These are the best peanut butter cookies ever, and they just happen to be vegan! These cookies are perfectly sweet, chewy, and packed with peanut-buttery flavor. They're easy to make and perfect for dunking in a big glass of almond milk!
Peanut butter cookies were always a favorite of mine growing up. Pretty much any peanut butter dessert was a favorite, which is why I have so many peanut buttery vegan treats, from my vegan peanut butter pie to my vegan peanut butter bars to my vegan peanut butter Kandy Kake.
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So, why'd it take me so long to create a recipe for classic vegan peanut butter cookies? Because I have super high standards! They had to be perfect, and finally I came up with a recipe that is. These babies are sweet and rich and chewy — everything a peanut butter cookie needs to be!
Tip: Do you like to like your peanut butter treats with some chocolate? Try my vegan peanut butter blossoms!
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Non-dairy milk. Just about any variety will work...soy, almond, or oat would all be good choices. Whatever you use, make sure it's unsweetened and unflavored. Read my guide to dairy-free milk if you need help choosing one.
- Ground flaxseed. We'll be combining this with the non-dairy milk to make a flax egg, which is an excellent vegan egg substitute for baking.
- Vegan butter. You should be able to find this in the refrigerated section of your grocery store, right near the regular butter. Look for brands like Earth balance or Miyoko's.
- Organic sugar. Using organic sugar ensures that the recipe stays vegan. Conventional sugar is often bleached using animal bone char.
- Organic brown sugar. Same goes for brown sugar. Use organic.
- Vanilla extract.
- Peanut butter. Normally I'm all about natural peanut butter, but for these cookies, regular old peanut butter works much better. Make sure it's creamy (not chunky).
- Flour. We're using all-purpose wheat flour. Other types might work, but I can't guarantee it.
- Baking powder.
- Baking soda.
- Salt.
How They're Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make vegan peanut butter cookies. Scroll down if you'd prefer to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Make your flax egg by stirring non-dairy milk and ground flaxseeds together in a small container. Let them sit for a few minutes.
Step 2: Beat the butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla together in a large bowl. Beat the ingredients just until they're combined.
Step 3: Now add your flax egg to the bowl. Beat it in briefly, just until the ingredients are combined.
Step 4: Add the peanut butter. Beat everything together for a full minute, until the mixture is nice and fluffy.
Step 5: Start beating in the flour. Sprinkle in about a third of the flour at a time, and beat each addition in at low speed before adding more. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the last bit of flour before beating it in.
Step 6: Cover the bowl and chill the dough for an hour. Make sure it has firmed up but not gotten too hard when you take it out of the fridge.
Step 7: Preheat your oven and line some baking sheets with parchment paper.
Step 8: Once the dough is finished chilling, take it out of the fridge and roll it into balls. A cookie scoop isn't required, but it's a great tool for getting nice round, consistently-sized dough balls. Place each ball on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, then use a fork to flatten them, creating that classic peanut butter cookie grid.
Variation: If you'd like, you can roll each dough ball in sugar before placing it on the baking sheet. This will give the cookies a sweet, sparkly coating!
Step 9: Pop the baking sheets into the oven and bake the cookies until they're set.
Your vegan peanut butter cookies are done! Be sure to let them cool for at least a few minutes on cooling racks while still on the baking sheets.
Shelf-Life & Storage
Vegan peanut butter cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for about five days, or in the freezer for about three months.
Frequently Asked Questions
I haven't tried making them gluten-free. If you'd like to give it a try, I recommend directly substituting an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend.
Peanut butter cookies don't spread out that much when they're baked, so we flatten them with a fork to help the process along.
You can, but the cookies will end up more soft and fluffy, rather than chewy like classic peanut butter cookies normally are.
No worries! Just leave it sit out for a bit before shaping the cookies. You want the dough to be just slightly firm. It can take anywhere from a few minutes to half hour out of the fridge for it to get there.
More Vegan Cookies
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📖 Recipe
The Best Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- ½ cup vegan butter, room temperature
- ½ cup organic granulated sugar,
- ½ cup organic brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter (not natural peanut butter)
- 1 â…“ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Stir the milk and ground flaxseed together in a small bowl. Set the mixture aside for at least five minutes, to give the seeds time to gel.
- While the flax mixture sits, beat the butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla together in a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer at high-speed and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat the ingredients just until combined, about thirty seconds.
- Add the flax egg to the bowl, then beat it into the butter mixture, just until combined.
- Add the peanut butter to the bowl, then beat it in for about one minute, until the mixture is creamy. Continue scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Turn the mixer down to low speed and begin adding the flour in increments, beating in about a third at a time. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the last addition of flour before beating it in. Stop beating the mixture once the ingredients are fully combined and a fluffy dough is formed.
- Cover the bowl and chill the dough for one hour, until it has firmed slightly, but isn't yet rock hard.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Make each cookie using one heaping tablespoon of dough and rolling it into a ball. Arrange the dough balls on the baking sheets, leaving at least an inch and a half between cookies. Flatten each dough ball with a fork by first pressing the back of the fork into one of the dough balls, then rotating the fork 90 degrees and pressing again, to create a grid.
- Place the baking sheets into the oven and bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, until just barely set.
- Transfer the baking sheets to cooling racks. After about five minutes you can remove the cookies from the baking sheets and transfer them directly to the cooling racks. The cookies will continue to set as they cool.
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Absolutely wonderful..
Alissa,
You're doing excellent.
I'm your fan Azmat from Pakistan.
Are these similar to peanut butter blossom cookies?
They are! I'd say these are a tiny bit less dense than peanut butter blossoms, which I also have a recipe for if you're searching for one: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/vegan-peanut-butter-blossoms/
Thanks so much!