Delicious Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Orange Glaze that melt in your mouth. These cake-like pumpkin cookies are perfectly sweet and have hints of orange juice and zest in every bite. Made with white spelt flour but easily gluten-free with an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend.
This orange glazed soft pumpkin cookie is a spin on a classic pumpkin cookie recipe with added brightness from the zest and juice of a freshly squeezed Sunkist® navel orange. It’s a flavor combination that may seem unexpected at first but makes for an irresistible cookie. Plus, the pillow soft cake-like texture melts in your mouth. It’s the perfect cookie for baking up on a whim with a can of pumpkin sitting in your pantry or gifting to friends throughout the holiday season.
Key Ingredients in these Orange Glazed Soft Pumpkin Cookies
- Spelt Flour – spelt flour is an ancient grain that has a slightly lower gluten content then wheat flour. Both white spelt flour and a 1:1 gluten-free blend work well in this recipe. You could also use a whole wheat pastry flour.
- Coconut sugar – this less refined sweetener adds a sweet flavor with hints of caramel. It also provides structure making the cookies slightly puffy. Feel free to sub brown sugar for the coconut sugar.
- Pumpkin – adding moisture from the pumpkin gives these cookies a cake-like texture. It also adds a boost of nutrients since pumpkin puree is a good source of fiber and vitamin A. I recommend organic canned pumpkin as it tends to be less thick.
- Coconut oil – I recommend refined coconut oil as virgin coconut oil adds a coconut flavor to the cookies. You can sub vegan butter but make sure it’s cold or the dough will be too sticky and the cookies will spread more.
- Egg – acts as a binder and helps the cookies rise into fluffy pillows. I haven’t tried using a vegan egg replacement. Let me know if you do!
- Pumpkin spice – a mixture of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and clove adds the classic pumpkin spice flavor. If you don’t have pumpkin spice, I recommend 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/8 teaspoon cloves.
- Orange zest – the star ingredient in these soft pumpkin cookies! Adding the zest from half of a Sunkist® navel orange adds a burst of flavor and brightness to the cookie. This key ingredient may seem unexpected but the hint of orange pairs wonderfully with the warm spices.
How to make Orange Icing
How to make Orange IcingYou only need 3 ingredients for this easy orange glaze—freshly squeezed Sunkist® navel orange juice, powdered sugar or powdered sweetener of choice, and a pinch of salt. Here’s how easily it comes together.
Juice and zest a Sunkist® navel orange. Using a microplane, zest half the orange. Then slice the orange in half and squeeze out the juice.
Mix with powdered sugar. Add 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed orange juice to the powdered sugar. You have the option of adding the zest along with the juice to the powdered sugar or just adding the zest on top of the icing for extra flavor and decoration. Add a pinch of salt to balance out the sweetness.
Adjust the liquid. You want the icing to be thin enough to slowly drip off the back of a spoon but thick enough that it doesn’t completely run off the cookie. Add more orange juice, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the desired consistency is reached. If your icing is too thin, you can always add more powdered sugar.
how to Store soft pumpkin cookies
These pumpkin cookies have a soft cake-like texture similar to a muffin top. They’ll get slightly softer over time due to the moisture from the pumpkin puree. It’s best to store the iced cookies in a single layer covered loosely on the counter or in the fridge. While these cookies will last up to a week, the texture is best up to 4 days.
NOURISHED BY NUTRITION FACTS
NAVEL ORANGES
Navel oranges are arguably the most common type of orange with a refreshingly sweet and juicy taste and pleasant floral aroma. The slightly thick skin peels easily, revealing a bright orange, seedless interior. These classic oranges are in season now through June.
Sunkist® Navel oranges are an excellent source of vitamin C, with 90% of your daily value in one medium orange. They’re also a good source of fiber and folate. Additionally, these sweet fruits are a great source of quick energy from carbohydrates but are considered low-glycemic because of their high polyphenol and fiber content. This is important for maintaining stable blood sugar levels. (2)Oranges are also packed with antioxidant components like flavonoids and carotenoids, including hesperidin. (3) This unique antioxidant found in oranges may offer benefits for the heart, brain and reducing inflammation.
MORE HEALTHier Cookie RECIPES:
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PrintSoft Pumpkin Cookies with Orange Glaze
Delicious Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Orange Glaze that melt in your mouth. These cake-like pumpkin cookies are perfectly sweet and have hints of orange juice and zest in every bite. Made with white spelt flour but easily gluten-free with an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend.
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 12-14 min
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 14 cookies 1x
Ingredients
For the Soft Pumpkin Cookies:
¼ cup coconut oil
⅔ cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
1 egg, room temperature
½ cup pumpkin puree
1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin spice
2 teaspoons Sunkist® Navel orange zest (from ½ Sunkist® navel orange)
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 ½ cups white spelt flour or gluten-free all-purpose
For the Orange Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar or powdered monk fruit
2-3 tablespoons fresh squeezed Sunkist® Navel orange juice (about ½ Sunkist® navel orange)
2 teaspoons Sunkist® Navel orange zest (from ½ Sunkist® navel orange)
pinch of salt
Instructions
For the soft pumpkin cookies. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl or a stand mixer, cream together the coconut oil coconut sugar. You can use a hand mixer or even a large wooden spoon if needed. Next, beat in the egg and pumpkin until well combined and smooth.
In a separate bowl Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, and pumpkin spice. Stir together until evenly combined. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Add the grated orange zest. Mix until well combined. The dough will be wetter than most cookies, similar to a thick cake batter. Let the batter sit for at least 10 minutes. This helps hydrate the coconut sugar.
Use a 1 ½ -2 tablespoon cookie scoop to place the dough on the prepared baking sheet. If using gluten-free flour blend, you may need to flatten the cookies slightly as they will not spread that much in the oven. The gluten-free dough will be sticky, so slightly damp in your hands before pressing down. This isn’t necessary when using spelt flour.
Bake for 12-15 minutes. The cookies are done when the edges just start to gold and the tops are slightly firm. The spelt flour version took 12 minutes in my oven whereas the gluten-free flour took 14 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let them sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Wait until the cookies are completely cool for topping them with the orange glaze.
For the orange glaze. Combine the powdered sugar or powdered monk fruit in a bowl with the fresh orange juice and orange zest. If needed, add 1 teaspoon of orange juice at a time to get to your desired consistency. You want that glaze to be thin enough to easily coat the cookie but not so thin that it runs completely off. Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of orange glaze to each cookie. Garnish with additional orange zest or a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Notes
How to store. Cookies can be stored at room for four days or in the fridge for up to a week. You can store unglazed cookies in the freezer for up to three months.
Hi,
Have you tried this recipe using whole spelt?
Thank you for a great recipe.
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