vegan pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting
Soft, chewy pumpkin cookies topped with a swirl of dairy-free cream cheese frosting. All vegan!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Bake Time: 16 minutes
- Total Time: 46 minutes
- Yield: 18 3-inch Cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
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For the Cookies
- 1 cup vegan butter, softened slightly
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2/3 cup pumpkin puree, dried* (see recipe)
- 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
For the Frosting
- 8 ounces vegan cream cheese, softened*
- 1/4 cup non-hydrogenated shortening
- 1/4 cup vegan butter, softened slightly
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- cinnamon for sprinkling
Instructions
- Cream: Cream together the vegan butter, granulated sugar and light brown sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. This should take about 1 minute. Add the baking soda, salt and spices to the bowl and beat again to distribute evenly.
- Dry: Scoop the pumpkin puree onto an absorbent paper towel and press lightly until the towel is completely saturated. Transfer to a second paper towel and repeat the process. Your goal here is to remove some of the excess water - not all of it! Don’t squeeze or wring. Saturating two half-sheets is enough. Add the dried pumpkin to the bowl and mix until combined.
- Mix: Add the all purpose flour to the bowl and mix until cookie dough just comes together. Do not over-mix!
- Chill: Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour or overnight.
- Prep: While the dough is chilling, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Bake: Place 3-tablespoon scoops of cookie dough on your prepared baking sheet, at least 2 inches apart. Place baking sheet on center rack of preheated oven and bake for 16-18 minutes.* Remaining cookie dough should remain in the refrigerator between batches. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Frosting: Prepare the frosting while the cookies bake and cool. Place the softened vegan cream cheese in a large bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer until completely smooth with no remaining lumps. Add the shortening and vegan butter to the bowl and beat again until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and salt to the bowl and beat until frosting comes together. Cover and set in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Assemble: Once the cookies have cooled and the frosting has set, it’s time to assemble. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag set with a small, round tip. Pipe a swirl of frosting onto the top of each cookie. Sprinkle each cookie with a dash of cinnamon. Keep frosted cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Notes
*Frosted cookies will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Unfrosted cookies can be stored at room temperature in the same fashion for 2-3 days. Unfrosted cookies can also be frozen for up to 1 month.
*Tofutti and VioLife cream cheese are my faves for vegan cream cheese frosting!
*These cookies take a few minutes longer to bake than most. The pumpkin makes the dough a little softer, rendering the chilling time essential and an an extended bake time necessary.
*If you don’t wish to pipe the frosting on Crumble Cookie-style, you can cut the recipe in half. You won’t need as much if you are simply spreading with knife.
