These Gluten Free Pumpkin Brownie Cookies are rich, fudgy brownies in cookie form. Made with pumpkin puree, melted dairy free chocolate, and a double hit of cocoa, they're the fall cookie for people who love pumpkin season but would rather have chocolate than spice.
Oh. My. God. These gluten-free brownie cookies are dangerously good! They truly taste like fudgy little brownies in cookie form. This is probably the most indulgent recipe on my website, but they are a spectacular treat that you can actually enjoy if you're gluten free, dairy free, or have food allergies. Sometimes healing looks like a green smoothie. Sometimes it looks like a warm brownie cookie in October, and both of those things get to be true.
I love brownie cookies. They're just so fun and delicious, but getting that rich, fudgy texture without dairy can be tricky. As someone who creates allergy-friendly and healthier versions of classic recipes, I knew I had to recreate the brownie cookie. Pumpkin's moisture helps create the rich, fudgy texture we're after, and pumpkin and chocolate are basically best friends anyway. So I started testing pumpkin in a classic brownie cookie recipe and developed this seasonal, insanely delicious version!
Why You'll Love These Gluten Free Pumpkin Brownie Cookies
- Allergy friendly: gluten free and dairy free and easily nut free and soy free depending on the chocolate you choose. Can you believe a cookie this indulgent can be that allergy friendly?!
- Refined sugar free option: depending on the chocolate you use and if you swap out the 2 tablespoon of white sugar, these brownie cookies can also be made fully refined sugar free
- Super fudgy: the combination of pumpkin puree plus melted chocolate gives us a fudgy, chewy, deeply chocolatey cookie.
- Brownie method in cookie form: no creaming of butter and sugar. You melt chocolate chips with coconut oil, whisk cocoa powder into that, and fold it into whipped eggs like a traditional brownie method.. This method is what gives you a dense, fudgy center.
- Pumpkin recipe for the people who don't want pumpkin spice: these cookies are chocolate forward with a warm hint of cinnamon and a very mild pumpkin after taste.
Why Are These Pumpkin Brownie Cookies So Fudgy?
The combination of pumpkin puree, egg yolk, melted chocolate, cocoa powder, and relatively low flour gives these cookies their brownie-like texture. The pumpkin adds moisture while the melted chocolate gives them that dense, rich quality you want from a brownie cookie.
Gluten Free Pumpkin Brownie Cookie Ingredients and Substitutions
- Gluten free flour: be sure to use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend with xanthan gum for best results.
- Eggs: this recipe calls for one whole egg and one egg yolk. The extra yolk helps add fat for that fudgy texture.
- Coconut sugar: my favorite unrefined sweetener to use in cookie recipes. You can also use brown sugar as a sub.
- White sugar: I almost always bake refined sugar free, and I still call for 2 tablespoons of white sugar here. Fine white sugar dissolves more completely when you whip the eggs, and that's what produces the glossy crackled top. Some of the photos in this post are the all-coconut-sugar version - look closely and you can see they're duller. They taste just as good. It's purely aesthetic, and you have my permission to use only coconut sugar.
- Pumpkin puree: be sure to use pure pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. You do want to use a more watery puree and I prefer the brand Libby's or Farmer's Harvest.
- Coconut oil: refined or unrefined works. Refined coconut oil makes sure there is no residual coconut flavor.
- Chocolate chips: lots and lots of chocolate chips! Stick to semi-sweet if you don't want any bitterness or use dark chocolate for a super rich chocolate flavor.
- Cocoa powder: I stick to natural cocoa powder, but Dutch-processed cocoa powder should also work. Be sure to use unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Baking powder, cinnamon, salt, vanilla extract: I linked my favorite corn free baking powder.
- Flaky salt: for topping - not optional! This is a must to balance all that sweetness.
How to Make Gluten Free Pumpkin Brownie Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients and set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, vanilla, sugar, and pumpkin on medium-high speed until combined and frothy. Set aside.
- Melt chocolate chips and coconut oil together in a small saucepan over medium heat until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder.
- Pour the chocolate mixture into the wet ingredients and mix to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula to mix everything together. The batter will be thick.
- Fold in a ½ cup of chocolate chips or chopped chocolate.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, leaving 1 inch between cookies. Top each cookie with a few more chocolate chips and some flaky sea salt.
- Bake one sheet on the middle rack at a time for 8-10 minutes. The cookies should seem not quite done when you take them out.
- When you take the cookies out, immediately use a round cookie cutter or glass to shape the cookies. Do this by placing the glass/cookie cutter around the cookie and gently moving it in a circle. This will pull the edges in for a nice, round cookie.
- Let cookies cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Substitutions and Variations
- Pumpkin puree: you can use the same mount of (dairy free) yogurt instead.
- Sugar: you can substitute the coconut sugar for light brown sugar (not refined sugar free). Alternatively, you can swap out the white sugar for more coconut sugar (cookies won't be as glossy).
- Dark chocolate for semi-sweet: I prefer dark because I like less sweetness. Use semi-sweet if bitterness isn't your thing.
- Natural cocoa: you can also use Dutch-processed cocoa - both work. Dutch-processed will read slightly darker and smoother.
- Cinnamon: swap for pumpkin pie spice for a stronger seasonal flavor. Increase to ½–1 teaspoon if you want a genuinely spiced cookie.
- Coconut oil: I haven't tested dairy free butter. It should work, but you may have a little more spread and a slightly less dense center.
Serving and Storage
These pumpkin brownie cookies taste amazing warmed up with some vanilla ice cream, but they also taste really good cold and they freeze wonderfully. Freeze them in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days or in the fridge for 5 days.
Tips for the Best Gluten Free Fudge Brownie Cookies
- Make sure to beat the wet ingredients well so they are fully combined.
- Don't over-mix the batter. Fold in the dry ingredients until a few flour streaks remain, the flour will get fully combined when you mix in the chocolate chips.
- Don't over-bake! For the fudgiest brownie cookies with fudgy centers, you want to be very careful about baking time. These cookies go from done to overdone quickly, so do a test bake with 1 cookie first. You want to pull these cookies out of the oven when they seem not quite done. They will finish cooking as they cool. Bake time will depend on your oven and size of cookie scoop you used.
- One sheet at a time, middle rack. Two sheets means uneven heat, and with a 2-minute margin for error you can't afford uneven heat.
- Shape them: when the cookies first come out of the oven, use a round cookie cutter or glass to shape the cookies by placing the cutter/glass around the cookie and swirling it around the cookie to pull the edges in so they are round. You need to do this right when the cookies come out and they are still hot and malleable. This is only for aesthetics and is not a must. The cookies will taste great either way!
What Can Go Wrong (And How to Fix It)
- Cookies came out cakey or dry: Almost always overbaking, or a pumpkin puree that's too dry. Pull them from the oven a full minute earlier next time.
- No shiny, crackly top. You didn't beat the eggs and sugar long enough, or you used all coconut sugar. Coconut sugar's larger, more moisture-holding crystals don't dissolve the same way. Fix by mixing longer next time or don't skip the white sugar.
- Cookies spread too much. I've never had this issue with this batter (and I've made this recipe at least a dozen times). Likely culprits if it does happen is the batter was too warm when scooped. Let the melted chocolate cool for a couple of minutes before adding to the egg mixture and/or chill the batter for 15 minutes if the batter is super runny and not holding any shape when scooped.
- Dry, crumbly cookies. Your canned pumpkin is on the dry side, or your flour was scooped and packed. Bump the pumpkin to ⅓ cup, and spoon-and-level your flour instead of scooping with the measuring cup.
- Batter seems too thick. It's supposed to be. Trust it.
FAQ
Different brands of pumpkin puree have very different textures, some are much drier than others. You want a wetter canned pumpkin puree for these pumpkin brownie cookies. Opt for Libby's or Farmer's Harvest. I've found that store brands, like Whole Foods 365, is quite dry and doesn't yield the best cookies.
Yes! To keep these gluten-free chocolate brownie cookies refined sugar free, use all coconut sugar and then make sure to use refined sugar free chocolate chips, like the HU kitchen brand.
Yes. You can bake the cookies ahead of time and store them in an airtight container for 3 days at room temperature before sharing.
Yes. Freeze completely cooled cookies in an airtight freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or warm briefly before serving.
Overbaking, nine times out of ten. These finish cooking on the hot baking sheet, so they need to come out looking underdone. The other culprit is overmixing after the flour goes in, which builds structure you don't want here.
I haven't tested it. The eggs provide structure and fat for the fudgy center, and whipping them creates the crackly top. If you try a vegan egg option, I want to hear how it goes in the comments.
More Gluten Free Fall Cookies
Gluten Free Apple Pie Cheesecake Cookies (dairy free)
Gluten Free Maple Walnut Cookies
Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies
Want to bake these cookies, but don't have all the ingredients on hand? Click here for a pre-filled grocery delivery cart with everything you need and just hit order!
If you try these fudgy chocolate brownie cookies, leave a rating and review below- I'd love to hear how you enjoyed them!
Gluten Free Pumpkin Brownie Cookies (Dairy Free)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup 1:1 gluten free flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder if you are at altitude, use ¾ tsp.
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon sub for up to 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice if you want more pumpkin flavor
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 egg yolk room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoon white sugar
- 5 tablespoon pumpkin puree* room temperature
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips + another ½ cup or chopped chocolate set aside and more for topping I like Enjoy Life chocolate and HU Chocolate
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, vanilla, sugar, and pumpkin on medium-high speed until combined and frothy. 1-2 minutes. Set aside.
- Melt 1 cup of chocolate chips and the coconut oil together in a small saucepan over medium heat until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder.
- Pour the chocolate mixture into the wet ingredients and mix to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula to mix everything together. The batter will be thick.
- Fold in a ½ cup of chocolate chips or chopped chocolate.
- Use a small ice cream scoop or two spoons to scoop dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet, leaving 1 inch between cookies. Top each cookie with a few more chocolate chips and some flaky sea salt (this is key, do not leave it off!).
- Bake one sheet in the middle rack at a time for 10 minutes. The cookies should be shinier on top and may seem not quite done, that’s okay.
- Take the cookies out and immediately use a glass or round cookie cutter to shape the cookies. Do this by place the glass/cookie cutter around the cookie and gently moving it in a circle. This will pull the edges in for a nice, round cookie!
- Let cookies cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Randy Brittell says
Nice 👍🏼 😋 - I love a hood brownie and pumpkin as well. Delicious 😋
Victoria Faling says
These are some of my favorite cookies! They are absolutely delicious 🙂