The best healthy pumpkin cookies recipe for clean eating! This recipe is gluten free, dairy free and easy to make because it’s made with almond flour and sweetened with maple syrup!
I love a good soft baked pumpkin cookie. Before I switched over to all healthy recipes, I made these classic soft baked pumpkin cookies and they are to die for! A craving came over me recently, and knew it was time to turn that recipe healthy. Hence, these healthy pumpkin cookies!
These cookies are gluten free, dairy free and sugar free! Which means, there aren’t anything in these cookies that tend to cause inflammation in a typical diet. All clean ingredients! AKA you can eat them and still feel great.
If you follow a paleo diet, this cookie is for you!
What’s in these healthy pumpkin cookies?
This recipe calls for traditional healthy baking ingredients: almond butter, eggs, almond flour and coconut sugar.
But this recipe has a few extra ingredients to make them pumpkin spice! There’s real pumpkin pure in them, but make sure you don’t buy the pumpkin pie filling! Buy the traditional pumpkin in a can.
The next ingredient is the pumpkin pie spice. You can buy pumpkin pie spice from the store, but if you already have the ingredients to make it yourself at home you don’t need to buy it again!
How to make your own pumpkin pie spice for healthy pumpkin cookies:
Make your own pumpkin pie spice with these ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoons ground nutmeg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground all spice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
Mix them all together in a small bowl and you’re done! Use some of it for this healthy pumpkin spice cookies recipe, then put the rest in a jar for another recipe! A few other pumpkin spice recipes are: healthy pumpkin banana bread, low carb pumpkin muffins and two ingredient pumpkin muffins.
If you already have pre-made pumpkin pie spice go ahead use that!
Once you have the base of the recipe, then you can get the frosting ready! The frosting is a must for these healthy pumpkin cookies!
What’s in the frosting for these healthy pumpkin cookies?
You only need a few simple ingredients to make this frosting! All you need are cashews, coconut oil, maple syrup, lemon juice, vanilla and more pumpkin pie spice.
To turn cashew into this dairy free frosting, start by soaking the cashews for at least 4 hours. If you forget to do this, you can heat water to almost boiling then allow the cashews to soak for 15 minutes.
Once they’re soft, throw all of the ingredients into a food processor and blend on high for several minutes, or until the mixture is smooth and no visible chunks from the cashews remain.
When you’ve got the frosting ready, it’s time to get those cookies in the oven!
How to make healthy pumpkin cookies:
To make healthy pumpkin pumpkin cookies, whisk together all of the wet ingredients until they’re smooth. In another bowl combine the dry ingredients then gently them into the wet mixture. Chill the dough for 30 minutes to allow it to firm up a bit then scoop them and roll them onto a baking sheet.
These healthy pumpkin cookies don’t spread much in the oven, because of that, gently press them down with the palm of your hand to make them about 1.5 inches thick and more flat on the top.
Bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 350°F then remove and allow them to cool completely before frosting. That’s it!
Store in the refrigerator for up to one week.
You will love these easy healthy pumpkin cookies! They taste like fall and they will make you feel great!
If you make this recipe, don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and tag me using @what_mollymade or #whatmollymade!
Other paleo pumpkin recipes:
- 1/3 cup creamy almond butter
- 1/2 cup organic pumpkin puree
- ½ cup organic coconut sugar
- 1 egg + 1 egg white
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups + 3 Tbsp blanched almond flour
- 1 1/2 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 3 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
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To make the frosting, soak the cashews in warm water for 3-4 hours. If you don't have time, soak the cashews in scolding hot water for 15 minutes.
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Place soaked cashews in a food processor or blender until a paste forms and no visible chunks of cashews are left. Scrape down the sides then add the coconut oil, maple syrup, juice, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice. Blend on high until combined then transfer to the refrigerator until ready.
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To make the cookies, in a medium bowl, whisk together the almond butter, pumpkin, egg, egg white, coconut sugar and vanilla until combined. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the almond flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and whisk until no clumps are left. Place in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
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Preheat oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat. Once dough is chilled, remove from the refrigerator and scoop heaping tablespoons onto the prepared baking pan. The dough will be thick and somewhat wet and sticky. Gently roll/press the dough until it's 1 inch thick and flatter on top. Cookies won't spread in the oven.
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Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until cookies are set. Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes then move to wire baking rack to cool completely. Spread 1-2 tablespoons of frosting on each cookie once they're completely cooled. Store in the refrigerator for up to one week.
This recipe was inspired by Paleo Running Mama.
