Gluten Free Pumpkin Cookies

These gluten free pumpkin cookies are the rare allergy-friendly bake that doesn’t require an obscure flour you’ll never use again. Rice flour and potato starch are both readily available and produce a soft, cakey cookie that tastes like a proper fall treat instead of an apology.

The two-flour blend is essential. Rice flour alone produces gritty, dry cookies; potato starch alone gives a gummy, wet texture. Together they balance: rice flour provides structure and a faint sweet-nuttiness, while potato starch contributes tenderness and helps moisture distribute evenly through the dough.

Vegetable shortening, not butter, is what makes these gluten-free cookies stay tender as they cool. Gluten-free baked goods can turn rock-hard once cold; shortening’s solid-fat profile maintains a softer crumb even straight from the fridge. Butter substitution will work but the texture changes.

The canned pumpkin puree is doing real work here. It binds the dough without eggs, adds moisture that gluten-free flours desperately need, and contributes the warming squash flavor that defines the cookie. Use pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling, which has sugar and spices already mixed in.

Press flat with a fork, like a peanut butter cookie. Without flattening, the dense, moist dough won’t bake through to the center.

Pro Tips

• Add an extra ½ teaspoon of cinnamon plus a pinch of nutmeg and cloves for more authentic pumpkin spice flavor.
• Use pecans or walnuts. Both work beautifully against the spiced pumpkin base.
• Don’t overbake. Pull when the edges are set but centers still look soft. Gluten-free cookies firm up dramatically as they cool.
• Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Gluten-free cookies dry out faster than regular ones.

Variations

• Sub a ¼ cup of mini chocolate chips for the nuts for chocolate-pumpkin cookies.
• Add a tablespoon of grated fresh ginger for a sharper, more aromatic kick.
• Drizzle a powdered sugar glaze over the cooled cookies for a frosted look.