Paleo Pumpkin Cookies with Penuche Frosting

If there’s one fall cookie that makes absolutely everyone stop mid-bite and ask for the recipe, it’s these Paleo Pumpkin Cookies with Penuche Frosting. Soft, pillowy, warmly spiced little pumpkin cookies topped with a rich, deeply caramel-like frosting made from maple sugar and coconut sugar. They’re grain free, gluten free, and dairy free optional. These are one of those recipes that gets requested year after year and I am so happy they are finally getting a proper home here on the blog!

These have been taste tested by many folks, paleo or not, and have gotten two thumbs way up from every single one of them. I hadn’t enjoyed one of these for years because I wasn’t sure the frosting would be doable – which is pretty key for the cookie to be “complete” if you ask me! But once I cracked the penuche frosting code using maple sugar, coconut sugar, and full fat coconut milk, these became one of the most celebrated cookies in our house. Thanks to Otto’s Naturals Non-GMO Cassava Flour, this dreamy fall classic cookie is back in our lives for good!

What Is Penuche Frosting?

If you haven’t encountered penuche before, you are in for such a treat! Penuche is a traditional brown sugar fudge-like frosting with deep caramel notes – think butterscotch meets fudge meets the most incredible fall flavor you can imagine. My paleo version uses a combination of maple sugar and coconut sugar cooked briefly with butter and coconut milk, then whisked together with homemade powdered maple sugar for a frosting that sets beautifully and tastes absolutely scrumptious. It is the thing that takes these cookies from really good to completely unforgettable!

Why You’ll Love These Paleo Pumpkin Cookies

They are soft and pillowy – not crispy, not cakey, just perfectly tender with a slight chew that is absolutely the right texture for a pumpkin cookie. The pumpkin puree keeps them incredibly moist and the cassava flour gives them a neutral base that lets the cinnamon and pumpkin flavors shine beautifully. The recipe makes a big batch of about 72 mini cookies which makes them perfect for holiday cookie exchanges, Thanksgiving dessert spreads, or gifting in a pretty tin. And they freeze beautifully, so you can absolutely make them ahead and tuck some away for later – a grand idea if you ask me!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Here’s a quick look at what goes into these cookies and the frosting. Full amounts are in the recipe card below.

For the Pumpkin Cookies

Maple sugar and softened grass fed butter (or ghee for dairy free) creamed together until light and fluffy – that creaming step is what gives these cookies their wonderful texture. Room temperature pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, and one large room temperature egg round out the wet team. Then Otto’s Naturals Cassava Flour, baking powder, baking soda, Ceylon cinnamon, and Redmond Real Salt. Optional chopped nuts folded into the batter add a lovely texture contrast but the cookies are equally scrumptious without them.

For the Penuche Frosting

Grass fed butter or ghee, maple sugar, coconut sugar, full fat coconut milk, and homemade powdered maple sugar. That powdered maple sugar is the secret ingredient that makes this frosting work so beautifully. see the tip below for exactly how to make it! The combination of maple and coconut sugars gives the frosting that deep, complex caramel flavor that makes penuche so special and so completely irresistible.

The Powdered Maple Sugar Trick

This is honestly one of my favorite kitchen tricks and it makes the penuche frosting possible! Add one cup of maple sugar and one tablespoon of tapioca starch to a high speed blender and blend for 30 to 45 seconds. Place a kitchen towel on top of the lid to keep the fine powder from escaping. You should get almost two cups of beautiful powdered maple sugar – your results may vary slightly depending on your blender but it works like a dream every single time. This powdered sugar sets the frosting to a gorgeous consistency that spreads beautifully and holds its shape on the cookie.

How to Make Paleo Pumpkin Cookies with Penuche Frosting

Preheat your oven to 350°F degrees. In a medium bowl, cream the maple sugar and softened butter together with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the pumpkin puree, vanilla, and egg and mix until well combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the cassava flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, toss in the nuts if using, and mix on low at first to avoid a flour cloud then increase speed until you have a fluffy cookie batter.

Drop by rounded teaspoon onto a parchment-lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. I use a 4cm ice cream/cookie scoop for perfect little drops every time. Bake 11 to 13 minutes until the edges just begin to turn golden. Cool slightly then transfer to a cooling rack while you make the frosting.

For the frosting: combine the butter, maple sugar, and coconut sugar in a medium saucepan. Stir as the butter melts to combine the sugars and bring to a boil for one minute. Remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes. Add the coconut milk and whisk well, then pour into a larger glass bowl. Add the powdered maple sugar starting with about 1¼ cups and adjusting to your preferred spreading consistency. Frost the cooled cookies, sprinkle with finely chopped nuts if using, and let the frosting set before serving. And before you eat them all — pop some on a cooling rack set inside a baking tray and freeze for later! #treatyoself 🎃

Tips for the Best Paleo Pumpkin Cookies

Make sure your pumpkin puree and egg are at room temperature. Cold ingredients can cause the butter to seize up and affect how the batter comes together. Pull everything out 30 minutes ahead and this batter will reward you with the fluffiest cookies!

Use a small scoop for even cookies. A 4cm ice cream/cookie scoop gives you perfectly uniform little cookies that all bake at the same rate. If you want larger cookies, use a bigger scoop and add 2 to 3 minutes to the bake time. And when isn’t a uniformly gorgeous cookie worth the small investment in a good scoop?!

Cover the blender when making powdered maple sugar. This is an important tip – lay a kitchen towel over the lid before blending so the fine powder doesn’t escape and cover your whole counter! It takes about 30 to 45 seconds and gives you a beautiful powdered sugar that makes all the difference in the frosting.

Want to halve the recipe? This recipe makes about 72 mini cookies which is a wonderful big batch for gifting and freezing. If you want a smaller batch, halve everything – the only tricky part is using half an egg, which you can do by whisking a whole egg and measuring out approximately 1½ tablespoons. Easy!

Freeze them before you eat them all! These cookies freeze beautifully. Once frosted and set, place them back on a cooling rack set inside a baking tray and freeze solid. Transfer to a freezer safe bag and they’ll keep for up to a month. Do your future self a favor and tuck a dozen away – your November self will thank you!

More Fall Cookies and Treats You’ll Love

• Mini Pumpkin Pecan Bundt Cakes — another gorgeous fall pumpkin bake
• Cran-Apple Snack Cake — easy one-bowl fall baking
• Pumpkin Spice Sweet Rolls — for when you want to go all out
• Twisted Pecan Pie Rolls — a holiday showstopper
• Browse all Holiday + Seasonal recipes

Paleo Pumpkin Cookies with Penuche Frosting

Recipe by Michelle

0.0 from 0 votes

Course: Baked GoodsDifficulty: Easy

Servings

24

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

13

minutes

Ingredients

• pumpkin cookie

• 1 cup Maple Sugar

• 1 cup Butter, Unsalted, softened (can sub ghee)

• 1 cup Pumpkin Purée

• 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

• 1 whole Egg, room temp

• 1 1/2 cups Cassava Flour

• 1 tsp Baking Powder

• 1 tsp Baking Soda

• 1 tsp Cinnamon, Ceylon

• 1/4 tsp Sea Salt

• 1/2 cup Pecans, roughly chopped, optional – up to 3/4 cup

• penuche frosting

• 3 Tbsp Butter, Unsalted

• 1/4 cup Maple Sugar

• 1/4 cup Coconut Sugar

• 1/4 cup Whole Milk, raw, can sub almond milk or milk of choice

• 1 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar, Grain-Free, can sub maple powdered sugar*

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350°
• In a medium bowl, combine maple sugar and softened butter (or ghee) with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin puree, vanilla and egg and mix until well combined.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together cassava flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add to wet ingredients and toss in the nuts (if using). Mix together (slowly at first to avoid flour going everywhere) with a hand mixer until all ingredients are combined and you have a fluffy cookie batter.
• Drop by rounded tsp on a parchment lined baking sheet (or use a silpat mat) about 2″ apart. I use a 4cm ice cream scoop for perfect little drops. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until edges just begin to turn brown. Let cool slightly and remove to a cooling rack. While cookies cool, prepare frosting.
• In a medium saucepan, combine butter (or ghee), maple and coconut sugar. Stir as butter melts to combine sugars and boil for one minute. Remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes. Add coconut milk and whisk well to combine and pour into a larger glass bowl. Add in enough powdered sugar to get the consistency you want to spread on cookie. Start with about 1¼ cups and go from there.
• Frost cookies and add sprinkled finely chopped nuts on top if using. Let the frosting set before serving/storing. (store in an airtight container or covered loosely with plastic wrap). These also free

Notes

• powdered maple sugar: combine 1 cup maple sugar & 1 tbl tapioca starch in a high speed blender (I used a blendtec) and blend for about 30-45 seconds. Place a kitchen towel on top of the lid to keep a fine mist of powder from getting all over your counter top! You should get a perfect powdered sugar…I got almost 2 cups! Your results might be different depending on your blender.

If you make these Paleo Pumpkin Cookies with Penuche Frosting I would absolutely love to see them! Tag me on Instagram or drop a comment below. They are one of those fall recipes that has been bringing people joy for years and I hope they do the same for you this season. Happy fall baking! 🎃🍂