Easy Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

These vegan peanut butter cookies are soft, chewy, perfectly sweet, and easy to make. They're ready in just 30 minutes and require only 9 ingredients.

This version is healthier than the original one, as it's dairy-free and also egg-free. In addition, they work as the perfect snack to offer when you have guests at home and I promise you everyone will love them!

December is the month of cookie baking, and also making cookies at Christmas is one of my favorite traditions, but I make these cookies all year long as they're melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

These cookies along with my vegan chocolate chip cookies, vegan sugar cookies, and vegan gingerbread cookies are perfect for filling a cookie box with and gifting to a loved one, or just to enjoy by yourself!

🧾 Ingredients

• Flax egg: make your own just using ground flaxseed and water. I guess you could also use any egg replacer, but I haven't tried it myself.
• Vegan butter: homemade or store-bought.
• Peanut butter: smooth or crunchy, both will work. I always use smooth, though.
• Granulated sugar.
• Vanilla extract: homemade or store-bought. You could omit it if you can't find it, but it will make your cookies taste even better.
• All-purpose flour.
• Baking powder.
• Baking soda.
• Salt: I used ionized salt, but any salt will do. If your peanut butter is salted, you may want to omit this ingredient.

See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

🔪 Instructions

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350ºF or 180ºC and prepare the flax egg by mixing the ground flaxseed with the water, and let the mixture rest at room temperature for at least 5 minutes.

Step 2: Add the vegan butter, peanut butter, sugar, and vanilla extract to a large bowl and beat until light and fluffy using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.

Step 3: Add the vanilla and flax egg and beat on low speed until just incorporated.

Step 4: Combine the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl (baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flour).

Step 5: Incorporate the dry ingredients and beat on low speed until combined. If the dough is tough to stir, using your hands to mix it together will be easier.

Step 6: I used a cookie scoop to make the cookies, but feel free to use a regular spoon or even your hands. Fill the scoop with dough and just press and release onto a lined baking sheet.

Step 7: Roll the dough into balls, then roll the balls in sugar and place them evenly onto the baking sheet, about 2 inches apart (about 5 cm).

Step 8: Using the back of a fork, flatten in a crisscross pattern.

Step 9: Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the cookies are very lightly golden brown (I baked my cookies for 12 minutes). They will be soft when they come out of the oven but will firm up as they cool.

Step 10: Remove from the oven and cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

📋 Substitutions & variations

• Use vegan butter for the best results, but if you can't find it, just use more peanut butter instead, or even coconut oil.
• Peanut butter can be replaced with almond butter, cashew butter, or any nut butter.
• If you can't eat nuts, you could try to use any seed butter, or even coconut butter instead.
• Other types of sugar will work just fine, like brown, coconut, or cane sugar. Make sure the sugar you’re using is vegan, though.
• I’ve only made this recipe using all-purpose flour, but I think it could work if you use another type. However, you may need to add more or less.
• Use my gluten-free flour blend if you're gluten-free.
• There are so many add-ins you can incorporate into your cookies like chocolate chips, raisins, dried cranberries, coconut flakes, etc.

🍽 Equipment

To make this recipe you'll need:

• Measuring tablespoons and measuring cups (or a scale) to weigh your ingredients.
• A small bowl and a teaspoon to make the flax egg.
• I used my stand mixer, but you can also use a large bowl and a hand mixer, or a wooden spoon.
• A medium bowl where you're going to combine the dry ingredients. You could add them directly into the wet ingredient mixture, but it's better to combine them in a separate bowl.
• A cookie scoop to make your cookies, although you could also use your hands.
• A small bowl to place the sugar where you're going to roll your cookies. This is optional, as you don't have to roll your cookies if you don't want to.
• A fork to flatten your cookies in a crisscross pattern. This is also optional, but it will make your cookies look better.
• A lined baking sheet.
• A cooling rack to cool your cookies. This is optional as well, you could transfer them to a dish, but use a cooling rack if you want.

❄️ Storage

• At room temperature: store them in an airtight container at room temperature for about 1 week.
• Refrigerator: store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
• Freezer: store them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• Tip: make sure the cookies are completely cool before storing them.

💭 Expert tips

• Do not over-mix the dough, otherwise, it will be prone to spreading.
• Rolling the dough into the sugar is optional, but I personally believe the cookies taste better this way.
• Avoid dipping the fork in flour when making the crisscross pattern, dip the fork in sugar between pressing the cookie to keep them from sticking if necessary.
• Bake for 10 minutes for softer cookies, 12 minutes for crunchier cookies, and 14-15 minutes for really crunchy cookies.
• Be careful so that they don’t burn as the baking time may vary depending on the oven you're using.
• This recipe can easily be cut in half, or doubled, or even tripled.
• Let the cookies cool before eating as they'll be very soft and puffy when you take them out of the oven.

❓Recipe FAQs

🍪 More vegan cookie recipes

⭐️ Did you like these vegan peanut butter cookies? Please consider giving them a 5-star rating and comment below!