Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Gluten-free pumpkin chocolate chip cookies made with a cup-for-cup flour blend, one bowl of pumpkin, and enough spice to taste like fall rather than like a chocolate chip cookie with pumpkin in it.
Every pumpkin cookie I made before this one came out of the oven looking like a small muffin.
Gluten-free pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are drop cookies made with pumpkin puree, a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend, pumpkin pie spice, and chocolate chips. This batch makes 12 and bakes at 350°F in about 11 minutes.
The half cup of pumpkin is deliberate, and it’s the number worth paying attention to. Most pumpkin cookie recipes use a full cup or more, and that extra water is exactly what turns a cookie into a cake. Less pumpkin, more spice, and the flavor still lands.
What You Need
Amounts are in the recipe card.
Gluten-free all-purpose flour. A cup-for-cup blend containing xanthan gum. King Arthur Measure for Measure and Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 both work. Without the xanthan gum these spread into puddles, because there’s no gluten network holding the cookie together and the gum is standing in for it. Almond flour and coconut flour will not substitute here, they behave nothing like a cup-for-cup blend and the ratios are completely different.
Pumpkin puree. Pure pumpkin, not pie filling. Half a cup only. More pumpkin does not mean more pumpkin flavor, it means more water, and water is what makes these cakey.
Butter, softened. Softened rather than melted. Creaming softened butter with the sugars traps air, and that air is what gives the cookies their lift and their edges.
White sugar and brown sugar together. White sugar makes them spread and crisp at the edges, brown sugar holds moisture and makes them chewy. Using both is why the texture works.
Pumpkin pie spice, and a lot of it. Two and a half teaspoons, which is more than most recipes call for. Chocolate is loud, and understated spice disappears underneath it entirely.
Baking soda and salt. Soda rather than powder, for browning and spread.
Semi-sweet chocolate chips. A full cup. Semi-sweet rather than milk, because the cookie is already sweet.
How to Make Them
- Heat the oven to 350°F and line a sheet pan with parchment.
- Cream the butter with both sugars until pale and fluffy, about two minutes. This step is doing more than it looks like it is.
- Beat in the vanilla and pumpkin puree. The mixture may look split. It comes back together once the flour goes in.
- Whisk the dry ingredients separately. Flour, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice.
- Add dry to wet and mix until just combined. Stop when the flour disappears.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Scoop onto the sheet and bake 11 to 13 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers still look slightly underdone.
- Cool on the sheet for 5 minutes before moving them. Gluten-free cookies set as they cool and they tear if you move them hot.
Cakey or Chewy: How to Control It
This is the question people have about pumpkin cookies, and the answer is water.
Pumpkin puree is around 90% water. In a cookie, that water turns to steam in the oven and pushes the dough upward, which is why pumpkin cookies puff into little cakes while a regular chocolate chip cookie spreads flat. It isn’t the flour and it isn’t the gluten-free blend. It’s the pumpkin.
For chewier cookies, blot the pumpkin first. Spread the half cup on a plate lined with paper towel, press another sheet on top, and lift away the moisture. It takes a minute and you’ll be surprised how much comes out. Less water in means less steam in the oven means less puff.
Then chill the dough 30 minutes. Cold fat melts slower, so the cookie spreads before it rises rather than after. This is the standard trick for any chewy cookie and it matters more here because of the extra moisture.
For cakey cookies, do neither. Scoop and bake straight away and you’ll get the soft, puffy, muffin-top version. Plenty of people prefer it, and two of the top-ranking pumpkin cookie recipes deliberately go this direction.
Pull them slightly underbaked either way. The centers should still look soft when the edges are set. Gluten-free flour keeps cooking on the hot sheet for several minutes after it leaves the oven, and a cookie that looks done in the oven is a dry cookie on the plate.
One more thing specific to gluten-free baking. If you have twenty minutes to spare, let the mixed dough sit at room temperature before scooping even if you’re not chilling it. Gluten-free flour blends absorb liquid more slowly than wheat flour does, and giving them that time is the difference between a smooth crumb and a faintly gritty one. It’s the same reason gluten-free pancake and waffle batters ask you to rest them.
Tips
Scoop them all before you bake any. Gluten-free dough stiffens as it sits, so the last cookies on the tray spread less than the first if you portion as you go.
- Use a cookie scoop for even size and even bake time.
- One tray at a time, middle rack. Two trays means one batch is always the wrong texture.
- Press a few extra chips on top of each dough ball before baking. It’s the only reason bakery cookies photograph better than home ones.
Variations
- Dark chocolate chunks instead of chips. They melt into pools rather than staying round.
- Add chopped pecans or walnuts with the chocolate chips.
- Dairy free. Vegan butter and dairy free chips, no other changes.
- Flaky salt on top straight out of the oven. It cuts the sweetness and it looks like you tried.
Storing and Freezing
Counter: Airtight container for up to 3 days. A slice of bread in the container keeps them soft.
Freezer, baked: Up to 3 months in a bag with parchment between layers.
Freezer, as dough: Scoop into balls, freeze on a tray, then bag them. Bake from frozen and add 2 minutes. This is the version I’d recommend, because a warm cookie beats a thawed one every time.
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- 2 cups gluten free all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 2 ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips divided
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a stand mixer or large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars together. Then add in the vanilla extract and pumpkin and mix until everything is well combined and looking like a dreamy, pumpkin-y mixture.
- Mix the dry ingredients – in another bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing just until combined. You don’t want to overmix here, or your cookies might end up tough.
- Gently fold in the chocolate chips. Make sure every scoop of dough is packed with those melty little pieces of heaven.
- Scoop large spoonfuls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 11-15 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the centers are still slightly soft. Remember, they’ll continue to cook on the baking sheet after you take them out! You can make them smaller and more cookies if desired.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy them warm with a glass of milk or with a hot cup of coffee.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided is calculated based on industry-standard software and should be used as a general guide only. The information may vary depending on ingredient substitutions, cooking techniques, and individual serving sizes. It is the responsibility of the reader to ensure the accuracy and appropriateness of the nutritional information provided. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider for personalized medical or nutritional advice.
More Pumpkin Recipes To Try
- Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins
- Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
- Pumpkin Spice Protein Donuts
- Gluten Free Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars
- Pumpkin Spice Energy Balls
If you make these, leave a star rating and tell me whether you like cakey or chewy cookies. I want to know which side of the line people land on. Tag me @basicswithbails or save this for later.
About Bailey
I love to bake, cook, exercise, and document all of the above. Nutrition is not low fat. It is not low calorie. It’s not feeling deprived or being hungry all the time. It’s nourishing your body with real, whole foods so that you are consistently satisfied and energized to live your life to the fullest! Read more…
