Almond Flour Pumpkin Cookies

Fall is all about pumpkin flavors and I love making these no-egg, almond flour pumpkin cookies. They are soft, delicious, and melt in the mouth. They can also be made dairy-free by using vegan butter.

This is an easy gluten-free pumpkin cookie recipe that can be made from scratch at home in a matter of minutes. They are perfect for holidays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, gifting, treats, or just as a snack for kids. The pumpkin pie spice adds a perfect warm flavor and makes these absolutely irresistible.

Ingredients

These almond flour pumpkin cookies are very easy to make at home with only a few ingredients. Of course, as the name suggests, you will need pumpkin and chocolate chips.

You can use homemade pumpkin puree or store-bought one. Ensure that you are using the pumpkin puree, the can usually say pumpkin, and not the pumpkin pie filling or puree. Pumpkin flavor is incomplete without the warm flavors of pumpkin spice, it makes these cookies delicious.

Almond flour is used to make these cookies gluten-free. It is preferred to weigh the flour using a food scale to get consistent results and to avoid adding too little or too much of flour in the cookie dough.

Apart from basic ingredients like butter, sugar, and salt, you will also need some baking powder. Usually I do not add any baking powder or baking soda to cookies, however, pumpkin does not allow the cookies to expand much, so a little bit of baking powder helps them rise.

Instructions

Pumpkin almond flour cookies can be made at home from scratch once you have all the ingredients. To start with, the butter must be at room temperature. If you forget to keep it outside the fridge for a few hours, you can soften it in the microwave for a few seconds.

Using a hand blender whisk attachment, whip the butter, in a large mixing bowl, until it becomes smooth. Now add the sugar and continue whisking until the butter and sugar mixture becomes light and fluffy.

Add the pumpkin spice, pumpkin puree, salt, baking powder, and almond flour to the butter and sugar mixture and gently stir with a spatula ensuring a soft cookie dough is formed.

Bake in oven

Turn the oven on 350 °F, it will preheat while you make the balls. Depending on your preference, make dough balls of preferred size and about a centimeter thick. I have made small size cookies, of about 2 inch in diameter and made balls of about 30 grams each.

Line a large baking sheet with a parchment paper and then place the flattened dough balls on it leaving a space of about an inch to allow the cookies to expand. Bake the cookies for about 14 minutes until the edges start turning golden brown.

Once the cookies are done, allow them to cool down for a few minutes and then transfer them on a cooling rack by lifting them with a spatula and let them cool down completely. The cookies will be soft in texture.

Bake in air fryer

Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies can be cooked in the air fryer, and that can be really handy if you are making a small batch of cookies. I have made these cookies in the Instant Vortex air fryer but this should also work in any other air fryer.

Since air fryer are small compared to the oven, the cookies are baked at a lower temperature of 330 °F in the air fryer. If you bake them at a higher temperature, they will brown faster, not expand enough, and may not cook thoroughly.

To make the cookies in the air fryer, first preheat the air fryer to 330 °F. Then place a parchment paper in the air fryer basket and line the cookie dough balls, about a centimeter thickness, on the parchment paper. Allow some space of about an inch between the cookies to allow them to expand.

Air fry the pumpkin cookies at 330 °F for about 8 minutes. You can also check in between if needed. Once the cookie edges start turning golden brown, they are done. Remove the air fryer basket and allow the cookies to cool down for a few minutes in it, else they can break.

Once the cookies have cooled down a bit, transfer them to a cooling wire rack and allow them to cool down completely. If you have more cookie dough, you can make another batch in the air fryer.

Variations

These almond flour gluten-free pumpkin cookies can be made vegan by substituting butter with vegan butter. You can also try using coconut oil, however, I have not tried it.

You can also check out this delicious pumpkin bread recipe, pumpkin ice cream, and pumpkin cheesecake ice cream recipes.

Storage

Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies can be stored at room temperature for 3-4 days. If you have made a bigger batch of cookies and want to store it for a longer time, you can store them in the fridge in an air tight container for about 3 weeks.

When you are stacking the cookies in the container, place a parchment paper or a wax paper between the cookies to prevent them from sticking. Allow the refrigerated cookie to come to the room temperature or just place in in the microwave for a few seconds before eating.

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