Flourless Pumpkin Pie Cookies

I’m a bit stunned and proud of myself.  I loved to bake before I had to go gluten-free.  I always used someone else’s recipe, though.  I was never one to come up with baked recipes.  Never.

Since going gluten-free, I enjoy baking, but sometimes the long list of ingredients is a chore.  Plus, I’m not fond of using refined gluten-free flours if I don’t have to.   I am enamored with flourless recipes.  The first one I came across was Carrie Forbes’ Gluten-Free, Grain-Free Peanut Butter Cupcakes.  That was a year ago.  I have the recipe printed off, but I have yet to make the cupcakes.  Yes, I know.  Then there were Shirley Braden’s Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies.  To. Die. For.  And so easy to make.

My first attempts at coming up with a baked goods recipe didn’t fare so well.  I still haven’t gone back to that cake.  Yet.

I picked up two pumpkins the first day I saw them in the grocery this Fall.  I even had a conversation with my cashier about all the different ways she could use pumpkin.  Oh, yes.  Spreading the whole foods love.  I cut them open when I got home, scooped out the seeds and set them aside to roast later and set the pumpkins in the oven to roast.  Once they were cool and I was scooping them out to puree, I started thinking about cookies.  Flourless cookies.  I promptly went through my stash of nut butters, looking for the cashew butter.  I figured since I find it tasteless, it finally has some use.  Only I was down to about a tablespoon of it.  I decided to use Sunbutter instead.  I knew it was a risk, but if it worked, my cookie could be completely allergen-free.

It really was a long shot.  The Sunbutter overpowered the pumpkin and the spices.  Completely.  So, if you are nut-free and want to use Sunbutter, it can be done, but it won’t taste more like Sunbutter than pumpkin pie.

Today, I made another attempt using cashew butter and totally fell in love.  This cookie is completely grain-free, egg-free, dairy-free, soy-free, refined sugar-free.  Pretty much everything but nut-free.  And, it’s easier than pie.

Flourless Pumpkin Pie Cookies – makes 12 or more cookies (depending on size)

1 cup cashew butter

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup coconut crystals or palm sugar

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (I use a 2:1 ratio of ground cinnamon to ground allspice, clove, ginger, and nutmeg)

1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350.  Line a baking sheet (or two if making the cookies small) with Silpat or parchment paper.  Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix together thoroughly.  Drop by small spoonfuls onto the cookie sheet(s) – the smaller the cookie, the better it stays together.  Try to flatten out the dough as much as possible.  The dough will be extremely sticky.  Don’t worry if it’s not perfectly flat or round.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven immediately.  Take a spatula and flatten the cookies more as soon as you take them out.  Let them sit on the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a rack.  They are delicious right out of the oven, but will hold better if you let them cool before trying.  The texture inside the cookie will be moist just like pumpkin pie.

This post is linked to Wellness Weekend at Diet, Dessert & Dogs.