Pillowy Soft Pumpkin Cookies
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Published Oct 12, 2020, Updated Jul 05, 2023
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These soft pumpkin cookies are like pillowy clouds that melt in your mouth. They’re loaded with pumpkin flavor, grain-free and made without any oil! Top with frosting for a delicious treat.
I actually shared a variation of these pumpkin cookies on my Instagram last winter! It was my take on the popular 2-ingredient pumpkin cookies made with a box of spice cake mix and a can of pumpkin. I made a version with a box of Simple Mills vanilla cake mix and they were so good.
I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to post this recipe (I guess I was waiting for fall to come back around)! Lucky for me (and you) it’s officially pumpkin season so these pillowy soft pumpkin cookies are making an appearance.
I used a combination of almond and coconut flour and the end result was perfection. The cookies are melt-in-your-mouth soft… basically cake cookies. They taste so light and fluffy that it’s easy to pop a few in one sitting. I ate four as a snack one night!
Ingredients in Pumpkin Cookies
- almond flour
- coconut flour
- baking soda
- sea salt
- eggs
- canned pumpkin – make sure you check the ingredient list! Look for just “pureed pumpkin“… not pumpkin pie mix. Pumpkin pie mix has added sugar!
- cane sugar
- vanilla extract
- pumpkin pie spice – you can make your own using my recipe or use store-bought.
- mini chocolate chips – I used Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips for this recipe.
- frosting – I kept things easy and used store-bought frosting, but you can always make your own. I really like the Simple Mills vanilla frosting.
Substitutions and Notes:
- Flour: I haven’t tested this recipe with any different types of flour so I don’t recommend subbing the flours. They’re delicious as is! If you want a soft pumpkin cookie with all-purpose flour, there are plenty. Here’s one!
- Cane sugar: I have tested this recipe with coconut sugar and it works great, but does make the cookies a bit darker in color. I haven’t tested the recipe with other natural sweeteners like maple syrup or honey. If you decide to try it, let me know how the cookies turn out.
- Canned pumpkin: If you can’t find canned pumpkin, you can make your own pumpkin puree or use canned butternut squash.
- Eggs: I haven’t tested this recipe with flax eggs, chia eggs or an egg replacer and I’m not sure the cookies will turn out well with these substitutes. I recommend trying my vegan pumpkin cookies if you need an egg-free recipe.
How to Frost Pumpkin Cookies
These cookies are honestly delicious on their own without any frosting, but the frosting definitely makes them look very cute (and taste extra delicious).
I’m on a mission too create a healthy frosting recipe, but I don’t have one just yet, so for these cookies I used store-bought frosting. I frosted the cookies several different ways for different looks:
- Simple: The easiest method is to simply spread a layer of frosting on top of each cookie with a knife. I like this method to keep things quick and easy.
- Piped Frosting: If you want the cookies to look more polished, you can pipe the frosting. For the final batch (the ones I used for these photos) I frosted with a star tip (#17).
- Mummy Cookies: you can use this same cookie recipe to make super cute mummy cookies for Halloween.
For the frosting, I really love the ingredients and flavor of Simple Mills vanilla frosting, but you can use whatever frosting brand you like. Another option is to make your own frosting. Cream cheese frosting is delicious on pumpkin cookies!
How to Store Soft Pumpkin Cookies
Allow your cookies to cool completely before storing! You can frost your cookies and store or just store them unfrosted and frost right before serving. If you have multiple layers of cookies in a container, use parchment paper to separate the layers. Store cookies in the fridge for up to one week or freezer for up to two months.
More Pumpkin Recipes to Try:
- Healthy Pumpkin Pancakes
- 10 Minute Pumpkin Butter
- Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats
- Pumpkin Bran Muffins
- Pumpkin Gingerbread Smoothie
- Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
- Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal
If you make these pumpkin cookies be sure to leave a comment and star rating below letting us know how they turned out. Your feedback is so helpful for the EBF team and our readers!
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Soft Pumpkin Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour, 175 grams
- 3 Tablespoons coconut flour
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup cane sugar, or coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup pumpkin, canned or homemade
- 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips, I used Enjoy Life
- vanilla frosting, for piping (optional)
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Mix dry ingredients: Stir together dry ingredients (flours, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and sea salt) in a mixing bowl.
- Add wet ingredients: Mix together wet ingredients (eggs, pumpkin, sugar and vanilla) in a separate mixing bowl.
- Combine: Combine wet and dry ingredients. The dough will seem really wet for a cookie dough. This is ideal!
- Add chocolate chips: Stir in 1/3 cup chocolate chips.
- Scoop: Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop and place cookies on prepared cookie sheet. Press cookie dough down into a cookie shape with a spoon or your fingers. Cookies won’t spread very much so you can space them about 1 inch apart.
- Bake: Bake for 15 minutes.
- Cool: Move cookies to a wire rack and cool completely.
- Decorate with frosting: add frosting to the piping bag fitted with a #17 tip and pipe the frosting in s swirl on each cookie.
- To store:store leftover cookies in a container in the fridge for up to one week.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I live above 6000 feet, so I added 1 extra tablespoon of coconut flour and they turned out great. I LOVE pumpkin desserts and was so excited to try out some healthy pumpkin cookies.
Ah this is so great to hear, Nicole. I am so glad these turned out great for you, especially at a higher elevation. Thank you for taking the time to share your review & star rating, I really appreciate it!
These cookies looked so good, and loved the description! I made them with my 4yo so I appreciated the relative simplicity and number of ingredients. I am also gluten and dairy free so wanted to try it.
I followed the recipe as written and I ended up with cookies that were yes very soft but almost looked undercooked at the 15 minute mark. I let them bake for 3-4 more minutes just in case it was my oven temperature not being correct. Others mention using all almond flour so I may try that next time, but have had luck in the past with other recipes using both coconut and almond flour. They tasted fine, but definitely more soft-like-cookie-dough than soft-like-pillow or airy like in the pictures. I love many other recipes here so it could surely be user error!
Hi Hannah – I am sorry to hear these turned out a but to soft for you. What rack did you have them on in the oven? Also the consistency of the batter when scooping out the cookies? I am wondering if either of those may have played into the cookies being too soft. I am happy to hear they tasted great though!
These are seriously soft pillowy pumpkin goodness… in a cookie. Always get great feedback when I serve them to friends and family. I didn’t even make the frosting (trying to keep them lower in calories), and they’re still bomb.
Woo! Love to hear that, Stephanie! Thanks for the review and star rating, I appreciate it so much!
My kiddos loved these! They were so easy to make together and the frosting made them a little fancier for a cookie exchange!
Ah yay! Happy to hear these cookies were a hit, Christina! Thanks for the review. I really appreciate it!
These are BEYOND good! Was looking for a good pumpkin cookie and I’ve found it!!! They’re soft and perfect.
Ah yay! So happy to hear this, Sydney. Thanks so much for trying them out and coming back to leave a review. It means so much to me :).
Oh my goodness… these are heaven and they taste buttery. I didn’t have the coconut flour so I just added 3 more tablespoons of almond flour. And I did a couple of dashes of clove because why not!
I just made one batch and I didn’t quite put a whole half cut of sugar and for the next batch I’m going to try 4 tablespoons of cane sugar and see how they turn out(I am doing a no added sugar lifestyle, but I do have a husband and tot that still like sweets)
All that to say, very tasty recipe and thanks for sharing!
So glad you loved these cookies, Holly!! Thanks for making them and for the review. I so appreciate it!