Cream Cheese Stuffed Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Cookies (The Best!)

Sweet, soft, chewy, cinnamony—this cream cheese stuffed pumpkin cinnamon roll cookie is a celebration of everything I love about baking. It’s also gluten-free, vegan-adjustable, full of fiber and 2021% indulgent.

By now, you know I’m madly in love with pumpkins and squashes. I just can’t wait for fall to put together seasonal sweet and savory treats with the stuff!

Pumpkin is particularly seasonal; it tastes like get-togethers with friends and family during the holidays, especially when paired with the warm scents of cinnamon. And as much as I love making pumpkin pie, I try not to cook the same thing twice, and that goes for the family classics as well.

This means this year, I thought I’d use the good-old canned pumpkin purée differently and discovered it makes the most heartwarming cinnamon roll cookies ever. Now, stuffed with unctuous cream cheese, I knew I had a winner and rushed to my laptop to share this recipe with you! Yes, I’m eating one right now, so excuse the crumbs.

Before we head on to the details, let me remind you that these pumpkin cinnamon roll cookies are 100% gluten-free, and you’ll find vegan substitutions below. Here’s a final warning, these cookies are a beauty! But they’re as tasty as they are pretty, so dig in!

Ingredients used to make these

_{**I've linked some of these ingredients to amazon.com to give you an idea of what they are, but you should be able to find them in your local grocery store (usually, the natural & organic food section). They are also affiliate links, which means that I earn a commission as an Amazon Associate if you decide to purchase the items. The price will be the same to you, link or no link 🙂}

• Almond flour – I used blanched almond flour
• Coconut flour – coconut flour does not substitute well, and I can’t recommend swapping coconut flour with other ingredients unless you absolutely had to (2 Tbsp coconut flour = ½ cup almond flour). Unfortunately, you probably won’t get the same texture or mouthfeel as the original recipe.
• Pumpkin puree - I used canned pumpkin puree
• Eggs – I used regular large eggs, but to make this recipe without eggs you can also mix 1 Tbsp ground flaxseeds + 1 Tbsp water and use it instead of the 1 egg. If you don't have flaxseed, an additional 2 Tbsp pumpkin puree also works.
• Salt – Pink Himalayan salt is what I have at home, so it’s what I use, but you can use any kind for this recipe. Since I use only a small amount, the conversion (between kosher and fine salt, for example) isn’t necessary.
• Coconut Sugar – You can use any granulated sugar for this recipe. Coconut, date and maple sugars are less processed sugars I would recommend. Honey and maple syrup should also work, but I have not yet tried. For keto options, you could also use stevia (but be sure to convert according to package instructions). I also put a range on the amount you could use (3 to 5 Tablespoons) because I personally prefer desserts that aren’t overwhelmingly sweet. I would say 3 Tbsp is subtly sweet, 4 Tbsp is sweet enough, and 5 Tbsp is sweet.
• Cream cheese – I've tried using both dairy and vegan cream cheese made from almond milk, and both turn out delicious.

More Recipes that Use Pumpkin

Recipe Variations and Optional Add Ins:

• You can add replace the coconut sugar with molasses and add ½ tsp of gingerbread spice instead of the pumpkin pie spice to make these cookies gingerbread flavored!
• There are so many different ways you can flavor the cream cheese filling. Here are some ideas of flavorings you could add to the cream cheese in addition to the stevia called for in the recipe:
  • 1 tsp of cinnamon, or
  • 2 Tbsp almond butter, or
  • 1 tsp fresh or dried orange zest,
  • or my personal favorite—1 tsp of powdered instant coffee!

How to make these cookies

How to Store

Because of the cream cheese, I wouldn’t recommend storing this cookie in room temperature for more than a day. Store it in the refrigerator up to 5 days, or freeze them up to 4 months. When you’re ready to eat, you can defrost overnight in the fridge or at room temperature.

Final Tips

• Baking time will vary based on how thin or wide you make your cookies. Bake the cookies until the tops are dry and the bottom of the cookies are golden-brown
• Sometimes I like to drop a dollop of cream cheese onto a parchement paper then freeze 30 minutes or more before stuffing into the cookie. That way there's less mess when stuffing the cookie (see how I can hold the cream cheese between my fingers?)

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