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.
Joanna says
These are the best peanut butter cookies I’ve made! They’re soft and crumbly and have a delicious flavour. I halved the recipe the second time I made them, as it really does make a lot, but I’ll definitely be making them again.
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful to hear that Joanna! Thanks for the awesome review. 🙂
Kim says
Currently, my favorite cookie recipe. I sub almond meal/almond flour and the result is an extra tender and very crumbly shortbread cookie. Next, I’ll try baking this as a pie crust.
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful! So glad it works well with almond flour too. Thanks so much for sharing and the awesome rating! 🙂
Liz says
This recipe is Wonderful!!! Our cookies turned out so beautiful. We ended up needing to use 3 tbsp of non-dairy milk, I just used coconut creamer but after that they stuck together beautifully and have wonderful consistency. Thank you so much!
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear that Liz! Thanks so much for the awesome rating! 🙂
Nbluto says
I just made these and they came out amazing! Thank you!
Audrey says
Best peanut butter cookies that I have ever made. Thank you so much!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks Audrey! xo
Sophie says
Made these for a potluck at work and everyone loved them! I will keep this recipe! Thanks so much ! 🙂
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! So glad they were enjoyed! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Sarah says
Thank You for this recipe!
I used Biona Coconut Bliss coconut butter instead of vegan butter plus maple syrup crunchy peanut butter and added a few teaspoons of Koko coconut milk to the dough as it was slightly dry. They were totally delicious!, I’m going to try your other recipes as well – my waistline won’t thank me but my family are ?
Alison Andrews says
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for the amazing review! 🙂
Laura says
Just made all four of your cookie recipes! The double chocolate, the milk chocolate chip, the oat cookies and now the peanut butter cookies. You are amazing, love every recipe 🙂
Alison Andrews says
That is SO awesome! Thank you so much Laura! 🙂
Karen says
I’ve made these twice now and both times they’ve been amazing. I’m not a great baker but found your recipe easy to follow and the results were great. I’ve recently turned vegan so can’t wait to try out more of your recipes. Would love a recipe for white chocolate and raspberry vegan cookies next.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Karen, so happy they worked out great! Thanks for the suggestion, will add it to our list. 🙂
Laura C. says
These are the BEST peanut butter cookies I can ever remember making! I followed the recipe exactly, weighing all the ingredients, except for reducing the amount of vanilla to 1 teaspoon. I used Earth Balance brand vegan butter and smooth, “natural” peanut butter. I didn’t have to add any soy milk to my dough as it was the perfect texture to roll easily, and the recipe made 31 cookies. I baked them for 12 min and they turned out melt-in-your-mouth peanut-buttery smooth. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful! Thanks a million for posting Laura! 🙂
Patty says
I’m not a vegan but am making them for someone who is. These cookies are fabulous. I used crunchy peanut butter and cooked them for 10 minutes because I like them softer. They were a perfect texture, and perfect sweetness. I think these are clearly superior to any non vegan peanut butter cookie I have ever made or eaten. This recipe is a winner for sure! Thank you thank you thank you!
Alison Andrews says
That is the best praise Patty! I am so happy they were such a success, thanks a million for the fabulous review! 🙂
Jennifer says
Cookies were powdery and crumbly.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Jennifer, sorry to hear that. Did you make any ingredient substitutions? If you try them again I would recommend to weigh the flour just to be very accurate with that, otherwise if you didn’t make any substitutions on ingredients and used the right amount of flour then I have no idea what would have caused that, it’s never happened to me before.
Laura Hulbert says
Just made these to cheer up a very rainy soggy day in Derbyshire and they are delicious! Love your recipes!
Alison Andrews says
Fantastic! Thanks so much Laura! 🙂
Sammy says
I’ve made these pb cookies 3 times already since reading this recipe and am about to go make another batch today!
They are so good!!! Great flavour, great texture, just all around great!
I followed recipe exactly, only I used a low fodmap all purpose flour and crunchy peanut butter (I like the texture the peanut chunks give)
Thanks for a great recipe!!!
(Oh, and I cook for less time… ~10 – 12 mins – I burnt my first batch 😛
Alison Andrews says
Thanks for sharing Sammy! 🙂
Mariam says
Great recipe but 375 for 15 minutes was unfortunately far too much and burnt my first batch – did a new batch at 350 for 10 minutes and came out perfect.