Gluten-free Pumpkin Snickerdoodles–Your New Favorite Cookie
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If you love pumpkin and snickerdoodles, you’ve come to the right place. These Healthy Pumpkin Snickerdoodles are not only gluten-free & sugar-free with AIP, vegan, and keto options, but they’re super delicious too.
These Gluten-free Snickerdoodles are so good, our boys ask for whenever I’m in a baking mood. They like them better than store bought “healthy cookies” too–win for mom, win for kids!
This is one of our all-time favorite cookie recipes.
Pumpkin recipes are just one of my favorite things no matter what time of year it is. We have a few of our favorites on the blog like these Soft Pumpkin Cookies, and homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice, and even a Dairy-free Pumpkin Creamer, but these Pumpkin Snickerdoodles are something special.
And for a cookie, these are quite healthy and adaptable to almost any special diet. Not only are the gluten-free and —these fabulous cookies can now be made grain-free and low-carb.
Literally, every time I talk about baking cookies, my sons ask for these.
And if you’re in the mood for snickerdoodles now, but don’t feel like baking, try my 5-Minute Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough Balls.
Ingredients
Following are the ingredients you’ll need for the recipe. For more details and amounts needed, scroll down to the recipe card.
flour – gluten-free flour is what I use, or you can do a keto / grain-free version as well. See the Table of Contents or the Recipe Card for that information
pumpkin puree – make sure to not buy pumpkin pie filling for this. You want plain pumpkin puree
coconut oil – butter can also be used
sweetener – I use a low-carb sweetener, but really any granulated sweetener should work out as long as it’s a 1:1 substitute for sugar
egg or egg substitute – either one works well
spices
How to Make Make These Cookies with Almond Flour for Keto Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
There are other options of low-carb flours that you could try, but using almond flour is the most obvious version. As mentioned in the Recipe Notes above, here is how you can do that.
Use the same amount of almond flour as the gluten-free flour amount.
Increase the baking soda by 50% and use only 1/4 cup coconut oil.
This version is great. We actually like it even better than the regular gluten-free pumpkin snickerdoodle version.
Recipe Notes and Substitutions
- Sweetener: Although I use xylitol for a candida-friendly option, you can substitute any healthy sweetener.
- Egg Substitute: My Homemade Powdered Egg Replacer is a great homemade option for an egg substitute. A flax egg or chia egg would be great as well.
- Flour: See my Gluten-Free Baking Tips for gluten-free flour blend info. For a grain free or paleo version, use either organic tiger nut flour, which is also AIP, or 2 cups organic almond flour, for low carb. If using almond flour, increase the baking soda by 50% and use only 1/4 cup coconut oil. These work out GREAT this way. I haven’t tried the AIP option, but we love the keto version.
- THM: For those on the Trim Healthy Mama plan, this recipe is a crossover unless you use the almond flour option, which will make these snickerdoodles qualify as an “S.”
- Topping: You could also use my Healthy Cinnamon Sugar as a topping for these cookies.
- Soaking Option: For better digestibility, you could also soak the flours overnight, per instructions in my post on How and Why to Soak Grains. Be warned, however…you will get quite a workout mixing a batter this thick after it soaks :-). Note that for some reason, the fermenting process doesn’t seem to work so well with these cookies so it’s up to you if you want to try it.
- Cookie Spread: These cookies don’t spread out much when baking, so as much as you press them down, that is the size that the baked cookie will be.
You can find tiger nuts on Amazon here. They are not nuts, but they’re a fabulous treat and source of flour that is 100% gluten-free, nut-free, allergen-free, dairy-free, high in fiber, low in calories & fats, high in nutrition and they taste great.
You can also find Tiger Nut Flour here. The nuts themselves are a great snack (I LOVE them), plus the flour can pretty much be substituted 1:1 for regular or whole grain flour. I haven’t worked with it a lot, but that is what the tiger nut people claim.
Other Healthy Fall Recipes
– Nut Butter Fruit Dip (perfect for apples, pears, whatever :-). Great drizzled on the cake, cookies, ice cream, or warm cereal
– Pumpkin Pie Spice – perfect for all of your pumpkin recipes
– Paleo Shepherd’s Pie – low-carb with roasted veggies
– Healthier Gourmet Caramel Apples
– Pumpkin Pecan Cookies – the perfect fall combo!
– Healthy Pumpkin Custard – like an easy crustless pumpkin pie
Healthy Pumpkin Snickerdoodles – gluten-free, sugar-free, with vegan and keto options
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1/2 cup coconut oil (or healthy fat alternative like butter)
- 3/4 cup low carb sweetener
- 1 large egg (or egg substitute like this Powdered Egg Replacer)
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups gluten-free flour (whole grain preferred. Use Almond Flour for grain-free. See Recipe Notes)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Combine ingredients for Cinnamon Coating and set aside for later use.
- Combine flour, salt, baking soda and spices in a medium-sized bowl.
- If coconut oil is not soft enough to mix easily, melt in a pan over low heat. Place in a bowl.
- Add sweetener and egg (or substitute) to the softened oil. Beat well. Add pumpkin puree and vanilla. Beat well again.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix thoroughly, but do not over-mix.
- Take a small amount of dough (I use a small cookie scoop for this process), roll into balls, drop in cinnamon sugar topping, and roll to coat. (NOTE: For gluten-free cookies, the smaller the cookie the better as they will crumble more easily than those made with gluten flours.)
- Place on a baking stone or cookie sheet (I highly recommend baking stones) about 2 inches apart, flattening a bit with your hand (or the bottom of a glass).
- Bake for about 10 minutes, or until slightly golden brown.
- Cool for approximately 5 minutes before removing from baking sheet to cool on a cooling rack.
- Try not to eat them all at once :-).
Notes
- Sweetener: Although I use xylitol for a candida-friendly option, you can substitute any healthy sweetener.
- Egg Substitute: My Homemade Powdered Egg Replacer is a great homemade option for an egg substitute. A flax egg or chia egg would be great as well.
- Flour: See my Gluten-Free Baking Tips for gluten-free flour blend info. For a grain free or paleo version, use either organic tiger nut flour, which is also AIP, or 2 cups organic almond flour, for low carb. If using almond flour, increase the baking soda by 50% and use only 1/4 cup coconut oil. These work out GREAT this way. I haven’t tried the AIP option, but we love the keto version.
- THM: For those on the Trim Healthy Mama plan, this recipe is a crossover unless you use the almond flour option, which will make these snickerdoodles qualify as an “S.”
- Topping: You could also use my Healthy Cinnamon Sugar as a topping for these cookies.
- Soaking Option: For better digestibility, you could also soak the flours overnight, per instructions in my post on How and Why to Soak Grains. Be warned, however…you will get quite a workout mixing a batter this thick after it soaks :-). Note that for some reason, the fermenting process doesn’t seem to work so well with these cookies so it’s up to you if you want to try it.
- Cookie Spread: These cookies don’t spread out much when baking, so as much as you press them down, that is the size that the baked cookie will be.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
I’d love to hear what you think about these cookies once you try them!
I’m not sure when you posted this, but it’s my understanding that xylitol is very harmful for consumption.
https://draxe.com/xylitol-side-effects/
I keep looking for healthy sugar alternatives – something that won’t feed bacteria. I have Lyme Disease.
I’m wondering if honey could be a replacer, even though it’s not granulated. But perhaps I could create honey sugar/powder?
For the egg replacer, I swear by is ground chia + water.
Highly allergic to vanilla, and I’ll be sharing these cookies with my niece who has a nut allergy (so no almond extract), so I’m thinking orange extract?
Best GF flour I’ve found for baking is Trader Joe’s. Have you tried it?
Super highly allergic to ginger, so I’m not sure what you’d recommend for a replacement on that.
I’m beginning to wonder if I should even try doing this. lolol
Hi there. Thanks for commenting. There are varying opinions on xylitol and it’s benefits or side effects. It can cause digestive upset, for sure. I think with all sweeteners there are plusses and minuses so I try to blend them and use stevia the most.
You could use honey for sure.
As for the orange extract that will work as well. I’ve done that kind of substituting before with good results.
I have never used TJ’s flour.
I would maybe do more cinnamon for the ginger. I hope you like them and I think they will work!
OMYUM! Made these tonight – so delicious (used almond flour and stevia). Really good – husband didn’t know it wasn’t real sugar and we ate – well, i am not counting, but i will say half the batch in one sitting! Thank you for a great recipe.
So glad to hear it! Thanks for taking the time to share. I haven’t made these in awhile and well, we have the same problem when we do :). Hope to see you around again.
Oh! I was so distracted by the (3), yes three, EpiPen ads on the recipe page that I haven’t read the recipe yet. Do you have control over what ads are placed on your page?
I will now read and print the recipe.
I’m so sorry. I can do the best I can – are you on mobile? Hope you enjoy them.
Hi! I’m thinking of making these when I visit home from college in a few weeks. Do you think I would be able to substitute the sweetener with maple syrup or honey?
Yes, that will work. Enjoy!
I’m not sure what I did wrong but my batter was runny :/ I used the almond flour but everything else was the same please help
I’m not sure – I have never had that happen. Maybe add more almond flour?
Robbie: you were supposed to increase the baking soda by 50% and only use 1/4 c coconut oil (or butter) if you used the almond flour.
Love these! I am a paleo follower and my hubby isn’t. I used 1 cup almond and 1 cup tapioca flour the first. No need to flatten. Awesome chewy goodness! I have some in the oven right now that are 1 cup almond and 1/2 c tapioca flour and 1/2 ground flax seed. More nutty in flavor, but the coconut sugar cinnamon combo cover the nuttiness. Love this recipe and my hubby and kiddos willingly eats them!
So glad to hear it! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Thanks for this recipe! I have Candida and loooove these! However, I used almond flour bc I’m gluten free and xylitol because of the Candida. And they turned out doughy and flat. I kind of scooped them up and ate them anyways bc they are so good. Anything I should add or change to make them stay together and rise a bit more? I’d love to remake them with any suggestions.
I’m not sure – I can try the recipe again for you?
Hi.
Thank you for the recipe. I am looking fwd to making these this week!! 🙂
Just wondering though, what other type of oil can I use to replace the coconut oil?
People are now learning and saying that coconut oil is NOT good for people. :\
You’re welcome. May I ask where you are reading that? You could use anything really – butter, palm, ghee, olive oil….but the solid fats will work better.
Hi,
this sounds so yummy!! I have one question, about how many cookies can I yield with this recipe?
thanks
Hi there. I haven’t counted. I guess it depends on how big you make them. I’ll try to remember to count next time I make the recipe but I would guess about 15 larger cookies.
Oh my!! I LOVE SNICKERDOODLES!! I’m excited to try these Adrienne! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Yea for snickerdoodles! Thanks, Erin. Hope you like them!
I just pulled the first batch out of the oven…so yummy! Praise the Lord, we have no allergies here so I made them “regular” and used sucanat as my sugar. They’re a bit cakey but absolutely delicious!
So glad to hear it!!! It’s time for me to make them again soon too!! (My ovens are both broken — convection and regular. Gotta get on it!)
Hi there, these sound delish. I do want to try the tigernut flour but haven’t managed to find a link to any supplier in Australia. Hopefully I won’t have to import it but was wondering if you found it in a specialty store? It sounds like a good option for gluten free cooking……always looking for alternative flours in an effort to have something more like what we were once used to. lol 🙂
Hi there. Thanks! Here is where I get mine. Sorry that the link wasn’t in the post – I couldn’t get it to work properly until now. This is an affiliate link: Tiger Nuts Flour
‘Sounds yummy! I’ve always loved snickerdoodles, too! Have you ever used cassava flour? I’ve been seeing more people recommend it as an option for AIP. And, it sounds as though the conversion is pretty close to even with wheat flour.
I have not – but I have some in my pantry. I should try that and then this recipe could be AIP :)! I have to change the spices a bit….
What is AIP?
It’s autoimmune paleo :).
Pumpkin is my favorite! And I enjoy it all year, not just in the fall. I used coconut sugar and the cookies were delicious! A friend and I just started a blog and with Oct. 1 being National Homemade Cookie Day, we are each contributing a recipe. I would love to recreate your recipe (linking back to your blog post, of course). I can’t think of a better cookie for celebrating the day!
Hi there. Sorry for the delay – your comment got lost in a pile. I’m not sure what you mean by recreating. If you are going to be using it as it please do not publish it. Recipes are copyrighted material. Thanks!
hi I was wondering if you have an exact recipe for your flour blends?
Hi there. I don’t. And actually I have been doing more grain-free baking lately (or rather no baking since my oven is broken). But I can try to figure something out later, perhaps.
Make sure that if you have pets to keep xylitol away and do not feed as treat
Even a taste can kill an animal.
Yes – thanks!
I just made these for the first time. They are absolutely delicious! I used unbleached all purpose flour and a combination of light brown sugar and raw sugar. I can’t wait to make these again with gluten-free flour!
So glad to hear it! Hope you like them the other way as well :).
These are really good! Just make sure to flatten, mine were too high and doughy inside
Sorry about that! I don’t think we’ve flattened them but good to know!!! Glad you enjoyed them!
Thank you for posting recipes that can be made with conventional ingredients as well as gluten free. We are sugar free due to my husband’s diabetes but have no other food issues. We do try to eat healthy and I use as many local and natural ingredients as possible. So many sugar free recipes posted are also gluten free and sometimes I have a hard time converting them to use conventional ingredients. Keep up the good work!
You are so welcome. I hope they work out for you!
These are really good. I used regular white sugar since that’s what I had. The kids are fighting over them. They are so soft and fluffy.
Great! We love them too!