These vegan soft pumpkin cookies are easy to make with healthy ingredients and are perfect for a delicious pumpkin spice treat!

Stack of 3 soft pumpkin cookies topped with icing. The cookie on top has a bite out of it so you can see the texture inside.

From lunchboxes to get-togethers, these soft pumpkin cookies are perfect for all your Fall treat needs! They’re made with just a few everyday ingredients and the cookie dough is easy to whip up in one bowl.

Instead of butter or oil, the recipe uses almond butter, pumpkin puree and brown sugar for a soft, moist and chewy cookie.

Cinnamon, cloves and ginger add the perfect Fall pumpkin spice and the icing makes these special enough for any holiday get-together.

These delicious pumpkin spice cookies are sure to be a new favourite, both for everyday and special occasions!

For more healthy cookies, these chocolate chip zucchini oatmeal cookies and almond butter peanut butter cookies are always a favourite. If you’re a pumpkin-lover, try these pumpkin chocolate chip bars and no-bake pumpkin pie tarts.

Ingredient Notes

All the ingredients needed for making a vegan soft pumpkin cookie recipe. Each ingredient is labelled with text describing the ingredient and the list can be found in the corresponding blog post.

This list is not complete. Please see the recipe card at the end of the post for the complete ingredient list with measurements and detailed instructions.

  • Almond Butter: Use plain, natural almond butter. This can be substituted with another nut or seed butter like cashew butter or sunflower seed butter.
  • Brown Sugar: Brown sugar yields soft and chewy cookies. The best substitute is light muscovado sugar. You can use coconut sugar or white sugar but the end result won’t be as soft and chewy. You could also do 1/2 cup white sugar plus 1 tsp of molasses to mimic brown sugar.
  • Pumpkin: Good quality pumpkin puree makes a difference! I like Farmer’s Market or E.D. Smith Pumpkin Puree. Note it’s 100% pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling.
  • Flour: The recipe calls for all-purpose flour and has not been tested with any other flour. If you’re confident making substitutions, go for it, but they have been tested with all-purpose so I can’t say how they’ll turn out!
  • Spices: You’ll need cinnamon, ginger and cloves but you could also use 2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice.
  • Powdered Sugar: This is for the glaze portion of the recipe. I’ve included a few alternatives for the glaze below.
  • Milk: You can use any milk. I used soy milk but almond milk, oat milk, cashew milk or carton coconut milk are also suitable.

Icing Alternatives

  • Cream Cheese Icing: Classic cream cheese frosting made with vegan cream cheese and powdered sugar.
  • Cashew Cream Cheese Icing: Like a classic cream cheese frosting but made with cashews and maple syrup.
  • Caramel: Homemade caramel sauce made with coconut sugar.
  • Coconut Butter Glaze: Use melted coconut butter as is or mix with a small amount of any sweetener for a quick and easy glaze.

Recipe Variations

  • Pumpkin Orange Cookies: Add 1 tsp orange zest or orange extract to the batter.
  • Peanut Butter Pumpkin Cookies: Use peanut butter instead of almond butter.
  • Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies: Fold 1/2 cup of chocolate chips into the batter.
  • For other mix-ins, try walnuts, pecans or coconut.

Step-by-Step with Photos

Step 1: Mix Sugar & Almond Butter

First, mix together the almond butter and brown sugar until very well combined. You can use a hand-held electric mixer or beat together with a metal whisk or fork.

Step 2: Add Pumpkin

Next, add the pumpkin puree and mix well.

Almond butter mixed with brown sugar in a glass mixing bowl with a scoop of pumpkin puree on top.

Step 3: Mix Remaining Ingredients

Once you’ve mixed in the pumpkin, add the remaining cookie ingredients and mix until all of the flour is incorporated.

Vegan pumpkin cookie dough in a glass mixing bowl with a wooden spoon resting in the bowl.

Step 4: Create Cookies

Use a cookie scoop or spoon to scoop roughly 2 tbsp portions of the dough onto a lined baking tray.

Pumpkin cookie dough in a cookie scoop held over a baking tray of raw cookies.

Note that the cookies don’t rise or spread much during baking so you want to shape them a bit beforehand. You can use the back of a wetted wooden spoon to press them down lightly.

6 unbaked scoops of pumpkin cookie dough on a parchment paper-lined baking tray.

Step 5: Bake

Bake the cookies for 10 minutes at 350 F.

Once they come out, let them cool on the pan for a few minutes then carefully transfer them to a cooling rack to cool. You can also just let them cool on the pan if you don’t have a cooling rack.

6 baked soft pumpkin cookies on a parchment-paper lined baking tray with a glass mixing bowl of cookie dough beside the tray.

Step 6: Make the Icing

When you’re ready, mix the icing ingredients together in a bowl until nice and smooth, slowly adjusting the consistency by adding milk 1 teaspoon at a time.

It should be somewhat thick but still easy to drizzle from the spoon onto the cookies.

Powdered sugar glaze in a glass mixing bowl with a spoon.

Step 7: Ice Cookies & Enjoy!

Drizzle the glaze over the cookies and enjoy your delicious treat!

Drizzling powdered sugar icing over soft pumpkin cookies on a parchment paper-lined baking tray.

FAQs

Do pumpkin cookies freeze well?

Yes! Pumpkin cookies do freeze well, however, it is recommended to not ice the cookies before freezing.

Thaw the cookies at room temperature and then add the icing when you’re ready.

Do I have to use almond butter in this recipe?

The recipe has only been tested with almond butter though you should be able to use any need or seed butter. A mild-flavoured butter such as cashew butter or sunbutter (for nut-free cookies) would be best but you could also try peanut butter.

Close up of a soft pumpkin cookie with glaze with a bite taken out of it so you can see the texture inside. The cookie is sitting on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and there are more cookies in the background.

Storing

  • Make sure the cookies are completely cooled before storing.
  • Room Temperature: Store in an airtight container for 3 days.
  • Fridge: Store in an airtight container iced or without icing for up to 1 week.
  • Freezer: Store without the icing in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container with parchment paper or wax paper between layers if you’re stacking them. Thaw in the fridge or at room temperature then add the icing.

Did you try this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Scroll down to the comment section to leave a star rating and review.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Stack of 3 soft pumpkin cookies topped with icing. The cookie on top has a bite out of it so you can see the texture inside.

Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Glaze

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Deryn Macey
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 10 mins
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 12
  • Category: Dessert
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan
Save Recipe

Description

These easy vegan pumpkin cookies are sweet, soft, and the perfect Fall dessert! A must-bring to your next Thanksgiving get-together!


Ingredients

For the Cookies

  • ¼ cup almond butter (60 g)
  • ½ cup brown sugar (100 g)
  • ¾ cup pumpkin puree (170 g)
  • 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour (150 g)
  • 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon cloves

For the Glaze

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 12 tablespoons soy milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat Oven: Preheat the oven to 350℉ and line a baking pan with parchment paper.
  2. Cream Almond Butter and Sugar: Cream the almond butter and brown sugar together. You can use a hand-held electric mixer or just mix vigorously with a wooden spoon or whisk.
  3. Add Pumpkin: Stir in the pumpkin puree until fully combined.
  4. Add Remaining Ingredients: Add in the rest of the cookie ingredients and mix well. Once all of the flour is incorporated, stop mixing.
  5. Shape Cookies: Use a cookie scoop, or about 2 tablespoons per cookie, to scoop 12-14 cookies onto the lined baking tray. The cookies do not rise or spread much during baking, so use the back of a wet spoon and slightly flatten the cookies. 
  6. Bake: Bake cookies for 10 minutes, cool for 5-10 minutes on the pan then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
  7. Make Glaze: Make the icing by mixing together the powdered sugar, vanilla and 1 tbsp of the soy milk. Add more soy milk 1 tsp at a time until you reach your desired icing consistency. It should be easy to spoon over the cookies.
  8. Ice Cookies: Once the cookies are cool to the touch, ice them and enjoy!

Notes

Let cookies cool completely then store in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week.

For freezing it’s recommended to leave the icing off. Once the cookies have cooled, store them in an airtight container, placing a piece of wax or parchment paper between layers. Thaw at room temperature then add the icing.

See the blog post above for alternative icing options like cream cheese frosting.

For pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, fold in 1/2 cup of chocolate chips after you finish mixing up the dough.


Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 cookie
  • Calories: 157
  • Sugar: 19 g
  • Sodium: 6 mg
  • Fat: 3 g
  • Carbohydrates: 31 g
  • Fiber: 1 g
  • Protein: 3 g