Soft vegan pumpkin cookies with pumpkin spice icing are every bit as delicious as they sound! These old fashioned cookies are super soft and cakey, almost like the top part of a cupcake more than a traditional cookie. Biting into one of these treats is a total flavour explosion of sweet, spiced, pumpkin bliss. And best part yet, they are super easy to make, totally vegan, and are one of the best cookies I've ever had the pleasure of enjoying. (And I LOVE cookies)!
Vegan pumpkin cookies are the perfect treat for autumn. I love that these can be made ahead of time and frozen for later. Since the recipe makes such a big batch of cookies (about 28 - 30 cookies), I like to leave a couple out to enjoy fresh, and freeze the rest for later. They thaw pretty quickly at room temperauture so whenever you're in the mood for a treat, or if company drops by, you can just grab them and enjoy!
I love how easy and quick these cookies are to make, but if you're looking for even more pumpkin desserts, try my vegan pumpkin pie (a fan favourite!), vegan pumpkin cheesecake, vegan pumpkin spice cake, or my pumpkin spice oatmeal for a breakfast treat.
To make Soft Vegan Pumpkin Cookies:
Add the sugar and vegan butter to a large bowl and use a mixer or spatula to cream the sugar and butter together.
Add the pumpkin and vanilla extract and mix in.
Now add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt and mix well to combine.
Lightly spray a cookie scoop or large spoon with oil, and scoop 2 tablespoons of cookie dough and drop it onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat to fill your tray, evenly spacing the cookies. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until the cookies are golden on the bottom. (The cookies will not spread much). Let the cookies cool completely before icing.
To make the icing: add the powdered sugar, plant-based milk, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla extract to a small bowl and whisk to combine. Drizzle over the cookies. Let the cookies rest to set the icing.
Store the cookies at room temperature for up to a week or freeze in an air-tight container.
Vegan pumpkin cookies go gorgeously with a cup of coffee!
Bon appetegan!
Sam Turnbull.
Soft Vegan Pumpkin Cookies with pumpkin spice icing are every bit as delicious as they sound! These old fashioned cookies are super soft and cakey, almost like the top part of a cupcake more than a traditional cookie. They are easy to make and freeze beautifully.
Recipe adapted from Very Best Baking.
- 1 ½ cups white sugar
- ½ cup vegan butter, softened
- 1 ¼ cups pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons plant-based milk (such as soy or oat)
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
-
To make the cookies: Preheat your oven to 350F (180C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease them.
-
Add the sugar and vegan butter to a large bowl and use a mixer or spatula to cream the sugar and butter together. Add the pumpkin and vanilla extract and mix in. Now add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt and mix well to combine.
-
Lightly spray a cookie scoop or large spoon with oil, and scoop 2 tablespoons of cookie dough and drop it onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat to fill your tray, evenly spacing the cookies. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until the cookies are golden on the bottom. (The cookies will not spread much). Let the cookies cool completely before icing.
-
To make the icing: add the powdered sugar, plant-based milk, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla extract to a small bowl and whisk to combine. Drizzle over the cookies. Let the cookies rest to set the icing. Store the cookies at room temperature for up to a week or freeze in an air-tight container.
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @itdoesnttastelikechicken on Instagram and hashtag #itdoesnttastelikechicken.
Thanks Sam! I made this much spicier, and did a mix of 1/2 c white sugar, 1/2 c splenda, and 1/2 c brown sugar splenda. I did a spice mix more like for molasses cookies (I think I just wanted a pumpkin and gingerbread hybrid). I did a couple of tbs total of a mix of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, allspice, and a pinch of black pepper. I didn't have all purpose flour, only bread and cake flour, so I used the cake flour. They turned out super light and fluffy, but moist and would have probably made amazing muffins if I'd added some shredded carrot or something. Love all your recipes, appreciate ya!
So happy you enjoyed them Erin!
Thank you Sam
You're welcome!
Im dying to try this recipe but I cant find pumpkin puree. I have a can of pumpkin..Is that the same thing? If not, is there an adjustment that can be made? Thanks!
And thanks for all these awesome recipes!! Your a genius!
Canned pumpkin is the same as pumpkin purée. Just be sure it’s not pumpkin pie filling.
Yes, just as Lynn said. The word puree just means that it is cooked and mashed or blended. Canned pumpkin is exactly what you need. 🙂
Made these gluten free with 1-1 substitute (Bob's). My mom had to ask if they were gluten free and these are my husbands new favorite cookie (even a week later). He says anytime I'm thinking of baking something, this should be my first choice! SO GOOD! We also found the icing not necessary, so my hubs just ate that with a spoon. Definitely best day of, but still tasting throughout the week!
So happy the gluten-free version turned out so well 🙂
These were delicious! All of my non-vegan family and friends loved them! One note, my icing was not white at all like yours in the pictures. Not sure why but most importantly the icing tasted great!
Hi Kathy, the icing is a bit brown due to the pumpkin spice, and the colour can vary based on brand as well. Glad you enjoyed!!
These were the best cookies I have ever had! This is my go to site for my 7 year old with an egg/dairy allergy and I am never disappointed with this site (try the ultimate chocolate cake recipe!!) I used earth balance vegan butter for the cookies and unsweetened almond milk for the icing. I didn’t have pumpkin pie spice so I used a blend of ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon (1/3 tsp each for the cookies) and for the icing I combined them using more cinnamon and nutmeg than ginger. They were a hit with my entire non-vegan family and I might have to make them again today!!!
Yayyyy!!!! Thank you, Renee 🙂
Simply amazing! Followed the recipe exactly and they came out perfect! Love that the recipe nets a lot of cookies and I was able to safely door-drop them to friends and family for a little Canadian Thanksgiving treat!
Aww that's wonderful, so happy you enjoyed them Liz 🙂
I doubled the recipe, exactly because I didn’t want to waste any pumpkin purée. Did I do something horribly wrong if the cookies spread out a lot (like doubled in size) when baking?
I will update later to say if the taste was affected in any way
It's difficult to know without being in the kitchen with you. It's easy to make mistakes measuring when doubling recipes (I do it all the time) so that's my guess as to what happened. I hope it tasted great anyways!
Ended up taking it to work and feeding everyone. “I’d much rather have them be bigger” was the response. They tasted great and that’s probably most important.
Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed!
These are soooooooo good!!! I used only half of the sugar & icing, but added a generous drizzle of dark chocolate after icing (and felt like in this episode of Friends where they order "a pizza with fat free crust & extra cheese" ). The texture is insane - huge hit with everybody! Thanks!
Wonderful!! Thrilled you loved them, Yulca 🙂
I'm trying these tonight, and I am so excited to try them!!!
Enjoy!
Made these tonight and they did not disappoint! Followed the recipe to a t and they turned out perfect! Such a simple recipe but hits the spot and tastes amazing! Will definitely be making these all season long!
Wonderful!! Thrilled you enjoyed them Lauren! 🙂
Possible to sub white sugar for “coconut sugar”?
And sub “almond flour” for all- purpose?
Thanks!!
Oops meant - sub the all purpose for “almond flour“.
Hi Aj, I believe coconut sugar should work, but I'm really not an expert in alternative flours and sugars.
Would you reccomend Almond flour to make these gluten free?
I'm not an expert in gluten-free baking so I wouldn't know what to suggest.