If you love my gluten free snickerdoodles recipe, wait until you try my delicious gluten free pumpkin snickerdoodles recipe! You get all of that delicious cinnamon sugar sweetness with a fall flavor twist!
Crinkled and soft, these pumpkin spiced snickerdoodles are the ultimate fall cookie. Of course here in the Fearless Dining household, we eat pumpkin all year round, but some people like to savor these flavors only in the fall to keep it special.
If you love snickerdoodles as much as we do, you will want to try my original gluten free snickerdoodles recipe. I also have a great gluten free snickerdoodle mug cake recipe for when you want that snickerdoodle flavor in a 3-minute cake.
Why you need to try these cookies:
There are lots of pumpkin recipes out there so I feel I need to explain why these cookies are so special. They are full of fall flavors like cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg yet these snickerdoodles are made without cream of tartar. They still crinkle beautifully, like a real snickerdoodle should.
You can make these cookies in about 20 minutes and you can freeze the extras so you always have snickerdoodle pumpkin cookies on-hand!
What ingredients you need:
- Gluten free flour blend - I have tested this recipe with 2 brands of gluten free flour. This time I used King Arthur Measure for Measure. You can read more about the brand I tested below. (*I am sure other brands will work very well in this recipe, I just haven't had the time to test more brands.)
- Xanthan Gum - if your gluten free flour blend doesn't contain Xanthan Gum, you need to add that too.
- Pumpkin - I prefer to use pureed canned pumpkin, it is super smooth and won't leave lumps of pumpkin in your cookies. Don't use pumpkin pie puree.
- Eggs - size large
- Vanilla - pure vanilla extract or a vanilla bean paste will work.
- Sugar
- Baking powder and salt
- Ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg - you can also use a premixed pumpkin pie spice
- Butter - regular or vegan
How to make these cookies:
Step 1 
Step 2
Step 1: Add your dry ingredients to a bowl and whisk to blend them. Don't forget if your gluten free flour blend doesn't contain a gum, you will want to add 1 teaspoon of Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum.
I have tested two gluten free flour blends in this recipe. I liked King Arthur Gluten Free Measure for Measure and Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour Blend. This doesn't mean other blends won't work, I just haven't tested any others. Try to avoid flour blends that are high in starch.
Step 2: Add your wet ingredients to a smaller bowl and whisk to blend. I melted the butter, but kept it cool, not too hot so that it wouldn't cook the eggs.
Step 3: Pour your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well. You can see the batter consistency in the photo below, or in the video.
Step 4 
Step 5
Step 4: Use a spoon or cookie scoop to take equal portions of cookie dough and roll it into a ball. Roll the dough ball in the cinnamon-sugar mix to coat the whole cookie dough ball. Place onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.
Step 5: Use the bottom of a drinking glass to smoosh the balls flat. My dough was about 1/2 inch thick after smooshing.
Step 6 
Finished baking!
Step 6: Bake the cookies at 350 F degrees for 8 minutes until done. Remove and place on a cooling rack to cool.
Common Questions:
You can gently touch a cookie. If the top is not squishy and feels slightly firm, your cookies are finished baking.
Store these cookies in an air-tight container up to 4 days. You can also freeze them by placing them gently in a freezer safe bag. They will keep in the freezer up to 4 months.
You can easily make these cookies dairy-free by using vegan butter.
I have not tested coconut sugar, but it has a higher melting point so I am not sure that coconut sugar would work as well when rolling the cookies in the sugar/cinnamon blend.
If your cookies didn't flatten, it is probably because you used a starchier gluten free flour blend and it needed more moisture. If you use a starchy flour blend, make sure to compare your cookie dough to my photos. Add more butter if you need.
If you love these cookies, wait until you try these gluten free pumpkin recipes:
- Gluten free pumpkin whoopie pies
- This incredible gluten free chocolate pumpkin cake
- Creamy pumpkin mousse
- And lots more gluten free pumpkin desserts
If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave me a rating and a comment. I LOVE hearing from you!! You can also FOLLOW ME on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest to see even more delicious recipes!
Gluten Free Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups gluten free flour blend (*see note)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup melted butter (*see note)
Topping
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees.
- In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients and whisk to blend.
- In smaller bowl, add the wet ingredients and mix well.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix.
- Add the topping sugar and cinnamon to a small bowl and whisk to blend.
- Use a cookie scoop to make cookie dough balls. Roll with your hands into a ball then roll in the sugar cinnamon. Place onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
- Take a glass with a flat bottom and smoosh each cookie ball down to about 1/2 inch deep.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes until done.
- Put on a cooling rack to cool.
Video
Notes
- I have tested this recipe with both King Arthur Measure for Measure and Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 GF Blend gluten free flours. That doesn't mean other gluten free flour blends won't work, I just have not tested other brands.
- If you use a different brand, compare your cookie dough to my photos and video. Some gluten free flour blends are more starchy than others. The starchy blends tend to need more liquid so you may need to add additional butter.
- If your gluten free flour blend doesn't contain a gum, please add 1 teaspoon Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum.
- When using melted butter, make sure the butter isn't too hot or it will cook the egg when you mix the wet ingredients.
- If you want to prep these ahead, you can store the cookie dough in the refrigerator up to 3 days ahead. You can also freeze this pumpkin snickerdoodle cookie dough.
- These cookies will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container in the refrigerator or up to 4 months in a freezer bag in the freezer.
Nutrition
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Debra Black
I made these this morning and everyone who tried them agree that they are amazing.
Sandi Gaertner
I am so glad you all loved them Debra 🙂
Jackie
Just got done making these. They are so good.
Sandi Gaertner
I am so glad you liked them Jackie 🙂
Jane Saunders
I'm not the best at cooking cookies, but your tips certainly help. These look very delicious and perfectly seasonal.
Sandi Gaertner
I am so glad to help Jane 🙂
Lisalia
I'm thrilled to have found your blog! What a terrific selection of recipes ALL GF!! These snickerdoodles turned out perfectly. My son who needs to eat GF was so happy to have a holiday treat! We'll definitly cook and bake our way through your website! Thanks.
Sandi Gaertner
I am so glad Lisa, you made my day. Let me know if there is something special he wants to make.