These gluten-free pumpkin madeleines are soft, lightly spiced, and have perfectly crispy edges. They are naturally dairy-free and full of warm fall flavor thanks to pumpkin puree, cinnamon, and maple syrup. Whether you leave them plain or dress them up as Halloween mice, these madeleines are a fun and festive way to celebrate pumpkin season.
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❤️ Sandi’s Summary
Have you tried a Madeleine? They are little cake-like cookies that will be the hit of your party! I decided to create special pumpkin-flavored Madeleines that can be turned into cute little mice for Halloween. These cookies are perfectly moist with crispy edges. You can make a batch of these madeleines in under 30 minutes!
The decoration possibilities are endless; we chose to make these cute little mice. If you love all things pumpkin, as we do, you will want to check out all of my delicious gluten-free pumpkin recipes!
Ingredients Notes:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- Gluten-Free Flour Blend – I tested this recipe using Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Blend and King Arthur Measure for Measure. Other blends should work as well.
- Almond Flour – Please use almond flour, not almond meal. Almond meal will make your madeleines grittier.
- Xanthan Gum – If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add 3/4 teaspoon.
- Baking Powder – Use aluminum-free baking powder.
- Pumpkin Puree – Do not use canned pumpkin pie filling.
- Non-Dairy Milk – I used almond milk, but other plant milk types will work. Regular milk will also work.
- Light Oil – I used warm coconut oil, but you can also use unsalted butter.
- Coconut Sugar – Swap brown sugar if you prefer. My reader, Bonnie, made them dairy-free. See her comment above for more details.
To make this recipe gum-free, use my DIY Gluten-Free Flour Blend. It uses psyllium husk instead of xanthan or guar gum.
A Note From My Kitchen
Over the years, I have tried many madeleine flavors, and this pumpkin version is one of my favorites for fall. I tested the recipe with both Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 and King Arthur Measure for Measure. Both worked really well. The Madeleine batter should be thicker than pancake batter and hold its shape in the pan. If yours is too runny or thick, adjust by adding 1 to 2 teaspoons more flour or milk as needed. Read Why Gluten-Free Flour Blends Vary to learn more about this. If you don’t have a madeleine pan, use a mini muffin pan; they’ll still have the same flavor and be fluffy inside.
How to Make Gluten-Free Pumpkin Madeleines (Step-By-Step)
Step 1: Add the dry ingredients, including the flour, coconut sugar, ground cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and baking powder, in a large
Step 2: Add the wet ingredients, including the pumpkin, eggs, coconut oil or butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and non-dairy milk to another
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Step 3: The wet and dry ingredients are now ready to be mixed. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix until just barely combined. Overmixing the batter will result in denser madeleines. The batter should be thicker than pancake batter, smooth, and scoopable
Step 4: This madeleine batter is thicker than pancake batter. Spray a madeleine pan with gluten-free baking spray. Use a large wooden spoon to add a dollop of batter to the madeleine pan. (I included this photo of butterscotch madeleine batter so you can see the thickness.)
Step 5: Bake at 350ºF. Madeleines are not thick cookies, so they should bake in about 13-15 minutes at most! Remove the cookies to a cooling rack so they can cool after baking. You’ll know they’re done when the edges are golden and the centers spring back when lightly touched.
Frequently Asked Questions:
No, you can use a mini muffin pan or drop-style cookies on a baking sheet. They’ll still taste great, but won’t have the classic scalloped shape.
A madeleine is like a mini sponge cake. It is light and springy.
If you bake the madeleines at too high a temperature, the outsides will cook too rapidly, resulting in flat cookies. Also, check the expiration date of your baking powder.
I recommend storing madeleines in the refrigerator in an airtight container. These madeleines will keep fresh in an airtight container for up to 4 days or up to 4 months in the freezer.
Ways To Decorate Madeleines For Halloween:
- To decorate these cookies like mice, grab full almonds and some candy googly eyes. You can follow this fun tutorial if you prefer to make your own googly eyes. I used a tube of icing I bought (usually used for writing on cakes) to adhere to my googly eyes. For the tails, I used black bean pasta.
- Stick four pipe cleaners or black bean pasta into each side to make them into “spiders” for Halloween.
- Dust with Powdered sugar.
- Drizzle white chocolate across the madeleines to decorate like a mummy or spider web.
More Gluten-Free Halloween Recipes:
If you love to entertain for Halloween, here are some darling gluten-free recipes to serve:
Love This Recipe?
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. Please include which flour blend you used. This will help others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Madeleines (Dairy-Free!)
Equipment
- madeleine pan
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups gluten free flour blend * see note
- ½ cup almond flour * see note
- 1 teaspoon baking powder aluminum-free
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup coconut oil * see note
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup coconut or brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup pumpkin puree * see note
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup non-dairy milk almond milk or another type is fine
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- In a small bowl, add 1/2 cup coconut oil (melted), 2 large eggs, 1/2 cup coconut or brown sugar, 1/3 cup pumpkin puree, 1/2 cup maple syrup, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, and 1/4 cup non-dairy milk. Whisk to blend
- In a large bowl, whisk 1 1/2 cups gluten free flour blend, 1/2 cup almond flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, and 1/8 teaspoon salt, including the 1/2 cup coconut or brown sugar.
- Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well.
- Spray the madeleine pan with gluten free baking spray. NOTE: PAM baking spray is not gluten-free!
- Use a spoon to fill madeleine section with batter. The batter will be thicker than pancake batter.
- Bake for 10 minutes until done. You will know the madeleines are finished baking when they are firm to the touch.
- Remove the madeleines from the pan and set them onto a cooling rack. Do not ice or dip in chocolate until they are fully cooled.
- Optional: dip or drizzle melted dark chocolate or decorate as mini mice.
Notes
- Gluten free flour blend – I tested this recipe using Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 and King Arthur’s Measure for Measure. Adjust the batter with more milk or flour if needed.
- Xanthan Gum – If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add 3/4 teaspoon.
- Feel free to use brown sugar instead of coconut sugar
- You can substitute butter or another light oil, or unsalted butter if you prefer those to coconut oil.
- I highly suggest using almond flour and not almond meal. Almond meal is coarser and will make your madeleines grainy. I recommend using Anthony’s brand.
- Store leftover madeleines in an airtight container, which will last for up 4 days or freeze them in a freezer-safe container or zip bag. They will keep fresh for 4 months in the freezer.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, my rule of thumb is to add more flour if your dough or batter is wet and add more liquid if the dough or batter is too dry!
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
This post was updated from an older post dated 11/3/14 with more recipe details.
I truly hope you enjoy this recipe. I have been testing and creating gluten-free recipes for over 15 years. Creating gluten-free recipes that do not taste gluten-free is my goal for every recipe. Sometimes I only have to test a new recipe a couple of times, and others it takes multiple times. I do this so you get reliable, delicious results every time!
How do you make the tails curl?
Hi Ella, It was a spaghetti that had bends in it.
I didn’t have coconut sugar sonI used my regular morena sugar. I didn’t have the madeline pan, but just now gave them a try in a mini muffin pan and they are so good and perfect texture!
I love how you improvised and I am even more glad you liked them :-).
Do you know if brown sugar monk fruit would work as a sweetener? My daughter is diabetic
Hi Bonnie, I have not tried baking with monk fruit sweetener. If you try it, please do let me know how it turns out.
Hi Sandi
I made them with a erythritol brown sugar called sukrin gold. Also substituted the maple syrup with monk fruit maple syrup. Carb count significantly reduced, and flavor and texture are superb!! Magnificent!!! So simple, so delicious and now keto!
Thank you for the recipe!
Bonnie
Hi Bonnie, wow, thank you so, so much for taking the time to come back to let us know this worked. I really appreciate it!
Thank you for the recipe! Can I omit the Xanthan gum or use flax as a substitute?
I think you can omit the xanthan gum. What a great idea to substitute flax. I didn’t even think of that. Will you please let me know how it turns out?
Tell me there is a good kind of pan I can as a substitute these look and sound so yummy, I’d love to make for Thanksgiving.
Hi Lori,
You can just drop them onto a cookie sheet and make cookies out of them. Drizzle the chocolate on top, or not. They are delicious both ways 🙂
great have to have the chocolate, especially since I make my own, and thank you so much for starting me with the I think it was the cherry bark, you really helped me get past one of my hardest craving, I make my own version now, never the same.
That is awesome Lori 🙂