it and will make these cookies super sweet!
- The batter will not spread or puff when baking. If presentation matters and you'd like the cookies to be smooth on top, use the back of a spoon or fingers that have been dipped in a little water to shape them. The water will help keep the spoon or your fingers from sticking to the batter!
- Sprinkle a little sanding sugar or white sugar on top with a pinch of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice to make them even more yummy!
- One of my readers, Melissa, doesn't like yogurt flavored frosting so she shared this combination of ingredients to make a frosting without yogurt: 8 oz cream cheese (softened), 6 TBSP butter (softened) 1-2 tsp vanilla, and 2.5 -3 cups powdered sugar. Thanks Melissa!
More gluten free dessert recipes
Gluten Free Pumpkin Cookies
INGREDIENTS
Wet ingredients
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup oil
- 15 oz. pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- 3 ½ cups gluten free flour mix
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
Frosting Ingredients
- 4 oz. cream cheese (room temperature)
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ cup Greek yogurt
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl combine brown sugar, sugar, oil, pumpkin, eggs and vanilla until fully incorporated.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the gluten free flour mix, baking soda, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients and stir to fully incorporate.
- Use a small cookie scoop to place mounds of the dough onto the parchment paper.
- Flatten out the mounds by smoothing the top with the back of a spoon or your fingers that have been dipped in water to keep from sticking. (The shape they are going into the oven, is the shape they will be when they are done!)
- Bake for 11-13 minutes, transfer cookies to a cooling rack and let cool before frosting.
- To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar and yogurt until smooth. (I like to make my frosting thicker so I use less yogurt) If the frosting is too thin, add more powdered sugar. Frost each cookie and enjoy!
NOTES
- Add 2 cups of chocolate chips for Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies.
- Store covered in the fridge for up to 4 days. Cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months.
PREVIOUS
Sherry says
These are fantastic! One of the few gluten-free things I have made that actually resembles something that has gluten. I used avocado oil instead of vegetable oil, and I only used half the written amount so 1/2 C. For the remaining 1/2 C of oil substitute, I used all of one 4 oz (113 g) snack cup of unsweetened applesauce. For the GF flour, I was trying to use stuff I had on hand so I used 2.5 cups of the gluten-free all-purpose flour from Kim's recipe on Let Them Eat GF Cake and 1 C King Arthur Measure for Measure flour.
I had to add a couple extra minutes to my baking time. I'm not sure if that was because my oven or because the applesauce was slightly more than half a cup. It didn't matter though, these were awesome!! I chose not to frost them to reduce the sugar knowing I could add it later if necessary. I didn't miss it. Another reviewer commented that these are like muffin tops, and I agree. Definitely A great snack or on-the-go breakfast!
Amber says
I love these cookies! This last batch I ended up not having allspice for the pumpkin pie spice and I don't keep that in my house normally either so I used cardamom instead. I also added a 1/2 tsp of Xanthan gum and these are so soft they are like pumpkin muffins tops.
Karen says
Jest whipped these up early morning for my kids class, last minute snack they are delicious and your instructions on ingredients were so easy to put together fast. Thank you!
Nancy Johnson says
One of my little friends used to make them when she came to our holiday get togethers. My daughter is gluten free and these were not only gluten free but also delicious. Everyone went crazy over them. I am making them now for Christmas get together and surprising everyone.
Judy says
Oven up to 375 and baked for 26 minutes
Came out great. Yummy
Marjie says
These cookies are tasty, but I'm not sure why my batter came out very thin. I used the correct measurements. I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour - 3 !/2 cups. I had to add another 1 1/2 cups of Almond Flour to thicken the batter (because that is all I had on hand after I used all the RMGF Flour.
Teri Harter says
Marjie, I used the 3-1/2 Cups of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour also. Very runny batter. I still have more of the flour, so I'll add another 1 cup. Thanks for posting this I was very confused as to why when others didn't mention it. Maybe its the Bob's brand???? Again, thanks for posting this info. it was helpful.
Gwen says
Made this gluten free. Added all the spices plus some pumpkin pie spice. Just found the icing too runny. Would just use milk and add a little at a time to make a thicker icing. Added raisins and made some plain ones. Chocolate chips would be great too:)
Alice says
Thank you for your yummy recipe 😊