Only 8 main ingredients to make these vegan black cocoa pumpkin cookies have a rich dark chocolate taste and are so rich, fudgy and decadent! They are also gluten-free, oil-free and really simple to make, as they are ready in 20 minutes. Due to their dark color, they are great for a Halloween dessert!
VEGAN BLACK COCOA COOKIES
These cookies are so easy to make and take just 20 minutes and 8 ingredients. I’m keeping up with my “cookie queen” title, as I’m back again with more vegan cookies after posting these macadamia nut cookies and these healthy vegan protein cookies!
If you are a fan of dark chocolate, then you are going to love these vegan black cocoa cookies with pumpkin. Black cocoa is what is used to give oreos their distinct chocolate flavor, that cannot be obtained from regular cocoa powder.
So, if you love the taste of oreos (not counting the cream part), then you will love these cookies!
Black cocoa powder is a dutch-processed cocoa powder, which means the acidity has been greatly neutralized with an alkaline solution. This is what gives it such a rich dark chocolate flavor and dark color. It tastes downright glorious. It is for people who truly love the taste of dark chocolate, which I do. I don’t like desserts that are labeled chocolate but that are so sweet and lack any true chocolate flavor.
For this reason, these cookies are really rich in dark chocolate flavor and not too sweet at all. They are perfect to me. I also find the extra dark color just beautiful.
For another recipe using black cocoa, check out this amazing pumpernickel bread.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
(Only 8 ingredients needed. Full details and measurements on the recipe card below.)
- Superfine oat flour
- Black cocoa powder: This recipe relies on black cocoa powder, so it is not suggested to use any other cocoa powder. I use this one and it is high quality and tastes incredible. It is a large bag and lasts a long time.
- Baking powder and salt
- Pumpkin puree
- Maple syrup or agave
- Runny creamy almond butter
- Dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN BLACK COCOA COOKIES
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a pan with parchment paper.
Step 2: Mix the dry ingredients and then add the wet. Stir until a thick, sticky batter forms.
Step 3: Form balls and place on the pan 2 inches apart. Flatten each cookie between 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.
Step 4: Sprinkle festive Halloween sprinkles on top of each cookie, if desired.
Step 5: Bake in 2 batches. Bake the first pan for 12 minutes. Cool 10-15 minutes before eating, to let them firm up.
MORE VEGAN COOKIE RECIPES
- Cashew Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Gluten-free Chocolate Cookies
- Crispy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 5 Ingredient Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 4 Ingredient Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
- Vegan Grain-free Chocolate Coconut Cookies
- Dark Chocolate Molasses Cookies
- Vegan Gluten-free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Vegan Black Cocoa Pumpkin Cookies
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons (48g) superfine oat flour
- 3 tablespoons (18g) black cocoa powder (I use this one, see post above why this cocoa is important)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder, NOT soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 cup (80g) pure maple syrup or agave
- 1/4 cup (60g) pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup (128g) runny almond butter
- 6 tablespoons (90g) dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips
- optional: Halloween festive sprinkles
NOTE
- Always use a scale for accuracy when baking, following MY gram weights listed. You never need cups, just the scale and bowl and make sure to zero out in between each ingredient.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (191°C) and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- To a large bowl, combine the oat flour, black cocoa, baking powder, and salt and whisk well.
- Add the syrup, pumpkin, almond butter, and chocolate chips. Stir until it all comes together into a sticky, thick batter.
- Use a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop or your hands and form 16 balls. The batter is sticky but easily rolls into balls.
- Place each ball about 2 inches apart on the pan (you will have to bake in 2 batches). Use your hands to flatten each ball between 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick, smoothing around the edges to form round shapes.
- Sprinkle festive Halloween sprinkles on top of each cookie, if desired.
- Bake the first batch for 12 minutes. They should be dry on the tops. They will be way too fragile to eat right away, so you must let them cool 10 minutes. Transfer to cool completely and firm up on a cooling rack.
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I made a double batch of these today, and they’re already half gone! So so good. I do have one question—do you think they’ll freeze well?
Thank you for sharing this recipe!!!
Yay Megan, I love that they were such a hit! Yes, they do freeze well! I like to put a couple on a plate and slightly warm them up.
This recipe is very flexible and forgiving! We made them for a Halloween potluck. I had to change some things based on ingredient availability where we live (delivery not an option either), and it still came out great. I used regular “dutch” cocoa (which I don’t usually use) and peanut butter, and we actually used slightly less peanut butter than called for because we ran out (we quadrupled the recipe). Next time I will try homemade runny date paste instead of the maple syrup. I’m sure the recipe is totally superior as originally written, but even our “sweded version” was very good and a hit with the kids!
These were really yummy! I used my King Arthur dark chocolate cocoa powder and added toasted pecans. Mine were smaller and every oven bakes differently so I baked mine at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. I ended up with at least 24 or more. I will be making them again soon!
That is so wonderful that these were a hit, Tommie!
My son loves these! What is the best way to store them? Do we need to keep them in the fridge?
So happy to hear this Leticia!! No, room temperature is best, as the fridge can dry them out. However, if you want them to last longer, you can keep them in the fridge and slightly warm them up in the microwave before eating. That is what I do!
We loved making and eating these cookies on Halloween! I made them with sunflower seed butter, as I was out of almond butter. I think I actually prefer the taste of the sunflower seed butter compared to other cookies I have made in the past with almond butter. I also used liquid allulose instead of maple syrup to reduce the calorie content of the cookies. We decorated them with some little Halloween sprinkle shapes when they came out of the oven. I think this will be one we will have to make a tradition for Halloween! I love the super dark color. Now to find more recipes to make with the dark cocoa 🙂 I love pumpkin, but for anyone that doesn’t like pumpkin, know these cookies do not taste like pumpkin.
Thank you so much Nina for this stellar review! I loved the pics of your son on Instagram! The cookies and he were adorable! Glad they were a hit!
Oh! And make my Pumpernickel bread to use the black cocoa…it is a very easy recipe and SO delicious! I will come up with a chocolate cake using the black cocoa…stay tuned!
Pumpernickel bread here: https://thevegan8.com/easy-oil-free-pumpernickel-bread/
Dark chocolate heaven in a cookie! So easy to make, and I love that there’s nut protein and pumpkin fiber in these beauties! Thanks, Brandi! 😋
I am so happy you loved these Colleen, thanks for sharing your pic on Instagram!
These look amazing! Do you provide nutrition info for your recipes, perhaps in your book?
Hi Christine, I try to when I can on my website. Lots of them have it, but sometimes I’m in a time crunch. I’ll try to add it this week. But, yes, my books have all nutrition info on the recipes!
Do you grind your oats to make the oat flour? Could almond flour be a substitute or no..
Hi Lisa, no I buy it from the store because it’s fine just like regular flour. I have ground my own oats before but can never get it as fine as commercial oat flour. No, almond flour won’t work here, that would make them too moist because of all the fat.