Nearly every October during our childhood, Mom drove my brother and me to the best local pumpkin patch in the outskirts of town. Knowing we’d spend most of our time there running around in the dusty fields, she reminded us to wear comfy jeans and t-shirts—in any color except white!
As soon as we arrived, we headed towards the barn to see the farm animals. Mom occasionally purchased a little animal food from a vending machine, and we giggled as the sheep and ponies guzzled at the tiny pellets in our palms.
We visited the huge corn maze next to run through the stalks and race to the other side. Although we usually stuck together as young kids, we eventually split up and competed against each other, each of us choosing a different path to sprint to the end.
Finally, towards the end of our countryside afternoon, we wandered through the huge field of pumpkins to pick out two to carve on Halloween. No point in picking them out first and then lugging them around the animals and through the corn maze!
Mom made a rule that we had to be able to lift the pumpkins ourselves… Probably because she quickly grew tired of us asking to bring home the 4-foot-wide ones! Once we each found the perfect pumpkin, bright orange and smooth skinned and perfectly plump, we paid the cashier and loaded them into our minivan to drive home.
Now that I’ve moved to Southern California, I should probably find a new pumpkin patch before Halloween comes… But until then, I’m just going to keep baking pumpkin treats!
Like these Healthy Pumpkin Blossoms! Perfectly chewy spiced pumpkin cookies with a dark chocolate kiss in the center. I think they even look a little bit like Jack-be-Little pumpkins! (Those itty bitty, kind of flat ones that fit in the palm of your hand!) Maybe if you squint? A lot? So much that your eyes are almost closed??
Okay, maybe it’s a stretch to say they look like pumpkins… But still, it’s hard to beat pumpkin + chocolate! Especially when your pumpkin + chocolate cookies contain no eggs, refined flour or sugar and only 61 calories!
To make these healthy pumpkin cookies, you’ll start with white whole wheat flour and cinnamon (this kind is my current obsession!). Yes—white whole wheat flour actually exists! And it’s not a combination of all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour. It’s made exactly the same way as regular whole wheat flour and has all of the same health benefits. The only difference? Regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat, whereas white whole wheat flour comes from a softer variety of white wheat. It has a lighter taste and texture, which makes it perfect for these chewy cookies!
You’ll also need plenty of pumpkin purée! Just the regular kind, like this—not pumpkin pie mix! The pumpkin keeps these cookies extremely soft, so you just need 1 tablespoon of butter or coconut oil. It also replaces the eggs! And no eggs = perfectly acceptable to sneak a taste test (or five). At least, that’s the case in my kitchen!
To sweeten your cookies, you’ll skip the refined sugar and use pure maple syrup (like this!) instead. The maple syrup adds a lot of liquid to the cookie dough, so you must chill your cookie dough! Chilling helps it stiffen so it’s not as runny.
But even with chilling, the dough is going to be very sticky, so use a spoon and spatula to drop it on your baking sheet! These cookies are going to be smaller than typical cookies, and they don’t spread while baking… So make sure you flatten them so they’re just slightly wider than the bottom of your chocolate kiss!
And since people always ask how I make my cookies perfectly round… Here’s my secret trick: I just use a mini spatula like this! I spend about 10 minutes patiently shaping the cookie dough with my spatula once it’s on the baking sheet. No special tools or equipment—I promise!
As soon as your cookies finish baking, you’ll press a dark chocolate kiss (like this!) into the center. The warm cookie will immediately melt the chocolate, so the chocolate sticks to the cookie without any extra effort on your part!
For a fun flavor variation, I bet these caramel-filled kisses or these pumpkin spice kisses would taste amazing! If you try that, leave me a comment and report back! And now I’m off to scribble those down on my next grocery list…
I just love how cute they look! ??? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your cookies and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Healthy Pumpkin Blossoms | | Print |
- 1 cup (120g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- ¾ cup (183g) pumpkin purée (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120mL) pure maple syrup
- 24 dark chocolate kisses
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, pumpkin, and vanilla. Stir in the maple syrup. Add the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Chill the cookie dough for at least 30 minutes. (If chilling longer than 1 hour, cover the top of the bowl with foil.)
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Drop the cookie dough into 24 rounded scoops onto the prepared baking sheet. Flatten the cookie dough mounds to be just slightly wider than the chocolate kisses. Bake at 325°F for 13-16 minutes. (The centers should still feel slightly underdone!) Once the cookies come out of the oven, immediately (but gently!) press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie. Cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
For a gluten-free version, use as follows: ¼ cup (30g) millet flour, ¼ cup (30g) tapioca flour, 3 tablespoons (21g) coconut flour, and ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten-free flour blends will work as well, if measured like this.
Honey or agave may be substituted for the maple syrup. You may also substitute ½ cup (96g) of coconut sugar or brown sugar + ¼ cup (60mL) of milk (any type will work!).
For a vegan or clean-eating version, use regular bars of dark chocolate, chopped into large bite-sized pieces, in place of the dark chocolate kisses.
For a fun flavor variation, I bet these caramel-filled kisses or these pumpkin spice kisses would taste amazing! If you try that, leave me a comment and report back!
Do NOT overbake these cookies! They’ll turn out cakey instead of chewy if baked for too long.
The dough is going to be very sticky, so use a spoon and spatula to drop it on your baking sheet! These cookies are going to be smaller than typical cookies, and they don’t spread while baking… So make sure you flatten them so they’re just slightly wider than the bottom of your chocolate kiss!
And since people always ask how I make my cookies perfectly round… Here’s my secret trick: I just use a mini spatula like this! I spend about 10 minutes patiently shaping the cookie dough with my spatula once it’s on the baking sheet. No special tools or equipment—I promise!
{gluten-free, clean eating option, vegan option, low fat}
View Nutrition Information
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Peanut Butter Blossoms
♡ Healthy Dark Chocolate Blossoms
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Soft & Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
♡ Healthy Pumpkin Pie Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
♡ Healthy Pumpkin Spice Latte Oatmeal Cookies
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy pumpkin recipes!
I told my kids last weekend we were going to the pumpkin patch, but then we ran out of time on Saturday to go to the big (expensive) one with the corn maze and hay rides. So instead we took them down to this Farmer’s market place that happens to have a few bales of hay and lots of pumpkins (Def not a full pumpkin patch though). but we didn’t tell the kids we had demoted our plans. They were still so excited. Haha! or maybe mwahaha. These pumpkin blossoms look so fun Amy!
Oh my goodness Karen… I LOVE that story!! ? Your kids are so cute! I can just imagine them climbing all over those hay bales and trying to lift big ol’ pumpkins… I’m glad everyone still had fun! 🙂 Miss you, sweet friend!!
How do you make the Keto version of the pumpkin cookie with kisses?
What ingredient substitutions are you trying to make Irene? 🙂
Almond Flour and Erythritol sweetner
Okay! Is your particular erythritol product a 1-for-1 substitute for granulated sugar? If so, then use the same equivalent as the coconut sugar/brown sugar substitute in the Notes section underneath the Instructions. The cookies may turn out denser in texture with almond flour, but the flavor should remain the same. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear how your cookies turn out Irene!
These will be perfect for a Halloween party. Thanks for the recipe. -Anna
My pleasure! I’d love to hear what you think if you try them Anna!
Why is the weight for the gluten-free flour blend less than the regular flour? Is it due to differences in hydration? Thank you very much.
We really appreciate your interest in these pumpkin blossoms, Danielle! You are exactly right about the hydration! Coconut flour is about 3x as absorbent as many other flours, which is why Amy’s homemade blend contains less of it — and therefore weighs less. She did a lot of testing and tweaking of various GF flours and amounts to find the perfect blend, and this was the one that provided the same texture and results as regular wheat-based flours! We’d love to hear what you think if you decide to try this recipe! 😉
I made them yesterday and they are delicious!
ps. They were the gluten-free version.
That’s great, Danielle! I’m so happy to hear that you were able to make these cookies GF and they turned out delicious for you! Thanks so much for taking the time to let us know. It really means a lot! 🙂
Can I chill the dough overnight?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Kayla! Yes, chilling the cookie dough overnight should be fine. Instead of foil, I’d probably recommend tightly covering the bowl with plastic wrap to ensure the cookie dough doesn’t dry out, just to be safe. I’d love to hear what you think of these cookies if you end up making them! 🙂
Mine ended up tasting so doughy? Idk what I did wrong. I will say i’m not the best baker so i’m not surprised but I doubt they taste how they are supposed to
Don’t sell yourself short, Kayla! I’m sure you’re a great baker. ♡ That doesn’t sound like how these cookies are supposed to turn out, so I’m happy to help figure out what might’ve happened! I have some questions that will help point us in the right direction and narrow down the culprit.
Could you elaborate on their “doughy” taste? For example, did they taste raw and underdone? Floury? More like bread than cookies? Something else? (The more details I know, the easier it’ll be to identify the issue and how to fix it!)
Was it just the flavor that wasn’t as expected? Or was their texture off as well? (They’re meant to be really soft and chewy — but not cake-like or bready.)
Did you make any substitutions or modifications to the recipe — including those listed in the Notes section? (Other than chilling the cookie dough overnight!)
Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups/spoons for all of the ingredients — especially the flour and pure maple syrup?
Did you use white whole wheat flour or the gluten-free blend provided in the Notes section?
How much did you flatten them before baking?
How long did you bake your cookies?
I know I just asked a LOT of questions, but I’ll have a much better idea of the culprit once I know your answers to all of them! 🙂
The flavor was good I think, the only way I can describe the texture was doughy but dense. I really think the issue was the texture the overall taste would have been better if the texture was right, the consistency really through us off.
We baked them for 14 minutes. I followed the recipe to a T except I used all purpose flour instead of whole wheat. I unfortunately do not have a kitchen scale so I measured the old fashion way.
The batter made right around 24 (if not a few more) so I think I shaped, sized them accurately.
Thank you so much!
I really appreciate you sharing your answers, Kayla! This information is so useful. I have a good idea of the culprit, and your answers to these quick follow-up questions should confirm my hunch.
When you used measuring cups for the flour, did you happen to dip them directly into the container to scoop it out? (I know people commonly do this when measuring flour!)
If not, and you used my method for the flour, did you ever gently shake or nudge the measuring cup back and fork while filling it? For example, to “level out” the mound of flour at the top?
Then to double check — did you use pure maple syrup, not sugar-free? (Many people don’t realize that sugar-free syrup and pancake syrup will change the texture, so I just wanted to confirm!)
Thanks for your patience, Kayla! We’re nearly there! 🙂