Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

Few things are more comforting than a plate of warm, freshly baked cookies right out of the oven. These vegan peanut butter cookies are especially noteworthy as they’re made without butter or eggs yet have a perfectly chewy, dense texture thanks to creamy peanut butter and two types of sugar: granulated and brown. Although the cookies may seem too gooey right while still hot, letting them sit for just a few minutes is all they need to firm up to the appropriate consistency. Pair this vegan peanut butter cookie recipe with a glass of cold plant-based milk to wash down every bite.

Ingredients for Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

Sheri Silver for Taste of Home

• Creamy peanut butter: The peanut butter in this recipe acts as the binding agent, replacing the usual eggs and butter in most cookie recipes. Due to the high fat content of peanut butter, these vegan cookies are just as tender as any other traditional chewy cookie recipe. Opt for unsalted peanut butter to prevent overly salty cookies.
• Granulated sugar and brown sugar: The combination of granulated and brown sugar gives these cookies the right amount of sweetness. The dark, molasses-rich brown sugar adds warmth to the peanut butter dough, while the granulated sugar makes it nice and sweet.
• Vanilla extract: Peanut butter has a strong flavor, which is why this recipe calls for an entire tablespoon of vanilla extract to ensure vanilla’s subtler flavors can still shine through.
• Unsweetened almond milk: Almond milk helps hydrate and bind the wet and dry ingredients. Opt for unsweetened almond milk for a more balanced flavor.
• All-purpose flour: This cookie recipe wouldn’t be complete without the flour to bind the ingredients together. When combining the wet and dry ingredients, work in small batches to ensure the cookie dough remains lump-free.
• Baking soda and baking powder: These two ingredients act as leavening agents for the cookies to maintain their fluffy structure and rise while baking.

Directions

Step 1: Make the dough

Sheri Silver for Taste of Home

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, cream the peanut butter, sugars and vanilla until light and fluffy, for about five to seven minutes. Beat in the almond milk. In another bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; gradually beat into the creamed mixture.

Step 2: Bake the cookies

Sheri Silver for Taste of Home

Shape level tablespoonfuls into balls. Place them 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets; flatten them with a fork. Bake them until set, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on the pan for five minutes before removing them to wire racks to cool completely.

Editor’s Tip: It’s very important to let the cookies rest once they’re out of the oven. Since they don’t contain butter or eggs, they need a little time to firm up. If you remove them from the pan too early, they’ll crumble.

Sheri Silver for Taste of Home

Vegan Peanut Butter Cookie Variations

• Make them crunchy: For added texture, use chunky peanut butter or add 1/4 cup of crushed peanuts to the dough.
• Add spices: For a warmer, deeper flavor, scent the cookie dough with aromatic spices such as cinnamon or clove.
• Add mix-ins: Add the toppings of your choice, such as chocolate chips or crushed pretzels into the dough before rolling into balls for even more fun flavor.
• Make a crosshatch design: Use fork tines to flatten the tops of each cookie dough ball, alternating directions to form a crisscross or crosshatch pattern.

How to Store Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

Allow the cookies to cool before storing them in an airtight container at room temperature for two to three weeks.

Can you freeze vegan peanut butter cookies?

We suggest freezing the raw cookie dough tightly wrapped or in an airtight container for 8 to 12 months.

Vegan Peanut Butter Cookie Tips

Sheri Silver for Taste of Home

What do vegan cookies use instead of butter?

This vegan peanut butter cookie recipe uses creamy peanut butter in place of regular butter for a vegan approach. The high fat content in peanut butter helps add the necessary richness to bind the wet and dry ingredients to form the cookie dough.

Why are my peanut butter cookies always hard?

To prevent overly dense peanut butter cookies—vegan or not—it’s important to avoid overmixing the dough, which can cause gluten to form, resulting in denser cookies. Additionally, adding too much sugar can also cause the cookies to solidify even more as they cool.

Why do homemade peanut butter cookies fall apart?

If your vegan peanut butter cookies are too crumbly, it could mean they were cooked for too long and became overly dry, or they weren’t cooled for long enough. This vegan peanut butter cookie recipe, in particular, requires a few minutes to cool to ensure the cookie has enough time to set so it won’t fall apart once picked up.