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These Pumpkin Seed Cookies are super-simple, chewy gluten-free cookies made with just 5 ingredients, but no eggs and no dairy.

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Pumpkin Seed Cookies

These Pumpkin Seed Cookies are super-simple, chewy gluten-free cookies made with just 5 ingredients, but no eggs and no dairy.

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Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 12

Total Time: 22

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings: 12 cookies

Calories: 113.3 kcal

Author: Carine Claudepierre

Ingredients

US Customary – Metric

▢ 1 ½ cups Pumpkin Seeds - (note 1)
▢ ⅓ cup Maple Syrup - (note 2)
▢ 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract - (note 3)

Chocolate Filling

▢ ½ cup Dairy-Free Dark Chocolate Chips - (note 4)
▢ 1 teaspoon Mild-Flavor Olive Oil

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 °F (180 °C). Line a large baking sheet with non-stick parchment paper. Set aside.
Add the pumpkin seed to a high-speed blender. Blend on medium-high speed, stop a few times, scrape down the sides of the jug, and repeat until finely ground with barely any large pieces of seeds. The finer, the better. But don't let it reach a butter consistency by over-blending.
Pour the ground pumpkin seed into a mixing bowl and add the remaining ingredients: maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
Stir with a rubber spatula until it forms a sticky cookie dough. The batter is very sticky, and that's normal.
Oil your hands generously because the dough sticks. Grab a tablespoon of cookie dough, roll it into a ball, and release it on the baking sheet. Press the center with an oil-finger tip, or the back of an oiled teaspoon, to slightly flatten the ball, and create a cavity in the center of the cookie. Wash your tool, reoil it before pressing on the next cookie ball, or the batter will stick to it.
Repeat with the remaining cookie dough, placing the cookies an inch apart from each other on the baking sheet as they slightly expand.
Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes at 350°F (180°C) until just golden brown on the edges. The thumbprint in the center will shrink back. That's ok.
Let the cookies cool down for 30 minutes on the baking sheet at room temperature, then transfer them to a cooling rack. The cookies firm up as they cool down.
In a microwave-safe glass bowl, add chocolate chips and oil. Microwave for 30-second bursts, stir between bursts, and repeat until the mixture is fully melted.
Use a teaspoon to fill each baked cookie thumbprint with the melted chocolate.
Repeat until they are all filled up to the top of the thumbprint and place them on a plate.
Pop the plate in the fridge for 30 minutes or until the chocolate filling firms up.

Notes

Note 1: I am using unroasted, unsalted pumpkin seeds. I haven’t tried other seeds for this recipe.

Note 2: Or any liquid sweetener you like, including agave syrup or coconut nectar.

Note 3: Or 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract.

Note 4: You don’t have to fill the cookies with chocolate; you can flatten, bake, and cool them down, then eat them plain.

Note 5: This keeps the chocolate filling a bit softer at room temperature, making it less hard to bite into. You can skip it for an oil-free option.

Tips

Grind Seeds Finely: I recommend processing your pumpkin seeds until they reach a fine, sandy texture. Avoid leaving large pieces, as a fine grind is what helps the dough hold together and firm up properly after baking.

Manage Sticky Dough: The batter is naturally very tacky, so I suggest generously oiling your hands and tools before shaping. If the dough starts sticking too much, simply wash and dry your hands, then re-oil them before finishing the batch.

Storage: Store the cookies in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Store in the freezer for up to 1 month in airtight freezer bags.

Oven Mode: I use the fan-forced (convection) mode. If you have to use conventional mode, I recommend increasing the temperature by 25°F (15°C). The baking time should be the same, but it might take a few more minutes.

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