Soft and delicious chai-spiced pumpkin cookies with a maple glaze. Gluten, egg, and refined sugar free. Also vegan friendly! (Recipe and photos updated Fall 2018)
During this time of year, I’m all about fall flavors! I’ve been impatiently waiting since last year to bake up my favorite fall treats and these are definitely among my faves! They’re so soft, almost cake-like, and this time I spiced them up with a delicious blend of chai seasonings. Chai and pumpkin are a match made in heaven!
I’ve been making these cookies for years. They’re similar to a Libby’s pumpkin cookie recipe that I used to adore. This time I experimented with a glaze that is NOT made with powdered sugar! To me, it kind of defeats the purpose when you try hard to make a wholesome treat only to top it with a glob of sugary glaze. Don’t get me wrong, there are times when powdered sugar is almost necessary, I mean, what’s a wedding cookie without powdered sugar?! However, I try not to use it all the time.
This glaze is smooth, sweet, and refined sugar free. I used coconut butter, which once melted is very glaze-ish. The good news is, I only needed two tablespoons of maple syrup instead of two cups powdered sugar to sweeten it!
If you like pumpkin and the spicy flavor of chai, you must give these a try. It’s a winning combination, my friends!
- 1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger (not fresh)
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves or allspice*
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- pinch of black pepper
- ⅓ cup dairy-free/grass-fed butter or coconut oil, softened
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- ¾ cups pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup brown rice flour
- ¼ cup tapioca flour
- ¼ cup gluten-free oat flour*
- 1 tablespoon flax meal
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger (not fresh)
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves or allspice*
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- pinch of black pepper
- ⅓ cup dairy-free/grass-fed butter or coconut oil, softened
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- ¾ cups pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup coconut butter
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup, honey, or other liquid sweetener of choice
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 2–3 tablespoons almond milk or other milk of choice
- 2 oz cream cheese at room temperature (can use dairy-free)
- 1–2 tablespoons maple syrup, to taste
- 1–2 tablespoons almond milk or other milk of choice, until it's thin enough to drizzle
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease with coconut oil/oil of choice or baking spray and set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients: flour(s), flax meal(for gf version), baking powder & soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the softened butter/oil together with the coconut sugar and maple syrup until creamy. Blend in pumpkin purée and vanilla. Slowly mix flour mixture into butter/sugar mixture, just until combined. Dough should be thick.
- Scoop dough by heaping tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets leaving a few inches in between each mound of dough. The cookies pretty much bake the way they go in, so if you want them "pretty" use dampened fingers to shape the dough into rounded mounds. Bake at 350º F for 12-14 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are fully cooked. Remove from the oven and let cool. Transfer to wire racks to let cool completely.
- To prepare the glaze: Place coconut butter, maple syrup, and coconut oil into a small saucepan (or microwavable bowl) and cook over low heat just until the coconut butter and oil melt. Remove from the heat and add just enough milk to thin to a glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the tops of the cooled cookies and serve. You can use a plastic baggie (or piping bag) with a small slit cut in the corner for a cleaner drizzle. Makes about 1½ dozen cookies.
- Alternative cream cheese glaze: If you don't care for the taste of coconut, you can try this glaze. Whisk together cream cheese and maple syrup until creamy. Mix in milk, a little at a time, until it's thin enough to drizzle. You can use a plastic baggie (or piping bag) with a small slit cut in the corner for a cleaner drizzle. Makes about 1½ dozen cookies.
**If you don't have ⅛ teaspoon, just measure using half of the ¼ teaspoon.
You may also enjoy these similar recipes:
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Vegan Pumpkin Bundt Cake
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oat Bars
Vagisha says
October 28, 2018 at 8:32 pmAs soon as the “fall baking mood” struck me, I wandered over to your website (as always) and of course I found the perfect recipe for my dose of pumpkin spice! Believe it or not I ahd every single ingredient on hand except I had just run out of coconut sugar of all things! Anyhow one coconut sugar purchase later I made these babies and they didnt disappont!my only question is- are these suppossed to be so pillowy soft? They literally crumble with a little pressure on them..not much of a bite to it..although the flavor is unbelievable! Thanks again for an amazing recipe!
Joscelyn | Wife Mama Foodie says
November 18, 2018 at 12:33 amHi Vagisha! Thank you for the kind words! Im glad you enjoyed these cookies, as they’re one of our fall favorites! They are usually pillowy soft, but my daughter made these recently with a different brand of brown rice flour than we normally use and they were a little more delicate like you described. Also, gluten free flours are generally very fine and can pack into measuring cups much more easily causing too much flour to be added, which makes crumbly cookies. This dough should be pretty wet, more so than your typical cookie dough. I’ll try and weigh the ingredients next time I make these and update the recipe. In the meantime, if you don’t already, try this method when measuring out flours: Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level the top of the cup off with the back of a knife. This keeps the flour light and fluffy and helps it from getting compacted into the cup. Works for me every time! 🙂
Laura | Tutti Dolci says
October 8, 2018 at 7:37 pmI love pumpkin cookies, these look so delicious!
Kait says
June 30, 2015 at 2:14 pmthis is one of my most favorite cookies! I absolutely loved this recipe! It’s even good playing too without the frosting, thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Kimberly/TheLittlePantation says
October 28, 2014 at 6:26 pmI’ve never used tapioca flour, but it keeps coming up in your recipes, so you’ve got me intrigued.
I shall pop to Wholefoods tomorrow and get some. Would love to get a sense of its flavour and texture.
Thanks for sharing this super yummy recipe and inspiring me 🙂
Joscelyn | Wifemamafoodie says
October 29, 2014 at 2:41 amYou’re so sweet:) You are in inspiration to me, Kimberly!
I hope you like the tapioca flour! I like the addition of tapioca in my gluten-free blends because it adds a little bit of that chewy texture wheat flour provides. Let me know what you think of it!
Thanks again for stopping by, my friend! 🙂
Jess @ whatjessicabakednext says
October 28, 2014 at 2:18 pmThese chai-spiced cookies look delicious! They look so cakey and yummy! Can’t wait to try the recipe out!
Joscelyn | Wifemamafoodie says
October 28, 2014 at 2:38 pmThank you, Jess! They are very soft and cakey, but in a good way:) Please let me know how you like them!
Amisha says
October 28, 2014 at 2:24 amHi Joscelyn,
Yes indeed you got the chai spices right 🙂 We do not put nutmeg in our chai, but we put ginger, cloves, cinnamon, black pepper, cardamom. My friends mom makes the best chai masala, and whenever I can, I get it from her, to put in my tea, cause its so flavorful :). Have you had black tea with milk, and the chai masala? It is so so good. I have to start my day with this, else I don’t function, and my husband has faced it first hand! LOL. He bears the brunt of it! 🙂
I love this recipe of yours, it is really good! I hope you can come up with your own cookbook, cause I am sure there are a lot of people who are allergic to flour, and cant have sugar, and you are catering to that market :). My aunt was just telling me about people are looking for gluten free products/recipes now! 🙂
Cheers
Amisha
Joscelyn | Wifemamafoodie says
October 28, 2014 at 12:30 pmI’m so glad! Thanks for the feedback, Amisha! I LOVE chai tea, but have never had it homemade with chai masala. I get teabags, which I’m sure is nothing like the real thing! That sounds so good for breakfast too.. we typically have coffee, which is my pick-me-up in the mornings..
I’m still learning about gluten-free baking. It is definitely a lot harder than baking with wheat flour, but it has been fun experimenting. The kids like having extra treats around the house from my recipe trials too 🙂
Thanks again for your encouragement, my friend!