Vegan Pumpkin Spice Almond Butter Cookies
Soft, chewy, nutty, and full of cozy pumpkin spice. This recipe for Vegan Pumpkin Spice Almond Butter Cookies are topped with pumpkin seeds and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt for seasonal cookie you won’t be able to stop eating.
If you love making vegan cookies as much as I do, be sure to check out some of my other favorites like my Vegan Raspberry Chocolate Chip Cookies, Vegan Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies, Vegan Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookies, or Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Vegan Pumpkin Spice Almond Butter Cookies
- Ready In: 27 minutes
- Makes: 24 cookies
- Main Ingredients: vegetable shortening, dark brown sugar, pumpkin, all purpose flour
- Flavor Profile: cozy pumpkin spice and almond butter
- Dietary Info: vegan, eggless, gluten free swap available
- Difficulty: Easy!
- Why You’ll Love It: soft vegan cookies with crispy edges and pumpkin spice
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Soft & Chewy: You will love these Vegan Pumpkin Spice Almond Butter Cookies as much as I do! These easy pumpkin cookies are soft, chewy, and a little nutty thanks to the almond butter.
- All the Pumpkin: Filled with pumpkin, pumpkin spice, and pumpkin seeds. These vegan pumpkin cookies have all the pumpkin vibes!
- Vegan Cookies: These pumpkin cookies will even impress your friends who are not vegan, trust me, do a taste-test! I love making making vegan cookies because they are so good, even if you eat butter and eggs. So, give these a try, even if you're not vegan.
- Flexible: If you aren't vegan, you can make these with regular butter for easy egg-free pumpkin cookies. But, also try Pumpkin Chocolate Cookies Without Eggs and Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Ingredients
- Vegetable Shortening: I use organic vegetable shortening, but vegan butter or even regular butter works if you aren't vegan.
- Light Brown Sugar: I use my homemade light brown sugar, but store bought also works.
- Pumpkin: Organic pumpkin puree adds flavor and it's a perfect egg replacer for these vegan cookies.
- Almond Butter: I use organic creamy almond butter. Cashew butter, peanut butter, or even sunflower seed butter, or tahini also work!
- All Purpose Flour: My favorite is Cairnspring Mills.
- Pumpkin Spice: I use my Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix, but your favorite store bought is also fine.
- Baking Soda: Make sure to use baking soda, not salt. Be sure to check out my post the Difference Between Baking Soda and Baking Powder for more info on leavening agents.
- Flaky Sea Salt: I top these vegan cookies with flaky sea salt for sweet and salty cookies. If you are not obsessed with sweet and salty cookies (like me), feel free to leave this off.
*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.
Baker's Tips
- Always weigh ingredients for the best results.
- You can use vegan butter in place of shortening if you prefer. I really love Miyoko's. If you are not vegan and want to make this recipe, you can also use regular butter too.
- Make these gluten free by replacing the all purpose flour with 198 grams (1 ¼ cups) gluten free flour blend.
- Feel free to use peanut butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter or even tahini any of these would work in place of almond butter.
- If you want to add in dark chocolate chips or even dried fruit, like cranberries, you can do that. I recommend adding in about 113 grams of add ins total.
- Make sure to store cookies in an airtight container to keep them fresh.
- You can freeze for up to 3 months.
- High Altitude — Bake at 375°F for 11 to 13 minutes or until the edges and bottom are golden brown.
How to Make Vegan Pumpkin Spice Almond Butter Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the vegetable shortening, light brown sugar, cane sugar, and pumpkin spice.
- Mix on low until combined.
- Add the pumpkin puree, almond butter, flour, baking soda, and sea salt in that order.
- Mix on low until combined.
- Using your hands, form the cookie dough into round disks about 1 ½-inches in diameter and place on the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with pumpkin seeds.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until the edges and bottom are golden brown. Sprinkle the tops with flaky sea salt. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheets. (If you are baking at high altitude, be sure to check the Notes at the bottom of the recipe for high altitude baking instructions).
Ways To Use Leftover Pumpkin
Reduce food waste and use up that leftover pumpkin! There's nothing worse than making a batch of pumpkin cookies and watching the remaining pumpkin sit in your fridge unused. Try these other recipes for ways to use up that extra pumpkin!
- Try Eggless Brown Sugar Pumpkin Snickerdoodles for another vegan friendly cookie recipe!
- Make your dog Pumpkin Waffles for Dogs or Cranberry Pumpkin Dog Cookies for homemade treats they will love!
- Make Vegan Pumpkin Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting your next bake, as pumpkin will stay fresh in the fridge for a week.
- If you love decorating, try the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake for a fun fall bake!
- Bake up some protein brownies with Pumpkin Spice Latte Protein Brownies!
Vegan Pumpkin Spice Almond Butter Cookies FAQ's
These cookies strike a very nice balance of both pumpkin and slight almond. They are not overly almond since we are also using pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice.
You can use either. I always use Farmer's Market Organic Pumpkin Puree, as I think it's the best and it's what I used for baked goods at my bakery for over a decade. It's tried and true, works perfectly every time. But, if you make your own pumpkin puree, more power to you and you can use it!
Yes, pumpkin is a great egg replacer for vegan cookies that are soft and chewy. Pumpkin adds moisture to cookies as well as makes them incredibly soft. You can replace 2 large eggs with 113 grams pumpkin puree for most soft and chewy cookie recipes. Pumpkin will make cookies an orange color and provide some flavor. Chocolate masks the pumpkin flavor, so if you are making vegan pumpkin cookies or vegan chocolate cookies then I love using pumpkin as the egg replacer!
Natural all the way! I only use organic ingredients, so that means natural almond butter that you have to stir. I honestly love the Costco organic almond butter, it's usually what I buy. I have not tested this recipe with a no-stir almond butter. But, those usually contain seed oils and other added ingredients you simply do not need.
Yes, you can replace the all purpose flour with 198 grams (1 ¼ cups) gluten free flour blend. I tested this using Namaste Organic Perfect Flour Blend.
No, I have not tested this. I don't recommend it. If you want a lower GI option, I recommend substituting the light brown sugar for coconut sugar, you can use the same weight measurement. This is a great swap as it will bake and taste very similar for sweetness, but you're using coconut sugar.
Incorrect measuring, too much wet ingredients (pumpkin or almond butter). Watch the video so you can see exactly how the dough looks, and that I am able to easily handle it with my hands. Always use a digital food scale for the most accurate measuring!
Yes, this part is totally optional.
Under baking can cause cookies to be too soft. These cookies are not cakey at all, they are soft and chewy. If you want a firmer cookie, you can bake a couple extra minutes as well.
If you rolled them into a ball and didn't form into disks like the recipe says, then they could not spread. Also, if you are using gluten free flour, you will need to make them a big larger disks as well as gluten free flour does not spread like wheat does, so you always need to make gluten free cookie dough balls larger.
Store in an airtight container so they stay soft and chewy.
You can, I just think it's more work. If you want to freeze the dough, you can roll the dough into the dough balls and place on a baking sheet. Freeze the baking sheet. Once firm, transfer to an airtight container or freezer safe bag and place parchment paper in between each layer so they don't stick together. This will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Then, you can thaw the cookie dough to room temperature and bake off.
These Vegan Pumpkin Spice Almond Butter Cookies are soft and chewy, so they are best stored in an airtight container so they stay fresh. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months!
More Pumpkin Spice Recipes
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Vegan Pumpkin Spice Almond Butter Cookies
Equipment
- Digital Food Scale
- Stand Mixer
- Half Sheet Pan
- Parchment Paper Sheets
Ingredients
Dough
- 113 grams vegetable shortening
- 113 grams light brown sugar (packed)
- 57 grams cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- 62 grams pumpkin puree
- 113 grams almond butter
- 191 grams all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Topping
- roasted and salted pumpkin seeds
- Flaky sea salt (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the vegetable shortening, light brown sugar, cane sugar, and pumpkin spice. Mix on low until combined.
- Add the pumpkin puree, almond butter, flour, baking soda, and sea salt in that order. Mix on low until combined.
- Using your hands, form the cookie dough into round disks about 1 ½-inches in diameter and place on the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with pumpkin seeds.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until the edges and bottom are golden brown. Sprinkle the tops with flaky sea salt. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheets.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 7 days.
Video
Notes
- Always use a digital food scale for the best results.
- You can use vegan butter in place of shortening if you prefer. I really love Miyoko's. If you are not vegan and want to make this recipe, you can also use regular butter too.
- Make these gluten free by replacing the all purpose flour with 198 grams (1 ¼ cups) gluten free flour blend.
- Feel free to use peanut butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter or even tahini any of these would work in place of almond butter.
- If you want to add in dark chocolate chips or even dried fruit, like cranberries, you can do that. I recommend adding in about 113 grams of add ins total.
- Make sure to store cookies in an airtight container to keep them fresh.
- You can freeze for up to 3 months.
- High Altitude — Bake at 375°F for 11 to 13 minutes or until the edges and bottom are golden brown.
Nutrition
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Soft and chewy, I love the combination of almond butter with pumpkin spice!