Looking for a cookie filled with fall flavor? This is it! Fluffy, cinnamon-spiced, pecan-studded pumpkin oat cookies made in 1 bowl in 30 minutes!
These vegan + gluten-free treats are easy, delicious, and extra irresistible when topped with pumpkin spice frosting. Preheat your oven…it’s cookie time!
These 1-BOWL fluffy fall dreams start with melted (vegan) butter, brown sugar, pumpkin purée, and vanilla extract. Simply whisk these wet ingredients together and you’re good to go — no mixer needed!
Next, we stir in the dry ingredients: almond flour, gluten-free blend (or all-purpose flour if not GF), cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt. This combination makes for soft, fluffy cookies that taste like fall!
Lastly, we stir in pecans and rolled oats, which give these cookies the loveliest (slight) chewiness and subtle crunch.
All that’s left: Scoop, bake, and enjoy!
We think you’ll LOVE these cookies! They’re:
Soft
Fluffy
Pumpkin-y
Perfectly spiced
Slightly chewy
& SO delicious!
If you’re craving a more decadent cookie, top them with our Vegan Pumpkin Spice Frosting (mmm, SO GOOD!). These cookies are perfect for fall baking, Halloween, holiday cookie parties, and everything in between!
More Pumpkin Cookies
- Vegan Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
- Fluffy Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Pillowy Pumpkin Snickerdoodles (V + GF)
- Pumpkin Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo @minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
Fluffy Pumpkin Oat Cookies (1 Bowl!)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup melted vegan butter (we like Miyoko’s // dairy butter would also work if not vegan)
- 2/3 cup packed brown sugar* (ensure vegan-friendly as needed)
- 1/2 cup pumpkin purée
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup almond flour* (we like Wellbee’s)
- 2/3 cup MB 1:1 GF Blend (or sub all-purpose flour if not gluten-free)
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup rolled oats (certified gluten-free as needed)
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped pecans
FROSTING optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (176 C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- To a medium mixing bowl, add the melted vegan butter, brown sugar, pumpkin purée, and vanilla extract. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Next, stir in the almond flour, gluten-free flour blend, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt until there are no flour streaks remaining. Next, use a spatula or wooden spoon to fold in the oats and chopped pecans.
- Use a cookie scoop (we like this one) or tablespoon to measure out ~1 ½ Tbsp amounts of dough and place them on the baking sheets about 2 inches apart. If you’ll be frosting them, lightly press down on the cookies to flatten them. Otherwise, you can leave them in little mounds! Bake for 13-15 minutes until the edges are golden brown.
- Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool fully. Once cool, you can top them with Pumpkin Spice Frosting for an extra indulgent fall cookie. Enjoy!
- Let cool fully before storing any leftovers lightly covered at room temperature for up to 3-4 days. See notes for freezing recommendations.
Video
Notes
*If nut-free, you could try sunflower seed meal in place of almond flour, but the cookies may turn green after baking (the color won’t impact the taste). Another option would be a lesser amount of oat flour, but the cookies may turn out more dense and wholesome. Let us know if you try either option!
*You can scoop the dough and freeze it for future use; to bake, just place frozen scoops of dough onto a prepared baking sheet and bake for an extra 1-2 minutes.
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated without frosting.
Jill says
These are a perfectly sweet wholesome tasting treat. I’ve been reading a lot of pumpkin recipes lately that call for cooking the puree, butter, & sugar on the stove & cooling it before adding the dry ingredients so I tried that this time. Produced a silky fluffy cookie with great pumpkin flavor. These definitely don’t need the frosting on my opinion!
Sounds lovely! So glad you enjoyed, Jill!
Rae says
I made these with coconut sugar instead of brown sugar and it seemed to work out fine. I did a healing 1/2 cup instead of the full amount because I tend to like things less sweet. I also used hazelnut flour instead of almond flour, as I have an allergy to almonds. It seems to work out well! I couldn’t even taste the hazelnut flavor. I also put chocolate chips in 4 of the 20 cookies and it was very yummy that way, too!
They were definitely the best the day they came out of the oven. As time went on they got a little soggy in texture instead of chewy.
But overall they were delicious! I had a friend ask for the recipe. Another friend say they were “breakfast cookies,” which does seem accurate…
Hey Rae! So glad you enjoyed these! The coconut sugar could be the reason they become soggy. It has a tendency to make things moister than cane sugars. Thanks so much for the lovely review. xo
The Vegan Goddess says
Delish! I made these tonight sans pecans because I couldn’t find the right ones. I considered walnuts but left them out. I look forward to making these again with pecans because I’m sure they take the cookies to the next level.
I subbed coconut oil for vegan butter as usual but didn’t make any other mods.
They turned out nice and fluffy as described and to be a tasty autumn treat.
We’re so glad you enjoyed them! Thank you so much for the lovely review. xo
Diane says
These cookies tasted like I had hoped but were soo soft that they fell apart in my hand. I had pressed down a bit since I wanted to put some frosting on….nope, became a mess.
This is the first time a recipe didn’t work out for me.🤔
Followed recipe as written with substitutions. As I wrote…tasted wonderful, consistency didn’t work for me. Think I will look to see if I can find a crunchy cookie instead! Thank you for all that you share with us!❤️🙏🏻
So sorry this one didn’t work out, Diane! Can you share what substitutions were used so we can trouble shoot it in the future? Thank you so much for your support!
Diane says
My review should have said”with NO substitutions” lol😊. Not sure what happened!?!? Oh well, they tasted wonderful….just fell apart🫤.
Ah got it! Thanks so much for sharing. xo
Diane says
Do you have a crunchy gf cookie? Preferably with pumpkin! Any will do…😊🙏🏻
We don’t have a crunchy pumpkin cookie, but we do have a crispy gingersnap recipe here! Hope you love them, Diane!
Katie says
I had the same issue. Tasted great but completely fell apart. I followed the recipe as written.
So sorry these fell apart for you, Katie! Did you use brown sugar? Sometimes oven temperature can be the culprit. We have different test ovens here at MB and we notice that certain ovens can bake slower than others and some recipes need a little more time to fully set.
Katie says
I did use brown sugar. I think it’s possible that a longer baking time would have helped.
Thank you for letting us know, Katie!
Lauren says
These cookies are incredible! I just made them and haven’t waited long enough to frost them, but had to sample a couple. :) they’re the perfect soft fall cookies and incredibly easy to make. Adding pecan pieces was the perfect crunchy addition without being an overpowering nut in a cookie. I will definitely be making these again soon.
Yay! We’re so glad you enjoy these cookies and will be making them again :) Thank you for sharing, Lauren! xoxo
Naomi says
Can I make fresh pumpkin puree for this? It always sells out around this time of year!
Yes, that should work well, as long as it’s thick and not too watery!
Lynne says
Yeah! These cookies melt in your mouth. Awesome! I used only cinnamon no nuts or glaze. They are perfect!
Yay! We’re so glad you enjoy the cookies, Lynne. Thank you for sharing! xo
Sue says
My husband walked in the kitchen and caught me, leaning next to the oven, with just baked cookies on the counter, my eyes closed, eating a warm cookie and in a state of bliss. Shaking his head, as he reached for one. And then, another. Yes, this is that kind of cookie!
I did make a couple of changed: used olive oil instead of the vegan butter, and cut the sugar to 1/2 a cup. I didn’t make the frosting; there simply weren’t enough cookies left to bother. :)
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe!!
We adored reading this sweet review of you two enjoying the cookies! Thank you so much for sharing, Sue! xoxo
Nancy McMillan says
I loved the texture of these cookies because I love a soft cookie. I used almond flour and regular flour and followed the recipe, including the pumpkin spice mix. I thought the cookies were delicious. The only thing I wanted more of was the pumpkin flavor of the pumpkin puree. Do you have any suggestions for modification to bring out more pumpkin-ness?
Thank you for your recipes. They are a mainstay in our kitchen.
We’re so glad you enjoy our recipes, Nancy! Thank you for your kind words! The tricky thing with pumpkin purée is that adding more can cause the cookies to become too dense. We’d suggest trying more pumpkin pie spice and making sure it’s fresh and/or homemade. Or you could try pumpkin butter in place of some of the pumpkin purée (we did that in this recipe). Hope that helps!
Vicki says
Would coconut oil work instead of vegan butter?
Hmm, we’re not sure, but possibly if the coconut oil is a scoopable texture (usually when it’s stored around 70-75 F). We don’t think the cookies will be as fluffy and may have a slight coconut flavor. Let us know if you try it!
SNL says
I love Minimalist baker recipes because they still work out with substitutions (not vegan butter, wholemeal spelt for GF flours, frozen roasted hazelnut meal for almond by necessity, pecans for raisins in higher quantity again by necessity, vanilla for hazelnut coffee syrup to amplify the flavour). Oh and I reduced the sugar by 1/3 by preference and found them perfectly sweet, in fact they are so moreish!! I refrigerated the dough overnight for more chew development to offset less sugar. I can see me using this recipe again and again, tweaking something and finding out what happens. Next on the list is 3/4 wholemeal spelt and 1/4 wholemeal rye. Thank your for providing us with foolproof free recipes!! Your a genius
Lovely! Thank you for your kind words and review, SNL! xo
Ivy says
Wow! Great recipe. I subbed the brown sugar for erythitol and stevia. And I put in a cup of chopped pecans. Fantastic. Making another batch later. Thank you for your recipes.
Thank you for the lovely review, Ivy! We’re so glad you enjoyed the cookies! xo
Avneet says
These are fluffy pillows of utter yumminess and are the ultimate fall treat!! SO good.
Side note: I added a tad more of almond flour and all purpose flour as the mixture was quite wet. The pecans are an absolute must.
Yay! We’re so glad you enjoyed them, Avneet. Thank you for sharing! xo
Christine says
Can I use chocolate chips rather than the nuts?
Yum, that sounds delicious! We think it would work well. Let us know how it goes!
Elizabeth says
Has anyone made these cookies with a sugar substitute like maple syrup or agave?
Hi Elizabeth, we haven’t tried with those sweeteners and aren’t sure if it would work! We do have notes on coconut sugar in the notes section.
sue says
Can I use all purpose flour?
Hi Sue, You can use it in place of the 1:1 GF blend. We’d recommend keeping the almond flour for the best result!
Rani says
What can you use instead of almond flour?
Hi Rani, we think cashew flour would work well 1-1. Otherwise, see the notes for nut-free options!
Patti says
These sound great! Can they be made using all whole wheat flour instead of the gluten free flours?
Hi Patti, we’d recommend keeping the almond flour, but whole wheat pastry flour would likely work well in place of the 1:1 GF blend. Regular whole wheat flour (not pastry) may create a more dense cookie. Let us know if you try it!
The Vegan Goddess says
Woo hoo! These look delicious and I can’t wait to try them! I am going to make the Applebutter Snickerdoodle cookies first.
To be tuned … : )
Yay! We’re excited to hear what you think of both recipes! xo