Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

These Pumpkin Sugar Cookies are sweet, super soft and chewy eggless sugar cookies with a mild pumpkin flavor throughout. Drizzled with a maple glaze, they’re also gluten free, nut free, easily vegan and only require 30 minutes of chilling! If you love pumpkin desserts, these beauties are for you!

I love easy fall recipes and these Pumpkin Sugar Cookies are one of my favs! They have a soft and smooth pumpkin flavor, just like my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. I do like pumpkin recipes, but I’m not one for having the flavor be super aggressive and slapping me in the face. That’s why these chewy pumpkin cookies are so wonderful!

For more sugar cookie recipes try my Sprinkle Sugar Cookies, Small Batch Sugar Cookies, Dark Chocolate Sugar Cookies or my super popular Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookies.

Reasons To Love These Cookies

• Allergy Friendly- These cookies are gluten free, nut free, egg free and can easily be dairy free (vegan)!
• Soft & Chewy- These cookies are the most perfect texture with soft and chewy middles. 
• Covered in a Maple Drizzle- The maple glaze helps give added sweetness that blends beautifully with the pumpkin flavors. You can also find this maple glaze on my banana scones.
• Autumn Flavors- The pumpkin, cinnamon and maple combined remind us of fall just like in my baked pumpkin donuts!

Ingredient Notes

• Gluten Free Flour- If you also have nut allergies, make sure to use a brand that’s made in a nut free facility.  I really love to use this gluten free flour because it’s nut safe but it does contain dairy. It also contains xanthan gum which really helps give baked goods their bounce.
• Unsalted Butter or Vegan Baking Sticks- Only use room temperature. Don’t use melted; the cookies will spread into a giant mess when baking.
• Pure Pumpkin: Make sure to use only canned pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. I like Libby's brand.
• Granulated Sugar: I would not use light brown sugar; the granulated sugar helps the cookies keep that orange hue. Also, there is enough moisture due to the pumpkin just like in my Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies.
• Cinnamon- Brings in the sweet yet woodsy flavor like in my Gluten Free Snickerdoodles.
• Maple Syrup- We use pure grade A maple syrup in the glaze that ties all those cozy flavors in together!

See my recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.

Substitutions and Variations

This recipe has not been tested with all of these substitutions and/or variations due to celiac disease and food allergies. If you change any of the ingredients, please let us know how the recipe turned out in the comments below!

How To Make Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

Here are the step by step instructions to make these chewy pumpkin cookies!

Step 1: Whisk Together the Dry Ingredients

In a large bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

Step 2: Cream the Butter and Sugar

In the large bowl of an electric mixer or using a hand held mixer, beat the butter with ¾ cup of granulated sugar until smooth and creamy. About 2 minutes.

Step 3: Add in the Pumpkin and Vanilla

In a small bowl, whisk together the pumpkin and the vanilla until combined.

With the mixer on low speed, beat in the pumpkin and vanilla until combined. It will be chunky; that's normal.

Step 4: Mix In The Dry Ingredients

With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in the gluten free flour mixture and mix until just combined.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl with the spatula and combine. Freeze the dough for 30 minutes.

Step 5: Scoop The Dough and Coat with Sugar

Using a large cookie scoop (I use a 2 ounce cookie scoop), scoop the dough out into 6 scoops.

Drop the dough balls one at a time into the remaining ¼ cup of sugar and coat completely. 

Step 6: Bake the Cookies and Cool

Bake the cookies at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes until golden on the bottoms.

If the cookies are puffed up, gently press down and immediately reshape the cookies. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 min before transferring to a cooling rack.

Step 7: Make the Maple Glaze

In a medium bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, 2 tablespoons of the maple syrup and 1 tablespoon of water until combined and smooth.

Step 8: Drizzle The Glaze

Drizzle the maple glaze on top of the cool cookies.

Expert Baking Tips

• Use Packed Cups of Flour- Normally in baking we do not use packed cups however, when working with gluten free, I've found using packed cups works best to help the baked goods keep their shape. Or use the gram amount.
• Use Room Temperature Butter/ Vegan Baking Stick- Do not use melted butter. Since these cookies have no eggs, if you use melted butter they will spread into a giant mess while baking. 
• Freeze the Dough- If you don’t freeze the dough for at least 30 minutes, the cookies will spread and be flat and thin.
• Wash Your Cookie Scoop- If you noticed the dough is starting to get sticky, wash and dry your cookie scoop halfway through making the dough balls.
• Wet Your Hands- The cookie dough will be quite sticky and may stick to your hands if they're warm. If this happens, rinse your hands and then shake off any excess water. You want them slightly wet but not dripping wet. This will help prevent the dough from sticking. If the dough balls need some reshaping, simply use your slightly wet hands to make the dough ball tops smooth. You can see my video for how I do this.
• Reshape the Cookies- If you want your cookies nice and round, reshape them as soon as they come out of the oven. Use a spatula to push them back into a circle shape.
• Making the Glaze- If the glaze appears too watery, add more confectioners’ sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. If it appears too thick, add more water ¼ teaspoon at a time. You want the glaze thin enough to drizzle but thick enough to solidify on the cookies.

Recipe FAQS