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. You’ll also love our vegan pumpkin oatmeal 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.
Amazing cookies. Made these and my husband can’t keep his fingers off of them.
Haha awesome! Thanks Jennifer!
Made these last thanksgiving and they were a big hit. Even our non vegan family members who dislike most vegan food loved it! Thank you for the recipe!
Thanks Crissie!
Hi, I have just taken these out of the oven, they smell delicious! Not sure about the 2Tbsp. scoop size making 20 cookies, I made mine smaller, and only got 14 cookies. Can’t wait to try them ????
I just pulled these out of the oven, and they are delicious! I used a purple sweet potato instead of pumpkin, which gives them an odd/pretty blue-purple color. If I were baking them in the spring (instead of near Christmas), I would play up this color with a pale pink glaze. Either way, I will make these again- the texture is great, and I can imagine all kinds of flavor variations.
I’ve made these about 7 times since I discovered this recipe in October! Non-vegans and vegans alike LOVE these cookies. I added about 1/8 of a teaspoon of ground cloves to give the cookies an added warmth. Thank you for sharing this easy to follow and delicious recipe! 🙂
Wonderful! I’m so happy to hear that Madisen! Thanks for the amazing review! 🙂
I have made this recipe three times now and every time it is a hit! I substituted the soy milk with almond milk and it worked perfectly! My grandson said they taste so good I should sell them! Love the recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Wonderful! So happy they are a hit! Thanks for the awesome review Denice. 🙂
My kids love this cookie so much!!Thankyou!!????
So happy to hear that Zoe! Thanks for the wonderful review. 🙂
Hi! Would I be able to make the dough, keep it overnight, and bake the cookies the next day?
Hi Meagan, yes you can definitely do this. Keep the dough in the fridge and then let it come to room temperature before rolling the balls. If you want to roll the balls the night before as well, then keep them in the fridge on the baking tray and you can bake right away from cold but allow a couple of extra minutes baking time to account for the coldness of the dough going in. All the best! 🙂
Love your website and a massive follower of your recipes. I tried this one recently and it tasted really good. I did half a measurement of the nutmeg and cinnamon. And I can still taste it! But I do get a very cake-y texture and it is a bit crumbly. I have used a gluten free flour blend. Is it supposed to be like that or have I done something wrong?
Hi Nicole, it ‘might’ be the gluten-free flour, I’m not sure. They are definitely softer cookies, but shouldn’t be particularly crumbly. Using a different flour is always a bit of a surprise with what might happen! But as long as it tastes good that is the most important thing. 🙂
These are some of the best cookies I’ve had since being vegan and I bake a lot. The second time I made them I upped the pumpkin to ~100g and they still baked up nicely (a happy accident from a heavy hand, :)) I am at 5,000 ft and I actually did not have to change the recipe to get a good result! Lovely, soft sort of cake-y cookies when baked up here.
The real thing that bumped this up to five stars for me is that you put the weight of ingredients in addition to volume in the recipe and it was written very clearly. No confusion and so much easier to replicate your results. Thank you for doing that!
So happy to hear that Jane! Thanks for the wonderful review. 🙂
These look amazing! I am oil free. Besides using coconut oil is there anything else I can sub the for the vegan butter? Would applesauce work? Thanks!
Hi Eileen, I’m really not sure, I haven’t tried these as oil free, let us know how it goes if you do experiment! 🙂
Delicious! Even my non-vegan family members really enjoyed them! Have made the recipe three times already, as there’s always pumpkin left over 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
Wonderful! Thanks so much for the awesome review Emily. 🙂
Made them with gluten free flour blend and used 1tbsp pumpkin pie spice instead of the spices in the recipe and they were amazing!
Wonderful! Thanks so much for the awesome review Amber. 🙂
Didn’t make the glaze and substituted sweet potato (microwaved, mashed, weighed) for the pumpkin. Big hit!! Delicious.
Oh wow, that sounds great! Thanks for sharing and the awesome review! 🙂
I use a vegetable oil based butter and I was not able to cream the butter and sugar together. It just melted into a slurry. Does it need to be creamed like traditional buttercream frosting would require?
Hi Kaitlyn, that is so weird! I have seen some dairy free spreads that say they are not meant to be used in baking, only as spreads, I wonder if maybe that applies to this one as well. I usually just let it run a minute or two, so I guess it might not be as long as traditional creaming of dairy butter and sugar would be, but I have also just let it run and have never had it turn to liquid, so my guess is that it’s the brand of vegan butter that is causing the issue.
I figured part of the problem was that I let the butter melt too quickly, and I don’t have an electric mixer so I was trying to cream it by hand. I was able to make it work by placing a bag of frozen veggies under the bowl to keep the butter from melting too fast and I subbed the granulated sugar for 3/4c + 2tbsp of powdered sugar. Fluffed up after only a few minutes of beating the devil out of it, and the cookies turned out wonderful 🙂
So glad they turned out well in the end! Thanks so much for updating us and the wonderful rating! 🙂