Beautifully soft vegan pumpkin cookies topped with a delicious maple glaze. This simple recipe is perfectly spiced and perfect for fall!
These vegan pumpkin cookies were such a success I was actually shocked!
I had been trying ALL day to make some vegan pumpkin oatmeal cookies, but really could not get it right (will have to circle back to that one day!).
But I was determined to put together a winning recipe for pumpkin cookies and I was just not going to call it a day until I did.
And then it suddenly occurred to me, well why don’t I just try some straight up pumpkin cookies and forget the oatmeal part altogether?
And that’s when these happened. It was about 11pm by that time and I have never been so happy to succeed at a cookie!
These cookies are super simple. They’re similar to a sugar cookie but even softer.
They are super soft and melt in your mouth and they are topped with a delicious maple glaze.
If you love all things pumpkin flavored, then check out our vegan pumpkin pie, vegan pumpkin muffins and vegan pumpkin bread too. And for the chocolate chip version of these cookies, check out our vegan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.
How To Make Vegan Pumpkin Cookies
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- You will love how easy it is to make these cookies!
- Just add vegan butter, white sugar and brown sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Cream them together and then add in vanilla extract and pumpkin purée and mix in.
- Now add all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and mix that in with the butter and sugar by hand (not your actual hands, just use a spoon and not the stand mixer for this part). You will now have a thick cookie dough.
- Scoop the cookie dough with a cookie scoop in roughly 2 tablespoon sized scoops and place onto a parchment lined baking tray, aiming for around 20 cookies.
- Flatten the cookies with a fork.
- Bake for 15 minutes at 350°F. When they come out the oven they will be very soft but will firm up as they cool.
- Prepare a maple glaze by mixing powdered sugar, maple syrup, soy milk and vanilla in a bowl. It should be a consistency that can easily drizzle over the cookies, but not so runny that it will just run straight off the cookies. So if it’s a little too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar to thicken it up.
- When the cookies have cooled use a teaspoon to drizzle the maple glaze over the cookies.
Pumpkin Purée – Canned or Fresh
The easiest pumpkin to use is canned pumpkin. It’s the most consistent in results and of course it’s also the easiest. And if you open up a 15-ounce can of pumpkin purée you could make these cookies AND a vegan pumpkin cake or vegan pumpkin bread! What a great plan!
However, if you would prefer to use freshly made pumpkin purée then you can definitely do so.
To make your homemade pumpkin purée place peeled and chopped pumpkin onto a parchment lined baking tray and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes until soft and cooked. Let it cool and then purée it in your food processor. It’s a good idea to let the purée stand in a sieve over a bowl to let any excess water drain off it before using.
What About Gluten-Free?
If you want to make these cookies gluten-free then use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend that is meant to replace regular flour in a recipe. That will provide the best results.
Storing and Freezing
Keep the cookies covered at room temperature where they will stay fresh for a few days or covered in the fridge for up to 7 days.
They are also freezer friendly for up to 3 months if you want to freeze them.
More Delicious Vegan Cookie Recipes
- Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Sugar Cookies
- Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
- Vegan Lemon Cookies
- Vegan Snickerdoodles
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Pumpkin Cookies
Ingredients
For the Pumpkin Cookies:
- ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
- ½ cup White Granulated Sugar (100g)
- ¼ cup Light Brown Sugar (50g)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- ⅓ cup Pumpkin Purée (75g) Canned or Fresh
- 1 ½ cups All Purpose Flour (188g)
- ½ tsp Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Nutmeg
- ¼ tsp Salt
For the Maple Glaze:
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar (120g)
- 2 Tbsp Maple Syrup
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 Tbsp Soy Milk
Instructions
- Add the vegan butter, white sugar and brown sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer and cream them together and then add in the vanilla and pumpkin purée.
- Then add in the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and mix in by hand (don’t use the electric mixer for this part).
- It will make a thick cookie dough that is a bit wet, a little too wet to roll with your hands.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Scoop the cookie dough in roughly 2 Tbsp sized scoops out onto a parchment lined baking tray, aiming for around 20 cookies. Flatten with a fork.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes. When you remove them from the oven they will be very soft. Let them cool on the tray before moving them.
- Prepare your maple glaze by mixing up the powdered sugar, maple syrup, vanilla and 1 and ½ tablespoons soy milk in a bowl. If needed add the remaining half tablespoon of soy milk a little at a time until you get a consistency that is thin enough to drizzle but not so thin that it will run right off the cookies.
- When the cookies have cooled use a teaspoon to drizzle the maple glaze over the cookies.
Video
Notes
- Weigh the flour on a food scale for accuracy or, if you don’t have a scale make sure to use the spoon and level method for measuring flour. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup.
- You can substitute almond milk or another non-dairy milk for the soy milk if you prefer.
- If you want to make these cookies gluten-free then try a gluten-free all purpose flour blend that is meant to replace regular flour in baking.
- Bake the cookies for 12 minutes if you prefer a softer cookie and up to 15 minutes if you prefer a crunchier/crispier cookie.
- Keep the cookies covered at room temperature where they will stay fresh for a few days or covered in the fridge for up to 7 days. They are also freezer friendly for up to 3 months if you want to freeze them.
Thank you! The oatmeal cookies are perfect! They freeze really well also.
Could I use dark brown sugar instead of light brown?
Sure! It will just change the color a bit.
the original recipe used too much sugar for my liking, so I made some adjustments and they turned out almost perfect! I think the only thing I would have changed was actually moving the oven rack back to the middle position instead of thinking it was okay at the higher one someone left it at ????.
Here’s what I changed:
– sub white sugar for 1/8 cup molasses
– added 2 extra teaspoons of pumpkin purée (unsure if that made much of a difference)
– added 1/4 tsp powdered cloves
– subbed icing sugar in the glaze for almond flour (~10 tsp : 3 tbsp hemp milk, adjust for desired consistency)
That last sub with the almond flour instead of icing sugar was the best one IMO, I based it off a similar icing I did with Califia Eggnog (the best commercial vegan eggnog IMO) for my gingerbread cookies. It added a nice complementing flavour and texture. Highly recommend trying it!
Thanks for the recipe!
Only 1/3 cup pumpkin? Just checking…
Yes that’s right. 🙂
I absolutely adore these! I looked around and saw many recipes, but none seemed as good as this (despite the few ratings). I am soo happy to have found this recipe; it was so good!!
Thanks so much Nadeen!
Hey, Alison I don’t have a stand mixer. Can I whisk the ingredients by hand?
Hi Christy, I think you can, but let the vegan butter soften a lot first and then mix the butter and sugar together and then just stir the mix until it looks a bit fluffy like you would get in a mixer.
How can anyone who claims to love pumpkin not have this on their list of goodies! I made these for the first time, and wow, what a treasure. Because I’m vegan, even my neighbor, who thinks all my recipes start with, two cups of finely shredded corrugated cardboard, gave me two thumbs up. I love these cookies! Thanks, Alison, for another great recipe. I’ll be adding this to my favorites.
Hi Kaz, oh that is so hilarious about the finely shredded cardboard! So glad you (and your neighbor) loved the cookies!
Moist, soft, and utterly delicious! With Fall approaching this is the perfect pumpkin dessert:) Awesome recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much Victoria!
I have been making your pumpkin cupcakes recipe for years. Had my eye on this one for awhile. Just made them today! SO GOOD!!! I love how soft and subtle the pumpkin flavor is. I added a pinch of pumpkin spice powder as well. They are warm and perfect.
Thanks so much Akshu!
Such delicious pumpkin cookies! A family favorite. Most recently, I made one big batch on a cookie sheet (as if I was going to make a cookie cake) and then used a pumpkin cookie cutter to create pumpkin coaches for my daughter’s princess party! So fun!
~Catherine
Yay! Thanks so much for sharing!
Made two batches! Love them 🙂 I added sultanas!
Awesome!
Wow, just wow. My mom and I have loved all of your recipes so far, but this one blew us out of the water. Our family ate all of the cookies in one day, I definitely plan on making this again.
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing Anna!