When I make pumpkin cookies for my kids, I prefer to make them grain-free to mix things up. I occasionally make a crustless pumpkin pie or pumpkin pie with a no grain crust made of almond flour for the same reason.
While we are fortunate not to have any grain allergies in our home, I still try to limit the grain-based foods. Have you noticed that the Western diet is supersaturated with grain foods everywhere you turn? This is not in any way how Traditional Cultures consumed their grains!
Most folks do not realize how incredibly dependent their diet is on grains until they try to cut them out or simply cut them down. I know I was shocked when I first tried to reduce grains to a moderate level. It is much harder to do than you might think!
Homemade Pumpkin Cookies
I love this particular pumpkin cookies recipe not only because it is grain-free, but also because it includes a vegetable!
As we all know, all those wonderful minerals in veggies are not absorbed that well without the presence of healthy fat. Hence, this pumpkin cookies recipe includes plenty of grass-fed butter and coconut oil as well.
The key to the taste is the seasonal, freshly pureed pumpkin. Do yourself a favor and skip the canned puree for these cookies. Make it fresh! It is quite easy as this recipe plus video on how to make pumpkin puree demonstrates.
Gorgeous pumpkins are everywhere in the Fall. Take advantage of the local bounty in your neighborhood and make a batch of delicious pumpkin cookies for your family that will both nourish and delight their tastebuds!
If you enjoy this recipe for pumpkin cookies, be sure to try this recipe for pumpkin bread too! If you would like to try using pumpkin puree in a savory recipe, this traditional pumpkin soup is amazing!
Paleo Pumpkin Cookies Recipe (soft batch style)
Delicious, grain-free, Paleo pumpkin cookies to enjoy any season of the year made with real pumpkin puree for the most nutrition and taste. Soft batch style!
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups pumpkin puree baked, peeled and mashed
- 1.5 cups arrowroot powder
- 1/4 cup grassfed butter
- 1/4 cup expeller pressed coconut oil
- 1 egg preferably pastured or free range
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ceylon cinnamon ground from fresh sticks
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 cup sucanat
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions
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Process all ingredients together in a food processor until smooth. Form ping pong sized balls on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.
Alternatively, make one giant cookie and shape the batter with a knife into a pumpkin with a stem. This saves time and works well if you prefer a cookie cake.
You can also get really creative and use a pumpkin-shaped cookie cutout for making these cookies.
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Bake at 350F/177 C for about 20 minutes.
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After 5 minutes in the oven, press down each pumpkin cookie with a fork and then finish baking. Skip this step if you made a cookie cake with the batter.
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Cool.and serve. These soft batch style cookies are great for the lunchbox.
Store pumpkin cookies in airtight containers in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
Sweet potato can be substituted for pumpkin as desired.
Make sure the baked pumpkin is moist yet firm and not too runny else your dough will be too wet.
Substitute finely ground nut flour of choice for the arrowroot if you are avoiding starch.
Coconut sugar or date sugar can be substituted for the sucanat. Note that date sugar is permitted on the SCD or GAPS diet, but it does not dissolve very well in batter. You may wish to add a few drops of stevia too.
Do not use honey as baking with honey is not a recommended traditional cooking practice.
Substitute potato, tapioca or cassava starch for the arrowroot (or a blend) if you prefer. Using potato starch adds the nutritional benefits of resistant starch to the cookies once they've fully cooled.
Pumpkin Cookies (Grain Free) – The Healthy Home Economist http://t.co/oKen1y17
we have family members with nut/dairy allergies, which makes things more difficult
What is arrowroot powder and where can I get it?
Healthfood stores have arrowroot flour. It is a starch made from a root of the arrowroot plant.
These look great. I would definitely play with the type of flour though… not sure I want to eat cookies that are pure starch?? Coconut with a balance of almond will work well.
Feel free to use as much nut flour as you like although arrowroot is very easily digested by most.
Just made them this afternoon: http://www.sostinkinhappy.com/2011/10/grain-free-pumpkin-cookies.html
They are lovely and delicious, too. Thanks for another great recipe, Sarah.
Wow! You are amazing to get them done that quickly! 🙂
So glad you like them. We love them too.
I made them while I was talking on the phone with my mom. It was a great way to spend the afternoon. 🙂
Just out of curiosity – not trying to create a debate here- but are arrowroot powder and nut flours traditional foods, that were traditionally eaten that way?
Many natives people mashed/crushed nuts to make a base for other recipes. The Native Americans here in So. Cal. used acorns and processed them until they were edible. So, while the nut flours that you buy might not be a perfect replication of traditional nut pastes, it is a good modern way to go grainless. Plus, you can make your own. 🙂
Arrowroot is the powdered form of a tuber and has traditional medicinal purposes. It has been used in food prep for several hundred years, so I guess the question is, how do you define traditional and how close to ancient practices do you want to be? 🙂
Arrowroot has been cultivated for over 7,000 years as a food.
I love using Arrowroot powder. From what I’ve read, it’s a powerhouse of nutrients.
I was just thinking about trying to find a recipe for grain free pumpkin cookies……….THANKS!!!!! I used to like making a conventional recipe for Halloween but can’t anymore so this solves the problem.
Sounds good, I’m going to try these. Can I just grind almonds/pecans in the blender to make ‘flour’?
Yes, make sure you soak the raw nuts in salted water/dehydrate before grinding to significantly improve digestibility and nutrient absorption.
Sarah, is this almond flour (ie finely grounded blanched almonds) or regular old almonds grounded for the recipe?
The Professor and I *LOVE* all things pumpkin. Can’t wait to try this recipe: http://t.co/k4S17l0v
Can’t wait to try making these. Is there a reason for the arrowroot powder? I’ve never baked with it yet…
Arrowroot is a sub for a grain based flour like wheat or rice.
You can also cook it in the crock pot.