These Jack O’Lantern Pumpkin Cookies are filled with rich, dark chocolate and packed with all the fall spices. They are easy and fun to make and are a perfect way to celebrate Halloween!

I grabbed all the Halloween treat bags and our orange trick-or-treat pumpkin pails downstairs in our basement and rushed back upstairs.

We weren’t huge Halloween celebrators, but every year the day before Halloween, my mom would let me fill one of the large plastic bowls from our kitchen with mini trick or treat bags we got on sale from the previous years after I finished all of my homework. Even though there weren’t a lot of trick or treaters in my neighborhood I still had so much fun filling those mini paper treat bags with the bags of candies we purchased earlier.

I would sit in a corner of our entryway, picking out the candy bars I didn’t like and put them in either one of the purple spiders, jack o’lantern, or ghost treat bags and saving the ones I liked in a separate bag which were mainly Twixes, Snickers, or Reese’s. I’m the type who likes to fill the bag all the way to the top and hand out as much candy as I can. By the time I was done, the large bowl my mom gave me to put the mini bags in would be filled and the bags themselves could hardly be folded because of all the candy in them.

On the day of Halloween, my mom would bring my siblings and I early to our local mall to go trick or treating. We don’t dress up crazily but I remember how excited and happy I was seeing my jack o’lantern pail be filled with candy. After we get home, I would wait for any of the neighborhood kids to come by, peaking at all of our windows.

When some kids begin to come by, I would get so excited, holding the bowl of candy and wishing I could give a couple of treat bags to the kids, wanting the bowl to be emptied. That was my favorite part about Halloween, seeing how happy the kids were when I dropped the treat bags into their pumpkin pails.

Even though I don’t go trick or treating anymore, I love thinking back to those memories, knowing how much happiness and joy sweets can bring into someone’s life. If you celebrate Halloween, what is your favorite part about it?

Since I wouldn’t be trick or treating this year, I still wanted to celebrate Halloween with some fun treats you can make at home which lead me to these Jack O’Lantern Pumpkin Cookies. The cookies themselves taste like soft shortbread cookies but they are filled with a dark chocolate filling, making them even tastier. I think you would agree too that chocolate makes everything better.

Although I made them in the shape of a Jack O’Lantern, feel free to use any other cookie cutters you want. If they are smaller, be sure to watch out for the baking time, reducing it as needed, so that you will not burn the cookies.

Well, let’s get started making these cookies!

Here is an overview of these Vegan Chocolate Jack O’Lantern Pumpkin Cookies.

Ingredients
Flour: I used regular all-purpose flour but you can also make them gluten-free with 1:1 gluten-free flour. I recommend using Bob’s Red Mill’s 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour, the one in a blue bag.

Sugar: To make these cookies refined-sugar-free, substitute the sugars with coconut sugar.

Arrowroot Powder: If you do not have arrowroot powder on hand, you can substitute it with equal amounts of cornstarch or tapioca starch.

Cinnamon Sugar Mixture: This is the topping for the cookies and gives them an extra punch to the flavor and texture. You can also leave it out, but I highly recommend having it!

Pumpkin Puree: I used canned pumpkin puree from the 365 brand at Whole Foods. You can use any other brands of canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie!) or make your own! If you find that your pumpkin puree is too liquidy, strain the pumpkin puree before using it. This may happen if you make your own pumpkin puree or in organic canned pumpkin puree.

Tips
Can I make these cookies gluten-free?
You can substitute the flour with gluten-free flour!

How do I store these Jack O’Lantern Pumpkin Cookies?
If you have any leftovers, store the cookies in an airtight container. You can also freeze them by letting the cookies cool completely before transferring them to an airtight container and placing it in your freezer. When you want to eat them, simply let them thaw at room temperature.

Can I make these cookies refined sugar-free?
Yes! You can substitute the sugars with coconut sugar instead! Please note, the color of the cookies may be darker.

If you like these Baked Vegan Chocolate Jack O’Lantern Pumpkin Cookies, you might also like:
Vegan Lemon Curd Cookies
Vegan Chinese Almond Cookies
Vegan Walnut Chocolate Chip Cassava Cookies

I cannot wait for you to make these Vegan Chocolate Jack O’Lantern Pumpkin Cookies! If you do, please tag me on Instagram @_withhelen or leave a comment below letting me know how you like them! Enjoy!

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