These thin and chewy vegan pumpkin spice sugar cookies have the perfect texture! They’re fudgy and soft on the inside, chewy on the outside, full of pumpkin flavor, and coated in cinnamon sugar. These are the best dairy-free and eggless pumpkin cookies for fall baking, Halloween, or Thanksgiving!
📝 Why You’ll Love These Chewy Vegan Pumpkin Cookies:
- Taste: Sweet with hints of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and of course pumpkin! They’re a mix between a vegan pumpkin sugar cookie and a pumpkin snickerdoodle. SO good.
- Texture: The entire cookie has chewy crisp edges and a soft fudgy interior making them the BEST vegan pumpkin cookies in my opinion.
- Difficulty: They’re incredibly easy to make and have tons of pumpkin flavor.
- Why We Love These Pumpkin Cookies: Let’s be real…most pumpkin cookies end up being thick and cakey. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good thick cookie from time to time. But recently I’ve been craving chewy, fudgy cookies. With fall and Halloween right around the corner, I’ve definitely been in the baking spirit, so I decided to create ultimate fall cookie with the best texture. Forewarning…you will want to eat this entire batch of cookies in one sitting!
These chewy vegan pumpkin spice cookies are made with only 8 ingredients and they can be made in one bowl. Easy peasy! They’re completely dairy-free and egg-free too. The pumpkin puree replaces all the eggs in this recipe. And we’re subbing salted vegan butter for regular butter.
To make them, you’ll need to gather to following:
- Salted Vegan Butter (melted!)
- Brown Sugar
- Pumpkin Puree
- Molasses
- Vanilla Extract
- Pumpkin Pie Spice
- All Purpose Flour
- Baking Soda
Substitutions & Ingredients Notes
- Vegan Butter: My go-to vegan butter for baking is Earth Balance. I’m using the Buttery Sticks, not the spreadable tub of butter. I’ve found that Earth Balance has a firmer texture great for baking. I haven’t tried other brands of vegan butter in this recipe, but they should work because we are melting the butter today.
- Oil: While I haven’t tested oil in this recipe, it will probably work. I recommend coconut oil or vegetable oil. Be sure to add a big pinch (about 1/4 tsp) of salt if you do use oil. And keep in mind, I can’t guarantee the end result if you substitute oil since I haven’t tested it!
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: This can be substituted for cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, and ground clove.
- All Purpose Flour: This recipe has only been tested with all-purpose flour. You can try substituting whole wheat flour or a 1:1 gluten free flour blend with a 1:1 ratio. However, I haven’t tested this and can’t guarantee results.
Helpful Equipment
- Paper Towels: to help dry out the pumpkin puree
- Large Bowl: to mix the dough
- Cookie Sheet or Baking Tray
- Cookie Scoop
Step By Step Instructions
*Video Tutorial is Above the Recipe Card Down Below!*
These eggless pumpkin sugar cookies are super easy, fast, and only require 1 bowl to make. This recipe makes a super soft cookie dough which creates a thin and chewy cookie once baked.
Drying the Pumpkin Purée
STEP 1: Take 3-4 disposable paper towels or a clean tea towel and fold them on top of each other to create a thick stack of paper towels.
STEP 2: Scoop a 1/4 cup of pumpkin purée (60g) onto the towels and pat dry. A good amount of liquid should be absorbed from the pumpkin into the paper towels.
📌 TIP: If measuring with a scale, the dried pumpkin purée should now be about 30g by weight.
How to Make the Vegan Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
STEP 1: In a medium-sized bowl, mix the melted vegan butter, brown sugar, molasses, vanilla extract, and dried pumpkin puree. You can use a hand mixer if you have one.
STEP 2: Sprinkle the flour, pumpkin pie spice, and baking soda on top of the wet ingredients. Sift dry ingredients with a fork then mix them into the wet.
STEP 3: The dough will be very soft but should be able to be scooped and rolled. Scoop the dough and roll into 8-10 sized balls.
Optional– Pour granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Roll the cookie dough into the cinnamon sugar for a crunchy coating on top of the cookies.
STEP 4: Space the cookies 2” apart on the un-greased baking sheet. You can also line the baking sheet with parchment. The cookies will spread more on an un-greased pan, which will result in thiner cookies.
STEP 5: Press balls of dough slightly with the palm of your hand to flatten them into thick discs.
STEP 6: Bake at 350F for 11 minutes.
📌 TIP: You can also line the baking sheet with parchment. The cookies will spread more on an un-greased pan, which will result in thiner cookies. Baking on parchment paper will result in slightly thicker cookies. See the images below! ⬇️
cooling the cookies
Baking cookies for the correct amount of time is super important! After 11 minutes at 350F, the edges of the cookies should be slightly browned and firm to the touch. The middle of the cookies should no longer look wet or raw.
The cookies will finish baking on the baking sheet which is why it’s important to leave them on the baking sheet for about 3 minutes.
After cooling on the baking sheet for about 3 minutes, remove the cookies and place them on a wire cooling rack to finish cooling. The cookies will be slightly soft straight out of the oven but will firm up and become chewier as they cool.
serving
These cookies are great on their own once cooled.
However, you could definitely ice them with a vegan cream cheese frosting or glaze them with a simple icing made with powdered sugar / icing sugar.
Serve them with a glass of milk or alongside a classic iced pumpkin spice latte!
Now that we’ve made these delicious cookies, we need to store them (if you even have leftovers)! I recommend storing them at room temperature for no more than 2 days in closed / airtight container or ziplock baggie.
After 2 days, I highly recommend freezing them. To freeze these cookies, place them in a freezer baggie and store them for 1-2 months.
There are 5 necessary tips and steps the help take these cookies from fluffy and cakey to chewy. Be sure to follow all of the steps and tips below to ensure your pumpkin spice cookies come out nice and chewy like the cookies in these photos!
1. drying the pumpkin:
- Pumpkin naturally has a lot of liquid in it. Too much liquid leads to cakier cookies. Drying the pumpkin puree is critical for these chewy cookies.
- Take 3-4 disposable paper towels or a clean tea towel and fold them on top of each other to create a thick stack of paper towels. Scoop the pumpkin into the towels and pat dry. A good amount of liquid should be absorbed from the pumpkin into the paper towels.
- 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree before drying it is about 60g. After drying the pumpkin, it should weigh around 30g.
2. measuring the flour:
- Accurately measuring the flour is critical to this recipe. Even 1-2 tbsp extra flour will result in thicker, puffier cookies.
- It’s important to use either a scale or the spoon and level method for measuring flour. For reference, 1 cup scooped directly from the bag (not spoon and leveled) is 140g. Whereas 1 cup using the spoon and level method is approximately 120g.
3. don’t chill the cookie dough!
- Contrary to other cookie recipes, we do NOT want to chill the cookie dough for these vegan pumpkin cookies.
- The cookie dough will be super soft once you mix everything together, but it should be scoopable. You should be able to roll it into a ball.
- Chilling the dough would prevent it from spreading. And that’s the opposite of what we want here.
4. flattening the cookie dough:
- Once you roll the cookie dough into balls, gently press down on the top to flatten them into thick discs. This helps the cookies spread out more in the oven.
- You can also leave the cookie dough as balls of dough. They will still spread when baked and result in a chewy texture…just not as much as in the photos.
5. tapping the baking tray:
- When you remove the cookies from the oven, immediately tap the baking tray on the stove or counter 6-8 times. This helps flatten out the cookies further, helping them be chewier.
FAQ
Below are some tips, tricks, and faqs to help you make the best vegan pumpkin cookies!
The cookies should spread quite a bit in the oven. The edges should be baked completely and the center should no longer appear glossy or wet after about 11 minutes. The cookies will continue to bake for a few minutes after you remove them from the oven which is why letting them cool for about 3 minutes on the baking sheet is important.
Yes! You can definitely add chocolate chips to these cookies. I recommend adding about 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips or chunks to the dough prior to scooping and shaping them into balls.
The cookie dough should be very soft but it should be able to be rolled into balls. This dough doesn’t need to be chilled. The soft nature of the cookie dough helps the cookies spread while baking, making them chewy u0026 gooey not soft u0026 cakey.
I haven’t tested this recipe with gluten-free flour, so I can’t guarantee that they will turn out. I recommend using a 1:1 gluten-free flour mix like Bob’s Red Mill. If you do try, I’d love to know how they turned out!
I don’t recommend substituting the brown sugar. The high molasses content in the brown sugar helps these cookies spread and become thinner.
looking for more vegan Cookie recipes?
- Coconut Cherry Thumprint Cookies
- The Best Vegan Moon Pies
- Classic Vegan Snickerdoodles
- Vegan White Chocolate Espresso Cookies
- Cranberry Almond Shortbread
- Easy Vegan Peppermint Mocha Cookies
- Stuffed Biscoff Butter Lava Cookies
Did you make these Chewy Vegan Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies?
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Chewy Vegan Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Ingredients
- 7 tbsp melted vegan butter - 100g, cooled not hot
- ¾ cup + 2 tbsp light brown sugar - 175g, packed
- 1 tbsp unsulphured molasses - 25g, not blackstrap
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup pumpkin puree - patted dry, (1/4 cup or 60g measured before drying. After patting dry the puree is 30g)
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour - 150g , spoon and level method
- ¼ tsp baking soda - 1g
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice - 3g
- Pinch of salt
Cinnamon Sugar:
- 1 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
Dry the Pumpkin:
- Take 3-4 disposable paper towels or a clean tea towel and fold them on top of each other to create a thick stack of paper towels.
- Scoop a 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree (60g) onto the towels and pat dry. A good amount of liquid should be absorbed from the pumpkin into the paper towels. If measuring with a scale, the pumpkin puree should now be about 30g by weight.¼ cup pumpkin puree
Making the Cookies:
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the melted vegan butter, brown sugar, molasses, vanilla extract, and dried pumpkin puree. Make sure the butter is not too hot, as you don’t want to melt the brown sugar.7 tbsp melted vegan butter, ¾ cup + 2 tbsp light brown sugar, 1 tbsp unsulphured molasses, 1 tsp vanilla extract, ¼ cup pumpkin puree
- Sprinkle the flour (see notes below!), baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt on top of the wet ingredients. Sift the dry ingredients with a fork then mix them into the wet.1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour, ¼ tsp baking soda, 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, Pinch of salt
- The dough will be very soft but should be able to be scooped and rolled. Scoop about 1 1/2 – 2 tbsp of dough and roll into balls. You should be able to make 10 large cookies or 12 regular-sized cookies.
- Optional– roll the cookie dough into the cinnamon sugar.1 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice, 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- Space the cookies 2” apart on the un-greased or parchment lined baking sheet. The cookies will spread more and be thinner if not using parchment paper (see the images in the post above for reference).
- Press balls of dough slightly with the palm of your hand to flatten them into thick discs.
- Bake at 350F for 11-12 minutes. The edges of the cookies should be slightly golden brown and firm. The center should no longer look wet or jiggly.
- When you remove the baking sheet from the oven, smack the baking sheet on the counter or stovetop 6-8 times. This helps deflate the cookies and makes them less puffy.
- Let the cookies cool for 3 minutes on the baking sheet. Then, transfer them to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Video
Notes
1. Drying the Pumpkin
- Pumpkin naturally has a lot of liquid in it. Too much liquid leads to cakier cookies. Drying the pumpkin puree is critical for these chewy cookies.
- 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree before drying it is about 60g. After drying the pumpkin, it should weigh around 30g.
2. Measuring the Flour:
- Accurately measuring the flour is critical to this recipe. Even 1-2 tbsp extra flour will result in thicker, puffier cookies.
- It’s important to use either a scale or the spoon and level method for measuring flour. For reference, 1 cup scooped directly from the bag (not spoon and leveled) is 140g. Whereas 1 cup using the spoon and level method is approximately 120g. To make these cookies, we need 150g of flour.
3. Flattening the Cookie Dough
- Once you roll the cookie dough into balls, gently press down on the top to flatten them into thick discs. This helps the cookies spread out more in the oven.
4. Tapping the Baking Tray after Baking
- When you remove the cookies from the oven, immediately tap the baking tray on the stove or counter 6-8 times. This helps flatten out the cookies further, helping them be chewier.
5. For Extra Thin & Chewy Cookies:
- Increase the amount of light brown sugar to 1 cup (200g) and bake on an un-greased baking sheet (without parchment paper). The extra sugar will help the cookies spread even more and will create a thin, crispy and chewy texture.
Nutrition
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How are there no reviews here?? I found this recipe last fall to use up extra pumpkin from another bake, and they were the hit of the holidays! Even the non-vegans skipped over my brown butter chocolate chip cookies in favor of these. They’re the perfect combination of soft and crispy with plenty of warm autumn spiciness. I cannot recommend them enough!
These were very good as for the flavor combination. However extremely sweet. Almost impossible to eat more than 1 but that just may be my personal opinion on desired sweetness. Definitely read the additional recommendations notes below the instructions in its entirety before making.