AIP Pumpkin Spice Sandwich Cookies
These AIP Pumpkin Spice Sandwich Cookies have a crispy spiced shortbread base with a delicious pumpkin spiced caramel filling. These AIP cookies are grain-free, dairy-free, and naturally sweetened, and they are AIP, paleo, and vegan. It is good for your belly and good for your soul.
Ingredients
Spiced Shortbread
- ½ Cup Cassava Flour
- ½ Cup Arrowroot Flour
- ¼ Cup Coconut Flour
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- ¼ Cup Palm Shortening
- 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
- 2 Tablespoons Coconut Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Coconut Milk
- 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
- ¼ Teaspoon Ginger
- ¼ Teaspoon Cloves
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
Pumpkin Spice Caramel Filling
- ½ Cup Coconut Milk (Full fat)
- ½ Cup Pumpkin Puree (Not pumpkin pie filling)
- ¼ Cup Maple Syrup
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- ¼ Teaspoon Cinnamon
Instructions
Cookie Dough
- Start by mixing the coconut oil and palm shortening together until smooth. There still may be some chunks.
- Next add in the coconut sugar and maple syrup into the oil. Stir this until nice and creamy and add in the coconut milk and vanilla and stir again.
- Mix the flours, salt, and spices together in a separate bowl. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet until it is completely mixed.
- Let the dough chill for about 30 minutes or longer. This is an important step! So don't skip it!
Pumpkin Spice Caramel
- While the dough chills add the pumpkin, maple, and coconut milk together. On Medium heat bring the pumpkin mixture to a boil in a saucepan.
- Once it starts boiling, bring down to a simmer and let simmer for about 10-12 minutes. Add the cinnamon, vanilla, and salt while the sauce simmers. The sauce will become thick and reduce by about half.
Assembling the Cookies
- When the dough has chilled, take out the dough and dust your dough with flour to prevent sticking and roll out the dough onto parchment paper.
- Cut the cookies out and bake at 350 F for 7-8 minutes. Turn the sheet half way through the baking cycle to ensure the cookies bake evenly.
- Once the cookies are baked wait about 10 minutes for them to cool before adding the caramel sauce to the cookies and dust with coconut sugar.
- Serve immediately for crispy cookies, or store in the refrigerator and serve later. Stores for about a week in the fridge.
Notes
Chilling the dough helps the cookies to have a crispy texture and it makes the dough easier to work with. When the dough is room temperature it may be a little sticky. If you want to skip the chilling step make sure to have plenty of tapioca or arrowroot flour on hand to dust the dough with. Also make sure to roll the dough out on parchment paper.
Rolling and cutting out the cookies are one of the easiest ways to ensure that the sandwich cookies will be the same size. If you don’t want to roll them out you can press them into discs onto the cookie sheet. Just make sure you flatten them to the thickness you want them since they don’t spread when they bake.
For best results, chill the dough for at least half an hour. When you roll the dough out, have arrowroot or tapioca flour for dusting your work surface and rolling pin. My cookies were about 1 ½ inches, but you can cut them smaller or use different cookie cutter shapes.
These are best fresh because after about a day they start to lose their crispiness. Make the day you want to serve them. If you make the dough ahead of time you may need to let it sit out and thaw a little bit before you use it as the oil will become solid when refrigerated. To store them, I recommend keeping them in the refrigerator in an airtight container so they will stay fresh!