Sugared Almond Flour Pumpkin Cookie Dough Bites
These Sugared Almond Flour Pumpkin Cookie Dough Bites are so fun for Fall! They’re easy to make using blanched almond flour, real pumpkin, cinnamon, vanilla, peanut butter, maple syrup, and organic sugar for rolling. Mold into a pumpkin shape using a toothpick and place chocolate chips on the tops for the stem! A fun, healthy pumpkin flavored sweet treat that’s gluten-free and vegan!
I saw some adorable pumpkin truffles on Pinterest, so instead of doing a white chocolate pumpkin truffle, I decided to make pumpkin cookie dough bites in the shape of little pumpkins instead, and how cute these turned out, don’t you think?! 😍 I adapted this almond flour pumpkin cookie dough recipe from my Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites recipe and they turned out great WITHOUT any added artificial food coloring! The pure pumpkin puree does it all! 🧡
I thought they would be super duper easy to make, but I did run into a few “challenges” which I’ll talk about below, so be sure to read on.
The Ingredients
But first, let’s talk about the simple gluten-free, plant-based ingredients used to make these Sugared Almond Flour Pumpkin Cookie Dough Bites!
Blanched almond flour. Almond flour is pretty common in grocery stores these days. I like to use the Bob’s Red Mill brand, but any blanched almond flour will do. You will need 2 ¼ cups. Blanched almond flour is where they remove the dark skins from the almonds before grinding it into flour. In this particular recipe, it helps the pumpkin orange color to shine through. I haven’t tried using regular almond flour so I am not sure if it would work or not, but I imagine the dough would be too dark to let the orange color show.
Cinnamon. Any ground cinnamon will work. You will need ½ teaspoon.
Pumpkin. You will need 1 can of pure pumpkin puree. I like to buy organic, I find the color is more vibrant with organic canned pumpkin too. DO NOT buy or use canned pumpkin pie mix… you want 100% pure pumpkin puree. For this recipe you will need ⅓ cup.
What to do with the leftover canned pumpkin:
Pumpkin Spice Latte Whoopie Pies
No-Bake Pumpkin Brownie Oatmeal Cookies
Vanilla. Make sure you buy pure vanilla extract and not imitation vanilla, as that isn’t gluten-free!
Peanut butter. Try to find a creamy peanut butter that isn’t loaded with added sugar. The no-stir peanut butters work best in this recipe because they aren’t as runny and allow for a firmer dough to roll and keep it’s pumpkin shape.
Maple syrup. Maple syrup is optional in the cookie dough itself if you’re planning on rolling these cookie dough bites in sugar. If not rolling in sugar, I would definitely add maple syrup to the dough.
Sugar. You’ll want to use organic, preferably vegan sugar (NO! Not all cane sugar is vegan!) I like to use Zulka cane sugar. You can read more about Zulka in this post. I tried a couple of these cookie dough bites rolled in sparkling sugar and I found the sugar crystals to be a tad too large for these dainty little bites, but feel free to use sparkling sugar instead if desired.
Chocolate chips. I actually used carob chips on mine (because I was out of dark chocolate chips when I made these! 😅 Any regular sized, dairy-free dark chocolate chips will work. I had selected out the chips that had an extra long little stem on the top to look more like a pumpkin stem.
How To Make these Pumpkin Cookie Dough Bites
Add the almond flour, cinnamon, and salt to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Next add the pumpkin, vanilla, peanut butter, and maple syrup. Stir together to form a cookie dough.
Using 1 tablespoon, scoop the batter and roll into balls. Place the bites in the freezer for about 30 minutes, then roll into the sugar, make the pumpkin lines with a toothpick, place a chocolate chip on top and immediately place into the fridge.
Troubleshooting
Now, what I did find while making these cookie dough bites is that if the bites are too warm, the sugar will soak right in and won’t have the sparkly sugared look… which, rolling the cookie dough bites in sugar is totally optional by the way! They are still adorable without the sugared outer layer. But if you do want to have them sugared, be sure to make these bites right before serving.
You’ll also want to roll in sugar, make the pumpkin lines and then place each one into the freezer/fridge (I did freezer) right away to keep them cool, again to avoid the sugar soaking in.
Another option is to add more almond flour so the dough is a bit more “stiff”. Start with just a couple tablespoons at a time. You’ll need to decide to do this before rolling in sugar and making into the pumpkin shape. Basically, if the dough is too sticky or doesn’t stay in ball shape when rolled, add more almond flour.
Let me know what you think about these cute little Sugared Almond Flour Pumpkin Cookie Dough Bites down below in the comments section, as well as giving it a five rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ so that others can discover this no-bake sweet snack recipe! Tag me on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest if you make them!
If you like cookie dough and no bake treats, be sure to check out these recipes!
No-Bake Oatmeal Raisin Protein Cookie Dough Bites
Sunflower Seed Chocolate Brownie Cookie Dough Bites
Sugared Almond Flour Pumpkin Cookie Dough Bites
These Sugared Almond Flour Pumpkin Cookie Dough Bites are so fun for Fall! They're easy to make using blanched almond flour, real pumpkin, cinnamon, vanilla, peanut butter, maple syrup, and organic sugar for rolling. Mold into a pumpkin shape using a toothpick and place chocolate chips on the tops for the stem! A fun, healthy pumpkin flavored sweet treat that's gluten-free and vegan!
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups blanched almond flour
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup pure pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- sugar for rolling*
- chocolate chips for stems
Instructions
Add the almond flour, cinnamon, and salt to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Next add the pumpkin, vanilla, peanut butter, and maple syrup. Stir together to form a cookie dough. Using 1 tablespoon, scoop the batter and roll into balls. Place the bites in the freezer for about 30 minutes, then roll into sugar, make the pumpkin lines with a toothpick, place a chocolate chip on top and immediately place into the fridge. If the bites are too warm, the sugar will soak right in and won’t have the sugared look. Best enjoyed right away, but may store covered in the fridge.
Notes
* rolling the cookie dough bites in sugar is totally optional by the way! They are still adorable without the sugared outer layer.
Leave a Reply
The Healthy Little Vittles blog provides general information and discussions about health, health foods, nutritional content and value, and related subjects from time to time. The information, recipes, or other content provided in this blog, or in any linked materials, are not intended to and should not be taken as medical advice, nor should it be a substitute for seeking the advice from a medical professional or replacement of treatment.
If you or any other person has a medical concern, please consult with your health care provider, and don’t disregard medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you have read on this blog or in any linked materials. Always discuss the use of supplements, herbal ingredients, and those of the like, with your health care provider before incorporating into your diet.
The opinions and views expressed on the Healthy Little Vittles blog have no relation to those of any academic, hospital, health practice or other institution, and are simply provided on a health coaching basis.
