These vegan peanut butter cookies are the best cookies ever! Wonderfully crunchy and packed with peanut butter flavor. Quick and easy to make using everyday ingredients.
Oh YUM! Crunchy vegan peanut butter cookies!
If you love peanut butter as much as I do, then you want to put it in as many things as possible, and baking it into cookies is nothing but a very fine idea.
And these peanut butter cookies are simply divine.
And if you love peanut butter cookies then also check out our peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and our vegan peanut butter oatmeal cookies. You’ll also love our vegan almond butter cookies.
How To Make Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Add sugar and vegan butter to a mixer and beat them together until creamy. Add peanut butter and vanilla extract and mix in.
- In a separate bowl, add all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix in until crumbly. Mix by hand, don’t use your electric mixer for this part.
- Add soy milk and mix into a cookie dough.
- Roll the dough into balls, and then roll the balls in sugar and place them evenly onto a parchment lined baking tray.
- Flatten slightly with a fork.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden on top. They will be soft when they come out of the oven but will firm up as they cool.
Recipe Tips
Vegan butter can vary a lot by brand. Depending on the brand of vegan butter (and peanut butter) you use, you may need a little more non-dairy milk than the 1 Tbsp stated in the recipe OR you may not need to add any non-dairy milk at all. Firm stick versions of vegan butter have a lower water content than softer tub styles of vegan butter. And some peanut butter brands are oilier than others.
If you try to roll some of the cookie dough into a ball and it doesn’t want to stick together and just crumbles, then add 1 Tbsp non-dairy milk and try again to roll into a ball. If needed, add another 1 Tbsp non-dairy milk and so on. If you’re in any doubt, see our photo of the cookie dough (above) or watch the video to see the consistency that the cookie dough should be.
Bake for 10 minutes for a softer cookie. If you want a softer cookie then bake for 10 minutes. If you want it a little crunchier then bake for 12 minutes. For a really crunchy cookie, you can bake for 14-15 minutes. But keep a close eye on them so that they don’t burn.
Make them gluten-free. If you’d like these cookies to be gluten-free then simply use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend to replace the regular flour in these cookies. We’ve had great success doing this simple switch with our cookies to make them gluten-free.
Storing and Freezing
These cookies keep perfectly at room temperature for up to a week in an airtight container. You can also store them in an airtight container in the fridge.
They are also freezer friendly and baked cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months.
More Vegan Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Cookies
- Vegan Oatmeal Cookies
- Vegan Snickerdoodles
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Sugar Cookies
- Vegan Lemon Cookies
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup White Granulated Sugar (200g)
- ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
- 1 cup Smooth Salted Peanut Butter (250g)
- 1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 ½ cups All Purpose Flour (190g)
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 Tbsp Soy Milk or other non-dairy milk
For Rolling:
- ¼ cup White Granulated Sugar (50g)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Add the sugar and vegan butter to a mixer and beat them together until creamy. Add the peanut butter and vanilla extract and mix in.
- In a separate bowl, add the all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix in until crumbly. Mix by hand, don’t use your electric mixer for this part.
- Add the soy milk and mix into a cookie dough. (See notes)*
- Roll the dough into balls, and then roll the balls in sugar and place them evenly onto a parchment lined baking tray.
- Flatten slightly with a fork.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes* until golden on top. They will be soft when they come out of the oven but will firm up as they cool.
Video
Notes
- Depending on the brand of vegan butter and peanut butter you use, you may need a little more soy milk than the 1 Tbsp stated OR you might not need any added milk at all. If you try to roll some of the cookie dough into a ball and it doesn’t want to stick together and just crumbles, then add 1 Tbsp soy milk and try again to roll into a ball. If it’s still too crumbly then add another 1 Tbsp and try again. With certain brands of vegan butter I’ve tested (very hard stick variety), I’ve sometimes needed as much as 3 Tbsp of soy milk. And I’ve also made these cookies and not needed to add in any soy milk at all. Usually 1 Tbsp is sufficient. If you’re in any doubt, then see our process photos and/or watch the video to see the consistency that the cookie dough should be.
- If you want a softer cookie then bake for 10 minutes. If you want it a little crunchier then bake for 12 minutes. For a really crunchy cookie, you can bake for 14-15 minutes. But keep a close eye on them so that they don’t burn.
- Make them gluten-free. If you’d like these cookies to be gluten-free then simply use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend to replace the regular flour in these cookies. We’ve had great success doing this simple switch with our cookies to make them gluten-free.
- Storing: Keep your cookies stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days. They can also be stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
- This recipe was first published in June 2016.
Alison says
I’m going to make these tomorrow! Do you think chunky peanut butter could be used to add a little crunch?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Alison, I haven’t tried that, but it should be fine! Let us know how it goes! 🙂
Bonnie says
I made this recipe with peanut butter oil instead of vegan margarine. Texture was fine for rolling balls with this change. Also healthier as it will have less saturated fat.
Lulu says
Yum yum! This is Lulu!
Alison Andrews says
Hello my gorgeous niece! So glad you liked the cookies! 🙂
Anna Andrews says
Easy recipe, I made with my granddaughter! As I used salted peanut butter, I think I should have used a little less salt, but nevertheless a hit.
Alison Andrews says
Glad it was a hit! I usually use salted peanut butter as well, and don’t find it too salty, but definitely adjust next time as you prefer it! 🙂
Sophia says
Hey I was wondering if you could help me figure out what went wrong with these cookies when I made them. I did a half recipe because I didn’t really need to have 22 cookies just for me and my mum to eat them in one sitting haha 🙂 and I used coconut oil instead of vegan butter. When i was rolling them, they were very soft and would come together but not into balls, more like patties and so I didn’t add any soymilk. I took them out of the oven after 15 minutes and let them cool but they were a weird powdery consistency. They tasted good but the texture was weird and I know that I must have done something wrong. They also didn’t get as flat or cracked as yours 🙁 what could i have done wrong? I really want to try them again. Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Sophia, I would really just try the recipe exactly as written without adjustments, halving or increasing the recipe and substituting ingredients are always risks to the outcome. Some people have commented on other cookie recipes that they have switched coconut oil for vegan butter but this isn’t something I would recommend at the outset because I have not tested the recipe like that at all.
Alex says
Im in love with these and ive made them multiple times! Works perfect always. My boyfriend thinks they are too sugary however ): he isnt a huge fan of sweets except cookies, but is still picky. Makes him hard to spoil! If you have any low sugar recipies please let me know! Hes a huge fan of peanut butter and chocolate combos
Alison Andrews says
Hi Alex, I’m not really one for the low sugar recipes, hahaha, but I have had people comment on various recipes that they reduced the sugar without making any other changes, so you could definitely try that! We have quite a few peanut butter and chocolate combos on the site (use the search bar – on the menu if you’re on mobile or top right on desktop – to find them). Thanks for posting and your great review! 🙂
Wendy Capezio says
Fantastic! I loved these. Thank you. Cant wait to try some more of your recipes.
Alison Andrews says
So glad you loved them! Thanks so much for posting! 🙂
Fenix says
I really liked the cookies, but I left out the part about rolling them in sugar. I felt like they were already sweet enough. Next time I’m making them I am definitely using less sugar (I dont know, maybe my peanut butter was sweet or I just like them less sweet) The recipe worked great otherwise, thank you ?
Alison Andrews says
Awesome Fenix, definitely adjust them to your tastes, glad you liked the recipe! 🙂
Nancy Cicierega says
Delicious but mine completely fell apart when cooked . I don’t know where I went wrong.☹️
Alison Andrews says
Did you use a different flour other than all purpose?
Lauren says
These cookies are awesome! I’ve made them before, but today I took them to my family’s Easter Dinner, and they were a hit. My family isn’t vegan, but they didn’t believe these cookies were vegan because they were so good lol.
Alison Andrews says
Oh that’s wonderful! Always so much fun when that happens! Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
Ambrose says
WOW! I’m not vegan so I made these using nutella instead of peanut butter and rolled them in desiccated coconut. They were incredible, thanks.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Glad to hear! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Val says
Great recipe 🙂 super simple, really enjoyed the cookies! Also very thankful that the measurments in gramme worked out
Alison Andrews says
Awesome Val! Yes, weighing things out is the most accurate way to do it! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Carolyn says
These were great!
Alison Andrews says
Yay! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Deborah says
These are the peanut butter cookies I’ve been looking for!!!
I had tried many, many recipes but these are the winners. Perfect taste, consistency and super easy to make. I used brown rice and oat flour for gluten free?
Thank you a ton~
Alison Andrews says
Yay! So happy to hear! Thanks for posting! 🙂
Valencia Lim says
Hi Alison
Can i switch vegan butter to coconut oil?because at my country there’s no have sold any vegan butter…
Thx for the great recipe!!
Love it…
Alison Andrews says
Hi Valencia, I haven’t tried it myself with coconut oil, but on other cookie recipes people have commented that they made the switch and it turned out great so it’s definitely worth a try! All the best and let us know how it goes!
Karen says
Can’t wait to make these with my little girl