How to Make Vegan Pumpkin Cookies for Halloween

Clara Polito is a vegan baker, owner of Clara Cakes, and author of the Clara Cakes cookbook.

You can never go wrong with a simple sugar shortbread cookie and decorative icing for Halloween needs. For maximum Halloween spirit, though, I make a pumpkin shortbread cookie dough. It rolls out just as nicely as the traditional shortbread dough, has an orange glow, and a little bit of that pumpkin sweetness.

For my decoration, I went with a simple orange icing with pink triangular features. I’m not gonna lie, I was inspired by a 1930s Halloween image I found on Pinterest. You can get funky with some other colors, I tried out some with purple and red, or stick to my tried and true pink and orange combo. Do what you need to do to make your pumpkin cookie a star!

Ingredients

Pumpkin Shortbread:

1-1/2 cups flour 3/4 cup powdered sugar 1/4 shortening 1/4 cup vegan butter 1/4 cup pumpkin purée 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 teaspoon salt

Orange Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar 2 teaspoons soymilk 2 teaspoons light corn syrup 1/2 tsp orange food gel coloring, I use Wilton’s vegan orange food gel

Pink Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar 2 teaspoons soymilk 2 teaspoons light corn syrup 1/2 tsp pink food gel coloring, I use Wilton’s vegan pink food gel

Tools:

Frosting spatula Pumpkin cookie cutter Pastry Bag

Instructions

1.) Using an electric mixer, cream together the shortening and vegan butter until fully mixed together.

2.) Add the pumpkin puree and mix pumpkin is completely incorporated into cream.

3.) Add the powdered sugar, flour, and baking powder to the pumpkin butter mixture. Mix until just combined, you may want to switch from using the mixer to using your hands or a rubber spatula during this step to fully work the dough together.

4.) Press dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least two hours.

5.) Preheat oven to 315 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

6.) Take dough out of fridge and plastic wrap, and roll out onto a surface coated in powdered sugar. Coat rolling pin with powdered sugar as well, roll dough out into a 1/2 inch thickness. Add more powdered sugar if needed to avoid dough sticking to rolling pin.

7.) Press cookie cutter into dough, making sure to cut through dough fully. Transfer cookie dough pumpkins to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

8.) Bake cookies for about 6-7 minutes or until bottom of cookie is golden brown.

9.) Remove from oven and allow cookies to sit on baking pans for two minutes. Then, using a spatula, transfer to a cooling rack.

10.) In the meantime, prepare the glaze. (steps apply to both glazes) In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients except for food coloring. Once ingredients are smooth, add in the preferred food color.

11.) Glaze cookies with the orange frosting.

12.) Using a pastry bag with the #4 frosting tip, draw two pink triangle eyes, one small upside-down triangle nose below eyes, and a wide upside-down mouth below nose. Allow frosting to harden before traveling with them, I wouldn’t recommend stacking them.

Related:How to Make a Vegan Candy Corn Cake Even Haters Will Love

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