Perfect you say? A bold claim…but one that I totally stand by with these gorgeous tasty epic vegan pumpkin cookies, studded with chocolate chips and optional chunks of walnut.
The cookie dough can be whipped up in ten minutes and the giant pumpkin cookies bake up in just fifteen!
Mmmm you can taste that fall flavor! Everything you want from a cookie, perfect for a vegan Thanksgiving gathering or you can add in some cute Halloween-themed sprinkles and serve them as a cute vegan Halloween treat!
You will love these vegan pumpkin cookies! Not only are they dairy-free and eggless, but they’re also:
- Crunchy
- Soft
- Slightly chewy
- Thick
- Satisfying
- Full of chocolate chips!
- Soy-free (depending on the vegan margarine or butter you use)
- No chilling-time needed for the cookie dough
- One-bowl
The cookie dough is LEGIT as well, perfect texture, you would never guess it’s vegan. Do me a favor and try not to eat it all before you actually get around to baking it!
If you’d like a gluten-free option, check out these beautiful vegan gluten-free pumpkin cookies over at Rhian’s Recipes. Different but also gluten-free, my recipe for vegan chickpea chocolate chip cookies with cayenne pepper also merits a try (so tasty!).
Ingredients needed
Before you get super excited and plunge into making some delicious vegan pumpkin cookies, make sure you’ve got the following items in your kitchen:
- Vegan margarine or butter
- Brown sugar
- White sugar
- Vanilla extract (optional)
- Canned or homemade pumpkin puree
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground ginger
- Ground nutmeg
- Salt
- Chocolate chips
- Walnuts (optional)
- Halloween sprinkles (optional)
As you can see the ingredients are pretty basic. Sticking with the ingredients above will give the best results but if you’re missing one or two things or don’t like any of the ingredients, check out the section below on substitutions.
Substitutions
I’ve put some notes on the most obvious substitutions or recipe ingredient issues that I could think of below.
If you have any other doubts about swapping some things out to make your vegan pumpkin cookies as yummy as possible, don’t hesitate to drop a comment below or use the contact form in the menu bar above.
If you don’t have vanilla extract you can either skip adding extract or replace it with another extract you think might go well (rum or orange, for example).
If you’re using homemade puree do let the liquid drain off as otherwise it might put off the ratio of wet to dry ingredients.
The ginger and nutmeg can be omitted if needed but they really pack a punch of flavor so please don’t!
When it comes to the walnuts, you can swap them for the same quantity of another nut you prefer or leave nuts out altogether (although personally, I’d definitely add in some extra chocolate chips then).
Instructions
In this section, I’m just going to quickly go over the instructions for making your pumpkin cookies and match them to some photos so you can see if you’re missing any vital equipment before getting ready to bake or check the progress of your cookie dough if you’re worried it’s all going a bit pear-shaped…
These cookies are so easy though. Basically just chuck your wet ingredients in one mixing bowl (the vegan butter/margarine, vanilla extract, pumpkin puree) along with the sugar and cream together with a fork, as in the photo below.
If you want to you can use a hand mixer but a) my kitchen is fairly low-tech and b) vegan margarine or butter is pretty soft so you can easily do this by hand and c) do you really want to have more to wash up?
Next, add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt.
Use a wooden spoon to mix well until a slightly crumbly dough is formed (check the image on the right above). Note it will take you a few minutes to mix together, don’t give up! Then Chop up the walnuts and add them to the bowl along with the chocolate chips.
Fold in and mix more until the dough has come together. You can see below what the dough should look like. It might look a bit crumbly but don’t worry it will become glossy when you shape it.
The dough for these vegan pumpkin cookies is very easy to work with. It only spreads a little so you can space your cookies quite close together if needed, and doesn’t need to be chilled.
You can, however, make it ahead of time, wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge for up to five days. Just add an extra two minutes to the cooking time if you’re using chilled dough.
Use a cookie dough scoop or ice-cream scoop to portion out the dough into about 12-14 balls. Roll between your hands to make a round ball and then flatten with the palm of your hand or a glass, to about 1cm thick.
Neaten the edges with your fingers if needed, and bake for 15 minutes at 350F (about 180C). Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the tray (the secret to a chewy exterior).
I normally wait a few minutes (to avoid burning myself on melted chocolate chips, and push in a few extra chocolate chips and/or halloween sprinkles while the cookies are warm.
Done! Your delicious vegan pumpkin cookies should be cool enough to heat within about half an hour.
Enjoy!
Storage
Keep your cookies perfect by storing them in an airtight container for no longer than three days at room temperature, or alternatively, by freezing them.
You can then defrost overnight and eat at your leisure (a delicious vegan cookie a day keeps the cookie monster away…).
More vegan pumpkin recipes?
If you’re all fired up and excited about making some Fall treats (I swear, I can’t stop making them), then you might also be interested in some more vegan pumpkin-based recipes such as:
- Spicy pumpkin pickles (quick overnight refrigerator pickle recipe)
- 20-minute vegan pumpkin pasta
- Fluffy easy vegan pumpkin pancakes
On the otherhand, if you’re here because you’ve have a raging case of the cookie monster (it happens, I can totally commiserate), then I’d recommend checking out:
More vegan cookies?
- Pink and purple vegan chocolate walnut cookies
- The ultimate flourless chocolate chili cookies
Did you make this recipe? Let me know how much you loved it with a star rating in the recipe box, review, or comment below.
Or take a picture and tag me on Instagram (@the_fiery_vegetarian), I love seeing all your creations!
Perfect Vegan Pumpkin Cookies Recipe
Perfect vegan pumpkin cookies loaded with chocolate chips, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon and chopped nuts, ready in under half an hour!
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegan margarine or plant-based butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree (110g)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ginger
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Cream the margarine with the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla extract, and pumpkin puree.
2. Add in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Mix well with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together (it will take a few minutes).
3. Tip in the chocolate chips and chopped walnuts (if using) and mix them into the dough well.
4. Use an ice-cream scoop to portion out 12-14 scoops of dough. Use your hands to roll them into balls and place on bakingpans lined with parchment. Flatten with your hands or the base of a glass to 1cm thickness.
5. Pop the trays into the oven and bake for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes remove and allow to cool on the tray (roughly 30 minutes). You can also add extra chocolate chops or sprinkles by pushing them in while the cookies are still hot (do wait a few minutes after they've come out of the oven to avoid burning yourself).
6. Enjoy!
Notes
You can swap the walnuts out for other nuts or omit them altogether but they add a lot of lovely crunch!
Nutrition Information
Yield
14Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 277Total Fat 14gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 2mgSodium 146mgCarbohydrates 37gFiber 2gSugar 21gProtein 3g
Amy
These are amazing! they’re so cakey, which I love 🙂 The process is so easy to make, all in one bowl and it worked perfectly. I will definitely make these again, thank you 🙂
Deirdre Gilna
So happy you liked them Amy and thanks for stopping by to leave such lovely feedback!