Soft Pumpkin Sugar Cookies with Bourbon Cinnamon Frosting

These Soft Pumpkin Sugar Cookies with Bourbon Cinnamon Frosting are the best gluten-free, vegan cookies you’ll have this season! The pumpkin sugar cookies bake for 10 minutes and then are frosted with a simple powdered sugar butter frosting infused with bourbon and cinnamon for the perfect fall dessert.

Soft sugar cookies, oh how I’ve missed you! It seems the day I gave up wheat flour, eggs, and dairy was the day that soft, melt-in-your-mouth sugar cookies also became a thing of the past. That was until today, my friends. Perhaps this is the most delicious cookie recipe I have made in the last 3 years since I started the Healthy Little Vittles blog. No tricks here, just treats! 😉

These bakery-style sugar cookies are rich and sweet- you’d never know they are the healthier version of a pumpkin Fall favorite. These Soft Pumpkin Sugar Cookies are made with coconut sugar and real canned pumpkin, nut/seed butter, plant butter, gluten-free baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, flax eggs, and a little pumpkin spice to keep ourselves immersed in seasonal October treats.

These sugar cookies are so easy to make too. They can be drop cookies or you can gently roll them in your hands and lightly press down to make sure they are perfectly round. Then you simply bake for 10-12 minutes, cool, and frost with a delicious powdered sugar butter frosting infused with cinnamon and bourbon!

This soft sugar cookie recipe will definitely open new doors for me heading into the holiday season this year! I cannot wait to experiment with different flavors! Think apple butter, egg nog, and hot cocoa! YUM!

A few things to keep in mind:
– Gluten-free, vegan cookies don’t spread like you might be used to with more traditional sugar cookies. While the baking powder and soda help, it’s necessary to lightly flatten the scooped cookie dough into a disc shape with your hand.
– Don’t overbake the cookies! 10 minutes was plenty of time, you want to make sure they stay soft and tender!
– If the frosting involves too much sugar for you (it is made with powdered sugar) you can absolutely leave it out, or replace it with another lower-sugar frosting. You could even just sprinkle a little coconut sugar and cinnamon on top of each cookie prior to baking instead.
– If you’re going to use sunflower seed butter (which is what I used), your cookies will turn green when they are cool. If you’re not sharing them, then no biggie, haha, but if you’re planning on gifting them, be sure to replace with another nut butter like cashew or almond butter. You could also try adding a teaspoon of lemon juice to see if that helps, though I have not tried that. It’s quite an interesting phenomenon, google why this happens! 😉

If you’re looking for more pumpkin goodies, try my Gluten-Free Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars or even my Vegan Pumpkin Mac and Cheese! Or if you’re not one of the pumpkin obsessed, check out these other Autumn recipes:
Acorn Squash Breakfast Bowls
Butternut Squash Gnocchi
Naturally Sweetened Instant Pot Apple Butter

Be sure to head over to the FOOD FAITH FITNESS BLOG to snag this delicious Soft Pumpkin Sugar Cookies with Bourbon Cinnamon Frosting recipe!

Don’t forget to tag us on Instagram or Facebook @HealthyLittleVittles @FoodFaithFit #healthylittlevittles if you make these super soft, super delicious cookies!