These simple pumpkin peanut butter cookies are so great for fall! They're vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free and also use just one bowl and less than 10 ingredients to make!
Woah. Two of my favorite things in one cookie? What is even happening?!
Well, friends, only good things are happening around here. We're talking all things cookies. Gluten-free and vegan cookies. Pumpkin cookies. Peanut butter cookies. All those things mashed into one perfect cookie that is sure to make your autumn tastebuds sing!
These healthy Pumpkin Peanut Butter cookies might sound like an unlike flavor combination buy holy wow are they good! They're chewy, they're soft, they're pillowy, they're full of peanut butter flavor, they've got the warm aromas of pumpkin spice and they're super-duper healthy too. They're a cookie that everyone needs to make!
Ingredients for Pumpkin Peanut Butter Cookies
We've made at least 50 different cookies on the site – I don't actually know the real number so I'm just guesstimating – and peanut butter is an ingredient in many of them. They're just something so awesome about baking peanut butter cookies, ya know? They make your house smell so good and there's almost nothing better than biting into a warm peanut butter cookie.
So what if we coupled those traditional cookies with pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice? It takes the baking aromas to a whole new level!
We're using a pretty simple list of ingredients for these pumpkin peanut butter cookies. We've got less than 10 ingredients, we use just one bowl, and it takes less than 15 minutes for these beauties to come out of the oven!
The Secret to Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies
There are a couple tricks to making perfect peanut butter cookies. For starters, you need good peanut butter. We're not talking about the kind that is mixed with sugar, salt, and palm oil. We're talking pure, 100% peanut butter. The texture? Creamy vs. chunky is on you to decide.
The next trick for making healthy peanut butter cookies is to swap the white or brown sugar with something a bit less processed. My fave options are coconut sugar and maple syrup which is what we're using here. Both sugars are still sweet, but they're lower on the glycemic index, are less processed, but still taste just as good.
The final trick is to use a whole grain flour. Most peanut butter cookies are flourless, but I've found that if you're also making them vegan, it's best to add a touch of flour to help them stay together. No one wants a crumbly cookie that's full of pricey all natural peanut butter!
How to Make Pumpkin Peanut Butter Cookies
Did I mention these fabulous pumpkin peanut butter cookies use just one bowl? Yep, that's right. You can mix 'em up and only have to do one wish. That is something I'm on board with!
We start with our wet ingredients. We're beating up our peanut butter, pumpkin, flax egg, and sugars until they're smooth and creamy. Once you've got that you add your dry ingredients in, stir together and done. Perfect cookie batter awaits!
Best of all, these cookies bake for just 10 minutes. In the time it takes you to clean up, wipe down the counters and put your baking supplies away, they'll be done and ready to eat. Now you just have to find something delicious to dunk them into and you're good to GO!
A Vegan Peanut Butter Cookie for Fall
Since we're making pumpkin peanut butter cookies, you better believe there's some pumpkin pie spice tossed in for flavor. I for one absolutely adore pumpkin pie spice and use it in pretty much everything.
We've got my daily pumpkin spice matcha latte habit, there's the pumpkin spice almond butter recipe that is awesome on toast, and of course, my pumpkin spice blondies are pure heaven.
And those warm, delicious spices are the perfect thing to round out these autumn-inspired cookies. The flavor is incredible, the aromas that waft through your house are divine and the cookies themselves are just delish. Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside and full of cinnamon-nutmegy goodness!
More Gluten-Free Vegan Cookies to try:
- Vegan Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Healthy Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
- Super Healthy Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chunky Monkey Quinoa Breakfast Cookies
- The Best Quinoa Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Coconut Protein Cookies
- Insanely Healthy Oatmeal Cookies
Pumpkin Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon flaxseed meal + 3 tablespoons water)
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/3 cup quinoa flour
- Raw turbinado sugar for sprinkling optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the flax egg, peanut butter, pumpkin, coconut sugar and syrup. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
- Add the pumpkin pie spice, salt, baking soda and quinoa flour and beat again until a sticky dough forms.
- Using a small cookie scoop, drop the dough onto the baking sheet, spacing the cookies at least 2" apart. Repeat until all the dough has been used.
- Gently flatten the cookies with your hands and sprinkle with sugar. Bake on the center rack for 11 - 13 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes on the pan before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Once cool, pack up and/or enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Just wondering how much salt as it lists it in the directions but not on the ingredient list.
Just a pinch 🙂 updating!
What are your thoughts of using a different nut butter? I have a son with a severe peanut allergy. If so what would you use and which brand. What about a sun butter or almond.?
Would appreciate your input, these sound yummy.
Thx
Totally replaceable! You can use any nut/seed butter you’d like 🙂
Would this work another kind of flour?
Depends on what flour! Let me know what you’re thinking and I can provide suggestions 🙂
Looks delicious! I second the other person’s question about alternate flour. I don’t have quinoa on hand. I have coconut flour, almond flour, and bobs red mill 1:1 gf flour. Can any of those replace the quinoa and still give the same general affect?
The 1:1 would work best here!
Can I use a different type of flour, I don’t have quinoa flour?
Thanks!
Maybe oat! I haven’t tried, so I’m not 100% sure, but that usually does well 🙂
The video says coconut flour but this says quinoa flour. Which did you use? I have coconut flour but not quinoa flour – would that work? Thanks – can’t wait to try this!
That will work! Thanks 🙂 They will both work actually 🙂
Thanks for the recipe! Can I replace the vegan egg with a regular egg?
Definitely!
Delicious! Only a little disappointed that mine came out smooth and more cake like, than with the brown and crunchy exterior yours seem to have. Only alternate ingredient was a real egg. Still a big hit!! Thoughts?
The egg probably made them a bit more cakey because of the structure of the egg!
Is it okay to use regular eggs and regular all-purpose flour for this recipe, and in the same amounts too? (was looking for a refined sugar-free recipe and came across this, but don’t have the ingredients for the full vegan/GF recipe)
quinoa flour and all-purpose flour can’t be substituted 1:1 in this recipe, and we have only tested it the way it is written so I wouldn’t suggest using all-purpose flour but substituting a bird egg for the flax egg should be fine!