Copycat Vegan Pillsbury Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup vegan butter (room temperature)
• 2 cups organic powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 0.5 tsp baking powder
• 0.25 tsp sea salt
• 2.5 cups all-purpose flour (The source marks this ingredient with an asterisk but provides no accompanying note here.)
• vegan orange food coloring (2–3 pea-sized drops; adjust to preference)
• vegan green food coloring (1–2 drops; adjust to preference)
• 1 tbsp aquafaba (Optional; for helping the pumpkin pieces stick together)

Steps

1. 1

   Measure out all ingredients except the food coloring. Read through the instructions before beginning.

2. 2

   In a large bowl, whisk or use a hand mixer to cream the room-temperature vegan butter until fluffy, about 1–2 minutes.

3. 3

   Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, baking powder, and sea salt to the bowl. Mix until well combined; the mixture should resemble buttercream frosting.

4. 4

   Add the flour. Mix on low speed with a hand mixer, or fold it in with a silicone spatula, until the dough comes together. The flour may take some effort to incorporate.

5. 5

   Divide the dough into thirds. Divide one third into three sections; set aside one of those smaller sections for the green coloring and divide the rest of that third for the orange coloring. Leave roughly two thirds of the full batch in the large bowl for the vanilla dough.

6. 6

   Add the vegan orange food coloring to the dough portion reserved for orange. Wearing food-safe gloves, knead the color into the dough until evenly distributed, adjusting the color to your preference.

7. 7

   Add the vegan green food coloring to the small dough portion reserved for green. Wearing food-safe gloves, knead the color into the dough until evenly distributed, adjusting the color to your preference.

8. 8

   Wrap the vanilla, orange, and green dough separately in plastic wrap, shaping each into a disc. Freeze for at least 10 minutes to make the dough easier to handle.

9. 9

   Remove the dough from the freezer and leave the vanilla portion at room temperature. Shape the orange dough into a long, semi-flat log about 12 inches long, 1/2 inch wide, and 1 1/4 inches high. Smooth the top with a rolling pin.

10. 10

    Shape the green dough into a log about 10–12 inches long, 1/2 inch thick, and 1/4–1/2 inch high. Line it up along the orange log to form the pumpkin stems. If desired, brush a little aquafaba onto the adjoining surfaces to help them stick.

11. 11

    Using a 1.5-inch pumpkin cookie cutter, cut pumpkin shapes along the orange-and-green log, aligning each stem with the green dough. Stack the cutouts together, either upright or lengthwise, keeping the shapes and stems aligned. Reform scraps into smaller orange-and-green logs and cut more shapes; use scraps to fill gaps where needed.

12. 12

    Once the dough is used up, carefully wrap the assembled pumpkin-cookie log in plastic wrap. Freeze for 20 minutes so the shapes set together.

13. 13

    Lay the vanilla dough’s plastic wrap flat and roll the dough into a rectangle about 12 inches long and 4–5 inches wide. Use another piece of plastic wrap on top if helpful, then remove and discard the top piece.

14. 14

    Remove the pumpkin log from the freezer and place it lengthwise in the middle of the rolled vanilla dough. Lift the sides of the vanilla dough around it to check where they overlap.

15. 15

    With a sharp knife, trim the overlapping vanilla dough. Roll the trimmed pieces into two long logs, place one beside each side of the pumpkin stems, and press them into place to help maintain the stems’ shape.

16. 16

    Wrap the vanilla dough around the pumpkin log, gently rolling so it presses against and encloses the pumpkin shapes. Wrap the finished log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight.

17. 17

    Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

18. 18

    Remove the chilled dough log from the refrigerator and slice it into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Arrange the slices on the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.

19. 19

    Bake for 12–14 minutes, until the edges are slightly golden. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool for 5–10 minutes before enjoying.

20. 20

    Serve the cookies. Store leftover unbaked dough, well wrapped, in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Notes

The structured data gives an invalid prep-time value, so prep and total times are estimated from the stated chilling, shaping, and baking schedule. The excerpt mentions an alternate no-equipment shaping method, but its details are incomplete; the steps above follow the structured instructions. Leftover unbaked dough keeps well wrapped for up to 2 weeks refrigerated or 3 months frozen.

Nutrition per serving

• dessert
• vegan
• dairy-free
• egg-free
• slice-and-bake
• baked
• holiday
• fall