Gluten-free pumpkin cookies with crisp edges and chewy gooey middles. These morsels are loaded with cozy pumpkin spice flavors for the perfect fall cookie.
This post is brought to you by Bob’s Red Mill, a long-term partner of Snixy Kitchen
I've been craving chewy gluten-free pumpkin cookies. Something distinctly different that these pillowy soft gluten-free pumpkin cookies (which I crave for totally different reasons!). Instead, I longed for the texture of a chewy chocolate chip cookie, but with pumpkin and spices rather than chocolate.
I started with a variation on these gluten-free pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, omitting the chocolate and nuts, and swapping the flour combo for a nut-free version I could share at our school potlucks and bake sales.
The result is a chewy fall-forward cookie that's everything I've been wanting. The edges are crisp while the middles are super chewy.
I've developed these chewy gluten-free pumpkin cookies as part of my year-long partnership with Bob’s Red Mill. Here’s a list of all the recipes I’ve made in partnership with Bob’s Red Mill over the years.
How to Make Chewy Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cookies
Cakey fluffy pumpkin cookies are a dime a dozen, but chewy pumpkin cookies with crisp edges require some precision. Here are my tips for making chewy gluten-free pumpkin cookies:
- Use an egg yolk, rather than the whole egg. We're adding in the pumpkin puree, which already lends moisture to the cookies, so we're using less egg than a typical cookie recipe. We want the fat content in the yolk to create a fudgier chewy cookie.
- Use more brown sugar than white sugar. I always recommend organic sugar because it has a higher molasses content, which leads to chewier centers with toffee notes. The cookies still need a little bit of white sugar though, which is what creates that crispy edge!
- Choose quality canned pumpkin. For baking, I always use non-organic Libby's canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling). I've found that organic canned pumpkin is thinner and more watery, which will drastically affect your baking. If you've only got organic canned pumpkin, spread it out between two clean cloths or paper towels to drain some of the excess water before measuring and adding to your cookie dough.
- Take care not to overbake. If your cookies come out cakey in the center, the culprit is most definitely the bake time or temperature. There are so many variations to baking including, for example, huminidy, elevation, baking sheet color, and oven temperature. I give a range for baking because of all these variables, so it's important to also look for visual cues. When lightly tapped, the outside edge should feel firm and crisp, but the inside should still look just underbaked. Time to take them out! The cookies will continue cooking as they cool.
Best Flour for Chewy Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cookies
I developed this recipe using a blend of Bob's Red Mill flours, and recommend them for their consistent quality and grind. Using any other brand will greatly affect your cookies as different grinds of flour will soak up moisture differently.
For cookies with soft chewy centers and crisp edges, you need a blend of a soft flour and a starch. These chewy gluten-free pumpkin cookies use gluten-free oat flour gives cookies a slight soft lift, combined with a bit of tapioca flour to create the classic chewy centers and crisp edges. A small amount of sweet rice flour further enhances the chewiness of the cookies. Sweet rice flour is the same flour used to make mochi, so it binds with that classic chewy texture.
Flour Substitutions:
- Gluten-Free Oat Flour: If you don't have oat flour, you can make your own by grinding gluten-free rolled oats in a blender or food processor until fine, then sifting out any larger pieces. Alternatively, you can sub in teff flour by weight for a darker cookie with a slight toffee flavor, or use Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten-free flour. by weight. For a grain-free version, see below.
- Tapioca Flour: Sub in arrowroot starch, potato starch, Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 all-purpose gluten-free flour blend, or use equal parts more oat flour and sweet rice flour, by weight.
- Sweet Rice Flour: Sub in tapioca flour by weight. Alternatively, substitute all the flour measurements for Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten-free flour.
Grain-Free Pumpkin Cookie Variation
To make a grain-free pumpkin cookie, replace all the flour measurements with the following blend:
Tips for Making Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cookies
- Use a cookie scoop for even cookies. Since chewy cookies rely so heavily on the bake time, it's important that all the cookie dough balls are equal in size so they all need the same amount of bake time. I always use a medium cookie scoop to create perfectly even and round cookies.
- Chill dough before rolling in sugar: This is a very sticky cookie dough, on account of the pumpkin, so chilling briefly for just 10 minutes in the fridge or five in the freezer before rolling in cinnamon and sugar will help immensely.
Should you chill gluten-free cookie dough before baking?
Yes! Chill the dough before baking for thicker chewier cookies. You can bake the cookies immediately after rolling and the results will be a bit thinner without edges that are quite as crispy.
However, to get thicker chewy center with crisp edges, chill the dough a second time before baking. The longer you chill, the thicker the cookies will turn out. Freezing the cookie dough, for example, will add 1-2 minutes to your bake time, but the longer bake will make crispier edges while the center remains soft and chewy.
How to tell when gluten-free cookies are done?
Ever notice how baking recipes give a bake-time range? What's up with that? There are so many variables from one oven to the next that it's important to also look for visual cues for when your cookies are done (and cakes too for that matter!).
For these chewy yet crisp gluten-free cookies, the outside edge should feel firm and crisp when lightly tapped, but the inside should still look just underbaked. It's time to take the cookies out of the oven - they will continue cooking as they cool. In my opinion, an underbaked cookie is better than an overbaked cookie, so I err on the side of pulling them out too soon.
Cookies turned out fluffy and cakey? The cookies were likely overbaked just slightly. If the centers look perfectly baked in the oven, they'll be overbaked once they cool. Take the next batch out of the oven sooner. The other culprit of cakey cookies is too much flour - eliminate that risk factor by measuring your flour by weight.
Cookies turned out soft and delicate? The cookies were likely underbaked just slightly. Leave them in the oven for 30-60 seconds longer next time.
And remember, an imperfect cookie is still a delicious cookie.
Dairy-Free Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cookies
These pumpkin cookies are easy to make dairy-free! Just sub the butter with plant butter and carry on.
Does pumpkin cookie dough freeze well?
Heck yeah! Freezing the cookie dough balls after rolling them in cinnamon sugar allows you to have freshly baked cookies on demand. As an added bonus, frozen cookie dough balls bake up so deliciously.
Bake the cookie dough straight out of the freezer. Freezing will add 1-2 minutes to the bake time, but because they bake a bit longer, the edges will get crispier while the center remains soft and chewy.
Storing Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cookies
Store cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 5 days (if your willpower allows).
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cookie Variations
Make the cookies your own! Here are a few suggestions:
- Drizzle with cream cheese glaze
- Add 4 ounces of chocolate chips
- Add ½ cup of toasted nuts
- Sub out the spices for chai spices:
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- Pinch ground cardamom
- Pinch ground pepper
More Gluten-Free Pumpkin Recipes
As soon as pumpkin season hits, I try adding pumpkin to everything! Here are a few of my time-tested recipes that I make on repeat.
Recipe
Chewy Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cookies
Ingredients
- 102 g Bob's Red Mill gluten-free oat flour
- 80 g Bob's Red Mill sweet rice flour
- 35 g Bob’s Red Mill tapioca flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1¾ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoons ground cloves
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup (150 g) organic light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (51 g) granulated sugar
- 1 egg yolk, room temperature
- ⅓ cup (80 g) canned pumpkin puree
- 2 teaspoons molasses
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the oat flour, tapioca flour, sweet rice flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together starting on low speed and increasing to medium-high speed, until well combined, 1-2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and add the egg, pumpkin, molasses, and vanilla extract and beat until just combined.
- With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients until just combined.
Scoop 1½ tablespoon-sized balls and place them 2½ inches apart on the parchment-lined baking sheet (I use the OXO medium cookie scoop and it makes exactly 21 cookies). Chill for 10 minutes in the fridge, or 5 minutes in the freezer. - Meanwhile, prepare the cinnamon sugar for rolling. Mix the ¼ cup of granulated sugar with 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Roll each cookie dough into a ball in the palm of your hand, then roll in the sugar to coat. Place dough balls 2-3 inches apart on the baking sheet. For thinner cookies, move to step 6 and bake immediately. For thicker cookies, chill the dough before baking (15 minutes in the freezer or 30 minutes in the fridge).
- Bake in batches, if needed, for 11-12 minutes, until the edges are just set, but the centers look underbaked. Let cool for two minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack with a thin metal turner to cool completely. Sprinkle with flaky salt, if desired.
Notes
Flour Substitutions:
- Gluten-Free Oat Flour: If you don't have oat flour, you can make your own by grinding gluten-free rolled oats in a blender or food processor until fine, then sifting out any larger pieces. Alternatively, you can sub in teff flour by weight for a darker cookie with a slight toffee flavor, or use Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten-free flour. by weight. For a grain-free version, see below.
- Tapioca Flour: Sub in arrowroot starch, potato starch, Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 all-purpose gluten-free flour blend, or use equal parts more oat flour and sweet rice flour, by weight.
- Sweet Rice Flour: Sub in tapioca flour by weight. Alternatively, substitute all the flour measurements for Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten-free flour.
Elise -
These look and sound amazing and I can’t wait to try them!! Thank you SO much for the flour substitutions, as I don’t have any sweet rice flour on hand… love that you developed a gluten-free and nut free recipe!! Thank you!!
Sonya -
Could you use coconut oil instead of the butter? Want to make them plant based w/o the use of vegan butter. Thanks!
Ru -
How about reducing the amount of sugar? Thank you
maxine -
I made a batch of these cookies to share with new friends and half of them never made it out the door because my family (who isn't GF by the way) kept eating them. Perfect flavor and texture.