First things first, grab your fav bottle of wine and let's get this baking party started!!
As many of you may know, I freaking looovveee to bake. When I was a kid, I legit wanted to be a pastry chef when I grew up and I would spend houuursss watching every baking show you could ever imagine on Food Network and TLC. To this day, still somewhat true.
Anyways, if you read my last blog post (if you haven't go check it out), you would know that I have recently cut dairy from my diet. I have also been wanting to bake something so bad, being that it is now my fav time of the year and I haven't baked in a minute. I also wanted to make sure it was going to be something that I would actually be able to enjoy without feeling like shit after. So, I went straight to Pinterest and typed in "fall baking recipes." Low and behold, one of the first things that popped up were these vegan pumpkin cookies and I was like LFG. Clicked on the page and found out it was also one of the most simple vegan recipes I have EVER found, so I knew it was a match made in baking heaven.
You guys, I honestly can't even put into words how GOOD these cookies are. They are honestly the best cookies I have ever made. Everything about them is amazing; the fluffy, soft texture, the taste, the creamy frosting, the smell....I can't even deal. Most vegan recipes can be hit or miss, but this one was a for sure hit. You would NEVER even know they are vegan. Even the guys at my work were shocked when I told them.
With all that being said, I'm dropping the recipe for ya'll because I think EVERYONE needs to try these cookies this holiday season. If you enjoy this recipe, please tag me and feel free to share with others. I will be posting more recipes on my blog very soon, so stay tuned!
Serving: 24 cookies
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 12 minutes
- 1 large bowl for dough
- Electric Mixer (recommended)
- 1 medium bowl for frosting (if you prefer, if not you can totally use the same 1 bowl for everything)
- Piping Bag (optional)
Ingredients:
Pumpkin Cookies
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) vegan butter, softened (my fav brand is Earth Balance, tastes just like real butter)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin (I walked around the store for legit 20 mins trying to find this)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger (this is a game changer, takes the pumpkin flavor to a WHOLE other level)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Frosting:
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) vegan butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons non-dairy milk, as needed (I used almond milk and did 2 tbsps because I wanted the frosting to be more creamy)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using the parchment paper makes it so much easier because you can just take the paper write off the pan and place the cookies right on the rack or counter to cool and frost
In a large bowl, cream together the vegan butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. This step SUCKED for me because I couldn't find my electric mixer anywhere so I had to do it by hand.
Once it's all creamed together, add 1 1/4 cups of canned pumpkin (you won't use quite the whole can) and vanilla extract and mix.
Next, add your flour and then add the baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and salt to the top of the flour BEFORE MIXING. I used my hands to knead the dough together because it was easier. If you do that, put a tiny tiny bit of water on your hands so the dough doesn't stick to you. The dough will also be a little wetter than most cookies, but don't worry that's how it's supposed to be!
Get a good sized scoop of dough, about 1 1/2 - 2 tbsps, and roll into a ball. When I first started, I did't do this and my cookies came out in some funky shapes, but once I switched the method they looked perfect. Once rolled, place the cookie on the baking sheet and flatten slightly, they won't spread too much while baking.
Bake for about 11-14 minutes (I did 12), or until the tops are no longer shiny. You will notice the cookies will have puffed up a bit!
Remove the cookies from the oven and let them sit for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet, and then transfer them to a rack to continue cooling.
Now time to make the frosting. I started prepping the frosting as soon as I put the first batch in the oven, so I used another bowl.
Beat the softened vegan butter for about 2 minutes or until creamy, and then add the powdered sugar, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla and mix all together until smooth and creamy. If you don't have the desired texture, add a non-dairy milk of your choice (I chose almond milk), but do so 1 tablespoon at a time because you don't want the frosting to get too runny.
Once the cookies have cooled, grab a piping bag (if you have one) and frost these babies up! If you don't have a piping bag, a knife would be just fine to use.
Lastly, sprinkle a little bit of cinnamon and/or nutmeg over top and ENJOY!
To add, when storing these cookies, I would 100% recommend keeping them in the fridge. They last so much longer (at least 3-4 days) and taste better in my opinion. If you store them at room temp, they will only last about 1-2 days.
Nutrition Facts for my girls and guys that track their nutrition:
Serving Size: 1 cookie
Calories: 220
Carbs: 39g
Protein: 2g
Fat: 7g
Saturated Fat: 2g
Sodium: 162mg
Potassium: 68mg
Fiber: 1g
Sugar: 28g