Gluten-free, Sugar-free Pumpkin Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies
These pumpkin-packed cookies use almond flour and sugar-free caramels to create a healthy alternative dessert for your holiday table.
Ingredients
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 2 cups superfine almond flour
- 1/4 cup Monkfruit golden sweetener* or substitute your favorite brown sugar replacement
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder a double-acting powder is best
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 2/3 cup pumpkin puree 100% puree, canned
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1.5 tsp maple extract** optional but recommended
- 1/4 cup salted butter melted
- 1/2 cup Lily's semi-sweet chocolate chips*** or substitute your favorite sugar-free chocolate chip brand
- 2 tbsp butter melted, on the side for pressing the cookies
Caramel Sauce Topping
- 7 pieces Tom & Jenny's chocolate caramels****
- 4 tbsp salted butter
- 1/4 cup heavy cream more as necessary for your desired consistency
- 1 pinch course salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients together (almond flour, monk fruit sweetener, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and coconut flour) and mix thoroughly.
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together all of the wet ingredients (pumpkin puree, egg, vanilla extract, maple extract, and the 4 tbsp of melted butter) using an electric mixer to ensure all ingredients are blended well.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the large bowl with the dry ingredients and mix with an electric mixer until the dough forms.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Using either a cookie scoop or your hands, scoop about 2-3 tablespoons of the dough at a time and roll into a ball. Place dough balls spread out on the two cookie sheets so they have plenty of room to bake evenly.
- Using the back of a spoon, dip the spoon into the reserved 2 tbsp of melted butter to grease and flatten each rolled ball down into a cookie shape. If the spoon starts to stick, rinse and re-grease before continuing.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cookies are golden brown, rotating the cookie sheets halfway through baking to make sure they bake evenly.
- While cookies are cooling, add all ingredients for the caramel sauce EXCEPT the salt to a small frying pan and slowly heat on medium-low heat.
- You will want to stir around the caramels as they melt. Once they are nearly fully melted, you'll want to go between having the pan on the burner for 30 seconds, and off the burner for 30 seconds as you stir continuously.
- At this time, check the consistency for your sauce. It should run off a spoon easily. If not, add more cream and stir again until well incorporated.
- Working quickly, drizzle the caramel onto each cookie in a zig-zag pattern. If the caramel starts to harden, add a bit more cream and place back on the burner, stirring until the sauce has softened a bit.
- Enjoy immediately or store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to five days. Bon appetit!
Notes
* — We recommend the Lakanto golden monk fruit sweetener for this recipe. Alternatively, you can use your favorite brown sugar replacement.
** — A few of you have mentioned having a hard time finding maple extract in your local grocery stores. You can purchase it on Amazon here!
*** — Lily's Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips are also available on Amazon and work really well in this pumpkin cookie recipe. You can substitute your favorite sugar-free chocolate chips instead.
**** — We use Tom & Jenny's sugar-free chocolate caramels for the sauce. You'll note that these do have a maltitol in the ingredients that makes them a bit higher on the glycemic index, so please keep in mind when making this. You can substitute a different sugar-free caramel brand if you prefer.