Gluten Free Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

• 245 g (1 cup)pumpkin purée
• 100 gground almonds
• 45 g (½ cup)flaked almonds
• 180 g (2 cups)oats
• 60 goat flour
• 60 gghee butter, at room temperature
• 80 gcoconut sugar
• 15 ml (1 tbsp)honey
• 1egg, at room temperature
• ½ tspbicarbonate of soda
• 1 tspcinnamon
• ½ tspground cloves
• ⅓ tspground ginger
• 100 g (1 cup)chopped pecans

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the purée

   To make pumpkin purée, you will need a small pumpkin and a little water. Heat the oven to 200°C and prepare a baking tray. Halve the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds and stringy centre. Bake it for about 40 minutes, until tender. Remove the skin and cut the flesh into chunks. Blend the chunks in batches with a little water until smooth.

2. 2

   Prepare the tray

   Heat the oven to 175°C and line a baking sheet with baking parchment.

3. 3

   Mix the dough

   Beat the ghee, honey and coconut sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and pumpkin purée, then beat until combined. Mix in the remaining ingredients.

4. 4

   Shape and bake

   Place heaped tablespoon-sized rounds of the mixture on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

What are pumpkin oatmeal cookies?

These are drop-style cookies made with pumpkin purée, oats, nuts and warming spices. Pumpkin is often used in autumn baking, while oats and pecans give this version a hearty, textured character.

The combination of oat flour and ground almonds gives the dough substance, while pumpkin adds moisture. Ghee, honey and coconut sugar bring richness and sweetness without making these traditional butter-and-refined-sugar cookies.

Nutrition and macros by portion

The nutrition label shows one serving as written: 900 calories, 24g protein, 103g carbs, 52g fat.

Oats, oat flour, pumpkin and sugar provide most of the carbohydrates, while ghee, almonds and pecans contribute much of the fat. The egg, nuts and oats provide some protein. Pair a cookie with plain yoghurt or fruit to round out a snack.

The key ingredients

Pumpkin purée: Use smooth purée rather than chunky pumpkin so it blends evenly into the dough. If making it from scratch, bake the pumpkin until very tender before blending.

Oats and nuts: Whole oats, oat flour, ground almonds, flaked almonds and pecans all contribute to the cookies’ texture. Check that your oats and oat flour are labelled gluten-free if that matters for your cooking.

Getting the dough right

Creaming: Beat the room-temperature ghee with the honey and coconut sugar until the mixture looks fluffy, then incorporate the egg and purée. This helps combine the wet ingredients before the oats and nuts go in.

Mixing: Add the remaining ingredients and mix just until evenly distributed. The dough will be thick and textured, with visible oats and chopped pecans.

Shaping and baking

Portions: Use heaped tablespoon-sized mounds, leaving space between them on the lined tray. Keeping the portions similar in size helps them bake at a similar rate.

Doneness: Bake at 175°C for about 20 minutes, looking for golden-brown colour. Let the cookies cool after baking so they can firm up before you move them.

Making pumpkin purée

Roasting: The method starts by baking a small pumpkin at 200°C for about 40 minutes. The flesh should be tender enough to scoop or cut easily before you blend it.

Blending: Work in batches and add only a little water as needed to help the blender. The recipe calls for one cup of purée in the cookie dough; cool homemade purée before mixing it with the other ingredients.

Serving ideas

These cookies are filling enough to serve with tea, coffee or a glass of milk as a snack. Their cinnamon, clove and ginger notes also pair well with plain yoghurt or fresh fruit.

For a more balanced plate, serve one cookie alongside a source of protein, such as plain yoghurt, rather than treating the cookies as the whole meal.

Recipe notes & tips

• Bring the ghee and egg to room temperature so they mix more readily.
• Use a baking sheet lined with parchment to make removing the cookies easier.
• If preparing purée from scratch, let it cool before adding it to the dough.
• Keep the cookie mounds similar in size so they finish baking together.
• Allow the cookies to cool on the tray before handling, as they firm as they cool.

Variations

• Extra spice: Increase the cinnamon slightly for a more pronounced warm-spice flavour.
• Dried fruit: Fold in a small handful of raisins for bursts of sweetness.
• Chocolate: Add chopped dark chocolate for a richer cookie.
• Nut swap: Replace the pecans with chopped walnuts, keeping the amount similar.
• Seed topping: Sprinkle pumpkin seeds over the shaped dough before baking for extra crunch.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Hot purée: Adding it warm can soften the ghee; cool homemade purée first.
• Uneven portions: Different-sized mounds bake at different rates; use heaped tablespoons consistently.
• Crowded tray: Cookies need space around them; bake in batches if needed.
• Overbaking: The cookies can become dry; take them out when golden brown at about 20 minutes.
• Moving them too soon: Warm cookies can be fragile; let them cool before transferring.

How to store

Once completely cool, store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Reheat briefly in a low oven if you would like them warm.

Frequently asked questions