Pumpkin cookies baked perfectly round and chewy with white chocolaty creamy flavor!
Canned pumpkin puree makes baked goods just so yummy and comforting for fall! These pumpkin cookies are healthier than most traditional recipes and incredibly flavorful, in the same low sugar family as my pumpkin oat breakfast cookies and sunbutter cookies.
Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 8 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 18 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 48 two-bite cookies
- ⚡ Calories: 114kcal per cookie
- 🥣 Ingredients: 11 (eggs, pumpkin puree, coconut sugar, vanilla, gluten-free flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, salt, coconut oil, pecans, white chocolate chips)
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Chewy and moist from the pumpkin with warm buttery notes from the white chocolate, without the butter
- ✋ Difficulty: One mixer bowl, tablespoon drops, out of the oven in about 10 minutes
Quick Answer
Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a mixer blend 2 eggs, ½ cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling), ¾ cup coconut sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla until creamy, then blend in 2 ⅓ cups gluten-free flour, 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt. Slowly add ¾ cup melted coconut oil and mix well, then stir in a 12 ounce bag of white chocolate chips and 1 cup of pecan pieces. Drop tablespoons 2 inches apart on a parchment lined pan and bake about 10 minutes until slightly golden brown. Makes 48 two-bite cookies at 114 calories each.
Jump to:
Whenever cookies come to mind I think of a giant fluffy blue guy named "cookie monster"! You know the one I'm talking about from Sesame Street, where he relentlessly grabs handful after handful of crunchy crumbly chocolate chip cookies that are spewing out of his mouth as he eats them. Not only is he eating them handfuls at a time but he's always talking while he is doing it! Drives me so freaking nuts! My kids turn into that giant blue cookie monster when they are presented with a tray of these pumpkin cookies, or any cookie for that matter. Only they don't turn blue and furry and there are not the same amount of cookie chunks flying out of their mouths, WHEW!
Two bites and the entire cookie is gone! Which means minimal crumbs all over the place for mama to clean up! Good thing these pumpkin cookies are so chewy and moist that every last drop is eaten!
Why These Cookies Work
Click to see why these stay chewy
- Pumpkin puree is the moisture. What makes pumpkin recipes so delicious is the creaminess and added moisture from the puree, which keeps these chewy instead of crumbly.
- Coconut oil goes in last, melted. Adding it after the dry ingredients means it does not harden and blends well with everything else.
- White chocolate stands in for butter. The chips give these cookies a warm buttery flavor without the butter.
- Coconut sugar keeps them low sugar. A small amount does all the sweetening alongside the chips.
- Two-bite size is the crumb control. Tablespoon drops bake into small round cookies that disappear in two bites, so the crumbs never hit the floor.
- 375 degrees for about 10 minutes browns the edges while the pumpkin keeps the middle soft.
Why You'll Love These Cookies
- Chewy and moist, so every last drop is eaten.
- Low sugar, perfect for the upcoming holidays if you are trying to decrease your sugar intake.
- Dairy-free friendly. Use dairy free white chocolate chips and the whole recipe stays dairy free.
- Makes 48, enough for the cookie tray and the lunch boxes.
- Coconut oil instead of butter or baking oil, which is so much better for you.
- Kid approved. Just ask my little cookie monsters, and pair the tray with my nut-free sunbutter cookies.
Key Ingredients
- Canned pumpkin puree - ½ cup, and make sure it is puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
- Coconut sugar - ¾ cup, the low sugar sweetener.
- Gluten-free flour and pumpkin pie spice - the base and the fall warmth. My flour and starch guide covers flour swaps.
- Coconut oil - ¾ cup melted, in place of baking oil or butter. It can even boost the metabolism.
- Pecan pieces - 1 cup for the crunch.
- White chocolate chips - a 12 ounce bag. Make sure to get dairy free white chocolate chips to keep the recipe totally dairy free, or use milk chocolate chips if you prefer.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
- Milk chocolate chips instead of white, if you prefer. Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are another one of my favorites, but white chips give that warm buttery flavor without the butter.
- Dairy free white chocolate chips keep the whole batch dairy free.
- Skip the pecans for a nut-free tray and add my sunbutter cookies beside them, sweetened only with maple syrup.
- Out of pumpkin pie spice? My substitute library shows what stands in for the cinnamon half of it.
How to Make Pumpkin Cookies
1Blend the wet ingredients. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a mixer blend together the eggs, pumpkin puree, coconut sugar, and vanilla until creamy.
2Add the dry, then the oil. Blend in the flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt until mixed. Slowly add the melted coconut oil and mix well. This way the coconut oil does not harden and blends well with all the other ingredients.
3Stir in the chips and pecans. Stir in the white chocolate chips and pecan pieces, or milk chocolate chips if you prefer.
4Drop and bake. Line a baking pan with parchment paper and drop tablespoons about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes or until slightly golden brown, cool on the baking sheet for a minute, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
As always, be sure to check out the full recipe details in the recipe card below.
Expert Tips
- Use puree, not pie filling. The can should say pumpkin puree only.
- Melt the coconut oil and add it last so it blends instead of hardening into flecks.
- Keep the drops to a tablespoon, 2 inches apart, for even two-bite cookies.
- Watch for slightly golden brown at about 10 minutes, and let them rest a minute on the pan before the rack.
- Dairy free? Check the chips. The linked white chips are dairy free; many brands are not.
- Baking more this season? My gluten-free pumpkin bread and pumpkin muffins are next on the fall list.
Why Pumpkin Makes Cookies So Good
What makes pumpkin recipes so delicious? It is the creaminess and added moisture from pumpkin puree! Canned pumpkin puree makes baked goods just so yummy and comforting for fall. For this recipe I used a small amount of coconut sugar, and instead of baking oil or butter, I use coconut oil.
I promise you will be pleasantly pleased by these pumpkin cookies! Perfect for the upcoming holidays, especially if you are trying to decrease your sugar intake. They sit right beside the pumpkin pancakes and a warm pumpkin trifle on our fall table.
Pumpkin Cookie FAQs
The creaminess and added moisture from canned pumpkin puree. It keeps the crumb soft and moist, so the cookies stay chewy instead of crumbly.
Yes, milk chocolate chips work if you prefer. White chocolate chips give the cookies a warm buttery flavor without the butter, which is why the recipe calls for them.
They can be. Use dairy free white chocolate chips, and since the fat is coconut oil rather than butter, the rest of the recipe is already dairy free.
Melted coconut oil added after the dry ingredients does not harden, so it blends well with all the other ingredients.
About 48 two-bite cookies from tablespoon drops set 2 inches apart, at 114 calories each.
Pumpkin puree only, not pumpkin pie filling. The spices come from the 1 ½ teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice in the dough.
More Healthy Pumpkin Recipes
More healthy pumpkin recipes: Healthy Oatmeal Pumpkin Breakfast Cookies, Pumpkin Pie Truffles, Pumpkin Trifle, Zucchini Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread and Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins. I hope you enjoy these two-bite pumpkin cookies! Follow along with me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter for a feature and more recipe inspiration! And don't forget to leave a comment below!
Two-Bite Pumpkin Cookies (Low Sugar and Dairy-Free)
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Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup canned pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie
- ¾ cup coconut sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ⅓ cup gluten-free flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup coconut oil melted
- 1 cup pecan pieces
- 12 ounce bag of white chocolate chips or vegan white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a mixer blend together the eggs, pumpkin puree, coconut sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Blend in the flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt until mixed. Slowly add the melted coconut oil. Mix well. Stir in the white chocolate chips and pecan pieces.
- Line a baking pan with parchment paper and drop tablespoons about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Cool on the baking sheet for a minute before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
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