Erin’s Recipe Rundown
Texture: CHEWY (not cakey!), with crisp golden edges and gooey centers.
Taste: Classic pumpkin spice flavors combined with rich brown butter.
Ease: Be sure to follow the instructions carefully. These cookies require a few extra steps, but turn out AMAZING if you follow the recipe closely!
Top Tips: My #1 tip is to pat pumpkin puree dry before mixing it into the dough— this step ensures chewy cookies! I also use only egg yolks instead of the whole egg.
Recommended GF Flour: I use and recommend King Arthur Flour for these cookies.
Would I make these again? Absolutely! These are my idea of the perfect pumpkin cookie.
xoxo erin
Looking for the perfect gluten-free pumpkin cookie? You’ve found it!
I’ve loved this recipe gluten-free pumpkin chocolate chip cookies for years. But I wanted to create a pumpkin cookie that was chewy rather than cakey.
Thanks to patting the pumpkin dry and using only egg yolks, these cookies are incredibly chewy, with notes of brown butter and pumpkin spice.
Be sure to follow this recipe carefully for best results! I think once you try them, you’ll want to make them every fall!
Featured Comment
From Jordan: “I made these a while ago for my friends at school and everyone LOVED them. I made them again per request for work today – multiple people told me they don’t like pumpkin but I convinced them to try these anyway and they LOVED them. I made a double batch and they were gone within an hour! I cannot recommend this recipe enough!”
Table of Contents
- Erin’s Recipe Rundown
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- How to Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cookies
- Storage/Make Ahead/Freezing Instructions
- Can these gluten-free pumpkin cookies be made dairy-free?
- Can I use pumpkin pie spice instead of the individual spices?
- Why do you need to “dry” the pumpkin puree?
- More Gluten-Free Pumpkin Recipes
- Chewy Gluten-Free Pumpkin Snickerdoodles Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are a few notes on some of the key ingredients to make these chewy gluten-free pumpkin snickerdoodles. See the recipe card below for exact measurements.
- Gluten-Free Flour: For best results, use a high quality gluten-free measure-for-measure flour blend that contains xanthan gum. King Arthur Flour Gluten-Free Measure-For-Measure Flour is my favorite gluten-free flour. I’ve also had good results with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking Flour.
- Brown Butter: Sometimes gluten-free baked goods can lack flavor. Brown butter gives these cookies a delectable nutty, toasty almost caramelized flavor that you can’t get from anything else.
- Egg Yolks: It’s important to use only egg yolks (no whites) give these cookies a chewy texture. Adding egg whites would create a cakey, fluffy texture.
- Pumpkin Puree: For best results, use Libby’s Pumpkin Puree at room temperature. Spread pumpkin puree on a plate and pat dry to remove some of the moisture. (Don’t skip this step!) Be sure you’re using pumpkin puree, not canned pumpkin pie filling.
How to Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cookies
Here’s an overview of how to make this recipe. You can jump to the recipe for the full instructions!
Whisk dry ingredients: To make these cookies, start by whisking together the dry ingredients. Then you’ll brown the butter.
TO BROWN THE BUTTER:
- Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.
- Once the butter is melted and begins to foam, stir continuously to prevent the milk solids from sticking to the skillet. The butter will change from yellow to golden brown quickly and will have a nutty aroma. Remove from the heat and immediately pour into a medium bowl. Let butter cool in the fridge, stirring occasionally until fully cooled but still liquid.
You also might like these gluten-free snickerdoodles that are made with brown butter!
“Dry” the pumpkin: Spread pumpkin puree on a plate and pat with paper towels to soak up some of the liquid, until it reaches a playdough consistency.
Mix wet and dry ingredients: Mix sugars, cooled brown butter, egg yolks, and other wet ingredients. Add in dry ingredients until well combined.
Rest dough: Cover the bowl and chill dough for a minimum of 20 minutes, or up to 3 days if making in advance.
Bake cookies: Mix granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Scoop cookies into round balls, then roll in cinnamon-sugar coating and place on baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until edges are golden brown.
Storage/Make Ahead/Freezing Instructions
To Store: Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
To Make Ahead: Prepare recipe as usual, up until the point of chilling the dough. Rather than chilling for 20 minutes, chill dough overnight or up to three days before baking. When ready to bake, remove dough from the fridge and continue following the recipe as usual.
To Freeze: Scoop the dough into balls and place them on a small baking sheet or plate lined with parchment paper. Pop the sheet into the freezer until the dough balls are solid, which usually takes about 1-2 hours. Then, transfer the frozen dough balls into a freezer bag or air-tight container, making sure to squeeze out any extra air. Label the bag with the date.
Can these gluten-free pumpkin cookies be made dairy-free?
Yes! You can easily make these snickerdoodles dairy-free by using melted dairy-free butter instead of regular butter. Skip the steps for browning the butter (note that dairy-free butter will not brown.) Follow the rest of the recipe as usual.
Can I use pumpkin pie spice instead of the individual spices?
Yes, you can use pumpkin spice instead of the individual spices listed in this recipe, but the balance of flavors may be slightly different. Use 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin spice as a substitute for the other spices.
Why do you need to “dry” the pumpkin puree?
Pumpkin puree is extremely moist, which is why most pumpkin cookies have a fluffy, cakey texture. You need to remove some of the moisture to get that deliciously chewy texture we’re going for with these pumpkin snickerdoodles!
More Gluten-Free Pumpkin Recipes
- Oat Flour Pumpkin Pancakes
- Pumpkin Creme Brulee
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Roll
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cake
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins
Chewy Gluten-Free Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (225g) gluten-free measure-for-measure flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
Other Cookies Ingredients
- 1 cup (226g) butter
- ⅔ cup (150g) Libby's Pumpkin Puree
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup (142g) brown sugar
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.
- Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.
- Once the butter is melted and begins to foam, stir continuously to prevent the milk solids from sticking to the skillet. The butter will change from yellow to golden brown quickly and will have a nutty aroma. Remove from the heat and immediately pour into a small bowl or glass measuring cup.
- Place the butter in the fridge to cool, stirring every 20 minutes, for about 45-60 minutes. The butter needs to be cool, but still liquid for the correct cookie texture. It should be between 70-75°F when it’s ready to use.
- Meanwhile, spread the pumpkin out onto a plate. Pat with paper towels to “dry” the pumpkin. This will take several minutes and several paper towels. Dry the pumpkin until it resembles playdough consistency and measures ⅓ cup or 65-70 grams.
- In a medium bowl, add the granulated sugar and brown sugar. Pour in the melted butter and whisk for 1 minute to fully combine. Whisk in the egg yolks, vanilla and pumpkin until smooth and creamy.
- Using a rubber spatula, mix in the dry ingredients until well-combined.
- Cover the bowl and let the dough sit in the refrigerator for 20 minutes while the oven preheats. The dough can also be made in advance and chilled for up to 3 days.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a small bowl, mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon for the coating.
- Scoop the cookie dough into round balls, about 1½ tablespoons per ball. Roll the dough balls until they’re smooth, then toss generously in the cinnamon-sugar coating. Place on the prepared baking sheet, about 3 inches apart.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown but the centers are still soft.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Made these today and oh my goodness they are amazing!! Definitely some work goes into these, but each step makes the most perfect cookie in the end – the flavor and texture is so good.
Aww, thank you for such amazing feedback, Allie! We’re so pleased you loved the recipe so much!
It’s probably my 4th time making these, and I fall more and more in love with them each time! The absolute perfect fall recipe. I know it’s a pain, but the chill time is SO WORTH IT! I love this recipe!!!!
We’re so happy to hear how much you’ve continued to love this recipe, Lauren! Thank you for sharing such positive feedback with us!
Hello! Woul it be possible to change cream of tartar to anything else like baking powder, thank you.
Hi Jenni, the cream of tartar is standard in snickerdoodle recipes to get the classic tang found in this kind of cookie. Besides flavor, replacing it with baking powder would also change the texture. Unfortunately there isn’t a recommended 1:1 swap for that ingredient in this recipe as any other ingredient would require additional recipe changes and still impact flavor/texture. Thank you for your question!
Delicious! Great cookie to start the fall season. I am seriously enjoying all your recipes. I have made about 5 different cookies and all of them are amazing. They just keep getting better and better. Even my husband who is not gluten free is enjoying them. He used to joke in the beginning saying something is missing, I’d say what, he would say GLUTEN. But he doesn’t even say that anymore.
Aww, we’re so glad both you and your husband are enjoying the cookies recipes so much! Thank you for sharing your positive baking experience with us, Maria!
These are the BEST gf cookies I have ever made! They had the perfect texture and tasted AMAZING!
I have an allergy to xanthan gum and was able to covert it to a rice flour and almond flour blend (1 c rice & 1/2 c almond). They still turned out delicious!
We’re so happy to hear you enjoyed the cookies and that those substitutions worked well for you! Thank you for sharing your positive baking experience with us, Kaley!
I made this recipe and took them to my office. The team loved them and many adhere to a GF diet
We’re so pleased to hear the cookies were a hit at the office! Thank you for sharing your positive experience with us, Stephanie!
These are the best cookies I have EVER made. I have been looking for a good pumpkin cookie for years now and these are 100% the best, not just pumpkin, but literally like the best cookies ever. Make these!!!
Aww, thank you for such amazing feedback, Norah! We’re so happy you loved the cookies so much!
What is considered a serving size for these cookies????
Hi Mary, one serving is 1 cookie if you make 18 cookies out of the dough. We hope you enjoy the cookies!
I would need to use a sub for the sugar. Would coconut or date sugar work?
Hi Paige, we don’t typically bake with sugar substitutes unfortunately. If you decide to give one of those sugar subs a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
Love to double these cookies and freeze half. The perfect mid week treat
We’re so pleased you enjoyed this recipe, Tiara! Thank you for sharing your positive feedback with us!
I made these a while ago for my friends at school and everyone LOVED them. I made them again per request for work today – multiple people told me they don’t like pumpkin but I convinced them to try these anyway and they LOVED them. I made a double batch and they were gone within an hour! I cannot recommend this recipe enough!
Wow, thank you for such amazing feedback, Jordan! It makes us so happy to hear how much everyone enjoyed this recipe on multiple occasions. Happy baking!
I made this using Pamela’s all purpose 1:1 and it turned out perfectly!
We had a celiac holiday cookie exchange and they were a huge hit!
Yay! We’re so glad they were a hit! That’s good to know that they worked well with that flour, too. Thanks for sharing with us, Jessyca!
I definitely plan to make these as one of my Thanksgiving desserts. I’d like to add some molasses. Can I sub 1 Tablespoon of molasses for one of the egg yolks. And if not, can you suggest another substitution. Thanks.
Can I substitute the white sugar with honey?
Hi Lynn, we don’t typically bake with sugar substitutes unfortunately. Honey would add more liquid to the dough than sugar so we wouldn’t recommend it as it will change the texture of the cookies. Thank you for your question!
Best cookies ever!! You would never know that they are gluten free. They have now become a staple in my home! They’ll be perfect for thanksgiving too!
Yay! We’re so pleased to hear the recipe has become such a go-to! Thank you for such amazing feedback!
Seriously the BEST GF cookies ever; they’re simply insane and do not taste gluten-free in the slightest. My friends all rave about them, they are definitely going to become a new staple and an amazing gift. Only critique is that they are a little greasy when you touch them because of the high butter content. But I guess that is also what makes them delish!
Thank you for taking the time to share your positive experience with us, Ruby! We’re so happy to hear you and your friends all love them!
I tried this recipe and they came out amazing! Even my gluten loving coworkers raved about how good they were and even asked for the recipe. 🙂 Do you think I could tweak the recipe to make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies? My celiac sister has requested those for thanksgiving and I only trust your recipes now!
I see now that the pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe already exists, whoops! Definitely trying it 🙂
Is it supposed to be salted or unsalted butter?
Hi Christa, good question! We recommend using salted butter. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
Hi! So good!!! For some reason my cookies did spread out like the ways yours look? Any idea why?
Hi Erin, we’re so glad you enjoyed the cookies! A variety of factors can cause cookies to not spread: too much flour (add a little more liquid to the dough), the cookie sheet’s material type (darker spreads less), too cold oven (make sure it is preheated and use an oven thermometer to check accuracy), too cold butter (let the dough sit out for 5-10 minutes after fridge), etc. We hope these ideas help!