Healthy Vegan Pumpkin Snickerdoodles! If you love vegan baking, fall spices, and guilt-free dessert cravings, this is your sign to make them ASAP.
Healthy Vegan Pumpkin Snickerdoodles are the perfect fall treat: crispy at the edges, delightfully chewy in the center, and bursting with warm pumpkin flavor. Packed with cozy spices that scream “autumn,” these cookies deliver that classic snickerdoodle tang while adding a seasonal twist that makes them feel extra special.
Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients.
Hi there, Ameera here!
These cookies are super tasty (like, the kind that disappears fast.) Seriously, if you love soft, spiced cookies with big cozy flavor, you gotta give this recipe a try.
Perfect for Thanksgiving gatherings, cozy nights in, or any time you want that pumpkin-and-spice comfort in cookie form, these vegan pumpkin snickerdoodles are guaranteed to become a new favorite.
Tips for Success:
- Flavor Profile: These Vegan Healthy Pumpkin Snickerdoodles are both healthy and delicious with crispy edges and chewy centers. Pumpkin and fall spices make for a fantastic cookie combo that is hard to resist.
- Batter Consistency: At first you might think the batter is not coming together (too dry); however, keep stirring, it will eventually become a sticky thick batter. Do not skip the freezer/refrigerator step as the batter will be too sticky to roll properly. We used a medium-sized cookie scoop (slightly less than 2 Tablespoons) to scoop up the batter. Cookie scoops work really well but are not required. Scoop up the batter in the cookie scoop, then flatten it against the side of the bowl to remove any excess batter to get consistently sized cookies. Place the batter into your slightly dampened hands, then roll them into round dough balls. Roll the round dough balls into the cinnamon/sugar mixture to thoroughly coat, then place onto the baking sheet. If the batter seems too wet to work with, then simply put in the fridge for another 15 to 20 minutes to firm up. The balls will relax on the baking sheet and create dome-like dough balls before placing in the oven.
- Maple Sugar (or other dry sugar): We used maple sugar, but coconut sugar or date sugar or other dry sugars work equally well. You cannot substitute the dry maple sugar for a liquid maple syrup. This recipe uses both maple sugar and maple syrup.
- Color of the Cookies: The color of the cookies is directly related to the dry sugar used.
- Measuring Flour: Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level off. Do not pack it in and do not scoop it in. If you have a food scale, use it as that works best for consistency. If you don’t have one, that is not an issue.
- All-Purpose Unbleached White Flour: We adhere to a whole food plant-based diet. Dr. Campbell from the Center for Nutrition Studies permits the use of unbleached all-purpose white flour.
- Cream of Tartar: Cream of tartar is used for leavening. It also helps control the texture in baking. You can substitute with baking powder if you wish with the understanding that the texture of the cookies will be slightly different.
- Creamy Roasted Almond Butter: We used a creamy roasted almond butter that is runny/drippy. If using raw almond butter, the cookies may become higher and more rounded simply because raw almond butter is thicker than roasted almond butter. We recommend using roasted almond butter for this recipe.
- Creamy Almond Butter [roasted] Substitutions: You can also substitute with other nut or seed butters with the understanding that the flavors will fluctuate accordingly. We have not tested any substitutions.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: Not all pumpkin pie spices are the same. Some brands accent different spices. Find one that you love. We enjoy blends that are lighter on the cloves. Feel free to use your favorite pumpkin pie spice in this recipe.
- Cinnamon: Not all cinnamon is created equal. Some brands of cinnamon are light and passively flavored while others are strong, sharp, and astringent. Use judgement and start on the low end. You can use your favorite cinnamon in this recipe; however, we suggest starting on the low end until you have a strong understanding of how the cinnamon that you are using in this recipe impacts the flavor.
- Rolling Sugar/Cinnamon: We rolled our cookies twice. Rolling them once works just fine, but we did it twice because the kids liked the little extra sweetness. If you want to roll them once, then you may wish to scale back on the rolling sugar/cinnamon amounts to avoid leftovers.
- Gluten Free Version: Try our gluten free Healthy Vegan Snickerdoodles if you are looking for a gluten free version.
- Table Salt: If using table salt, you should use less table salt than the amount listed in the ingredients as sea salt crystals are larger than table salt crystals. Since table salt crystals are very fine, less table salt is required to season a dish. We would suggest starting with about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of sea salt listed. You can always add more salt but cannot take it away. We recommend using sea salt as it is less refined than table salt.
Leftovers and Freezing:
Leftovers will generally keep 4 to 5 days at room temperature. Store in a covered air-tight container.
These cookies freeze well.
Pantry Products:
- Unbleached White All-Purpose Flour: We used Bob’s Red Mill Unbleached White All-Purpose Organic Flour. We have also used King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Organic Flour.
- Creamy Almond Butter: We used Kirkland Pure Creamy Smooth Almond Butter. Feel free to use your favorite almond butter in this recipe!
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Kitchen Equipment:
- Large (14 x 20) baking sheet
- Medium cookie scoop (optional)
- Silicone baking sheets or parchment paper
If you try these tasty treats, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
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Healthy Vegan Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
- Prep Time: 20 Minutes (+20 Minute Rest Time)
- Cook Time: 14-15 Minutes
- Total Time: 35 Minutes
- Yield: 20 Cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Healthy Vegan Pumpkin Snickerdoodles are the perfect fall treat: crispy at the edges, delightfully chewy in the center, and bursting with warm pumpkin flavor.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups + 1 Tablespoon (7.3 oz.) all purpose, white unbleached flour *
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch (or arrowroot powder)
- 1 cup maple sugar (or other dry sugar) *
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar *
- ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice *
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon *
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
Wet Ingredients
- 1/3 cup pumpkin puree [canned]
- 1/3 cup creamy almond butter, roasted (runny/drippy) *
- 3 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Rolling Ingredients
- ½ cup maple sugar (or other dry sugar)
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon *
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, middle rack.
- Line a large baking sheet with a silicone pad or parchment paper, set aside.
- Place the all the Dry Ingredients into a large bowl, whisk to combine.
- Add all the Wet Ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly by hand with a stiff wooden spoon to incorporate all the ingredients. At first it will seem like the batter is too dry and won’t come together, keep mashing the almond butter (and other wet ingredients) into the flour (dry ingredients), scrape down the spoon and the sides of the bowl, stir and mix intently. The batter will eventually come together and will appear thick and sticky.
- Place the dough in the freezer for 20 minutes or in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, place all the Rolling Ingredients into a medium-sized bowl, mix well, set aside.
- Remove the dough from the freezer/refrigerator. Using a medium-sized cookie scoop (slightly less than 2 Tablespoons), scoop out the batter into rounded lumps (dome shape), then roll into a smooth ball with damp hands, then place into the rolling sugar, roll the dough ball into the sugar mixture to evenly coat the ball, then place onto the large baking sheet, approximately 3 to 4 inches apart as the batter does spread (or use 2 baking sheets). If using two baking sheets, switch top to bottom and bottom to top about halfway through the baking. Repeat until all the dough has been rolled and coated with the cinnamon/sugar mixture.
- Place in a 350 F preheated oven for 14 to 15 minutes (largely dependent upon the size of the cookies) or until fully set. Note: The cookies will puff high, then flatten near the end of the baking period.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then move them to a cooling rack using a thin-edged spatula. Allow to cool for 15 minutes, then enjoy!
Notes
Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.
Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Servings: Makes 20 cookies
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