Holidays or any day – these soft pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting are a winner.
Seriously, these cookies are crazy amazing – and that’s not always easy to say about gluten-free baked goods made without eggs! Honestly, even if you do not follow a gluten-free or egg-free diet, these cookies will still be a winner!
Ingredients:
Cookie Ingredients:
- 2 flax eggs (2 Tbsp. flax meal + 6 Tbsp. water) or 2 whole eggs
- 3 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour* such as Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free 1:1 Baking Flour
- 1 cup cane sugar
- 1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 12 Tbsp. (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
- 1 ¼ cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Frosting Ingredients:
- 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
- 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Prepare flax egg by placing 2 Tbsp. flax meal + 6 Tbsp. water in a small bowl, whisking to combine and allow to rest 8-10 minutes until a gel forms.
- In a large bowl add flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and sea salt. Whisk to combine well.
- Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut the chilled butter into the dry mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add the flax eggs, pumpkin, and vanilla to the dry mixture then stir with a large spoon until the dough forms into a ball (we like to work the dough into a ball with clean hands). The dough should be smooth to the touch (maybe a hair sticky). If the dough is wet and sticky, add a little more flour and stir again. If the dough is dry, add a splash of water and stir again.
- Roll dough into 28-30 golf-ball-sized pieces, placing on two baking sheets allowing enough room so that they won’t touch when flattened.
- Using your hand, gently flatten each ball of dough so that it’s about ¼-inch thick and 2 ½-inches in diameter.
- Place pans in the oven and bake 10-12 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned and the tops of the cookies are set – rotating the pans back to front (spin ‘em) and top to bottom (swap ‘em) halfway through cooking time.
- Use a spatula to carefully remove cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
To make the frosting:
- Place softened butter, cream cheese, and vanilla in a medium bowl (or bowl of a stand mixer).
- Beat until well combined. Add powdered sugar and pumpkin pie spice and continue to beat at high speed until fluffy.
- Spread frosting on cooled cookies and dust with additional pumpkin pie spice or sprinkles.
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