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.
We LOVE these so much, my teenage boys adore them and so do their school friends.
Awesome! Thanks so much!
Could you use vegetable oil instead of vegan butter? I don’t have any and it’s a bit difficult to get to the shops.
Hi Louise, it won’t work in this recipe. You could try coconut oil if you have that on hand though. Or, if you have the ingredients, we have a recipe for homemade vegan butter that works great in baking.
I made these cookies and added dried cranberries as chunks in it. The taste was amazing!!! Sadly, the cookies spread extremely and melted together, so in the end I had more like cookie pizza. Still ate it and as stated, the taste was great! But I don’t know, what went wrong, that they spread so much! Anyway, thank you for the recipe! Will try again!
Hi there, it might be the brand of vegan butter you’re using, next time you can let them chill in the fridge for 10 minutes before baking. That should hopefully solve the over-spreading issue.
Made another batch of these cookies (bc they are so good, kinda addicting!) and put them in the fridge for 10 minutes prior to baking, as you suggested. Worked perfectly, no overspreading! Thank you very much, very happy with these cookies!
Fantastic! Thanks for letting us know! 🙂
These really are the best! My husband likes crisp cookies and these are completely irresistible. I used crunchy peanut butter instead of smooth. I think next time I may try rolling them in turbinado sugar instead of regular, for a little extra crunch. No extra milk needed – easy, quick, perfect vegan treats. Thank you, Alison!
Awesome! Thanks so much Susan!
Oh my goodness ????. Just made these cookies no milk needed and they were absolutely delicious. Even my two teenage sons loved them and they’re non vegans. Definitely a recipe to keep thank you so much x
Wonderful to hear that Maria! Thanks for the awesome review.
Great! Made it with bobs redmill gf flour. Had to add about 5 tbs of almond milk and I baked them for about 11 minutes. Crispy and chewy. So good!
Awesome! Thanks Sarah!
Hi! I’m trying to follow your recipe and I was wondering if I could replace vegan butter with coconut oil. Would that still make my cookies cripsy? Thanks in advance!
Hi Monica, I think it should work! 🙂
I’ve been searching for the best vegan peanut butter cookie recipe for 10 years. And I’ve finally found it! These cookies are amazing. The recipe is easy to follow and best of all- no crazy ingredients required! Can’t wait to make them again 🙂
So glad to hear that Lex! Thank you so much!
Delicious cookies and easy to make! Used 175g of whole wheat flour and subbed some of the organic cane sugar for coconut brown sugar but otherwise stuck to the recipe. Had to use 2 tablespoons of almond milk to get the right consistency. Ended up dipping half in vegan dark chocolate with a sprinkle of Malden flakey sea salt. Absolutely devine! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Sounds delicious! Thanks so much for sharing Veronica! 🙂
Yesterday I made peanut butter so I decided to try this. Now I have the problem of not eating them all too soon lol.
Next time I’ll sort them in two trays because they spread more than I expected.
Anyway, thanks a lot.
So glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for the great review. 🙂
Absolutely the most delicious peanut butter cookies I’ve ever made. I prefer these to a traditional recipe that uses egg and butter. These cookies have a beautiful peanut flavor they are lovely and crunchy. My meat eating husband says they’re the best he’s ever had, too. Thank you for this recipe!
Wonderful! So pleased to hear that, thanks so much Laura! 🙂
Tried this recipe but substitued the peanut butter for a large dessert spoon of Lotus biscoff spread (vegan friendly) as I didn’t have any peanut butter, and used a small glug of almond milk. These biscuits turned out to be probably some of the best biscuits I’ve ever tasted, let alone made myself….I’ve actually never made a successful batch of biscuits before in my life! They’re lovely and crispy but have that little bit of gooeyness to them as well, just how a good cookie should be. Thanks for the recipe.
Awesome! So happy to hear they were a success! Thanks for the awesome review. 🙂
The BEST peanut butter cookies I’ve ever had. I have made this recipe twice now. The first time I made it exactly to recipe, and the cookies turned out fantastic. The texture is just perfect. The second time, I used refined coconut oil in place of vegan butter, and coconut sugar for the entire balance of the sugar. I also added about 1/3C of lightly chopped peanuts. Sublime! This recipe is now a permanent addition to our family cookbook. Thank you!!
Awesome! Thanks so much for sharing and the great review! 🙂
can I use cocunut oil instead of butter?
Hi there, I haven’t tried these with coconut oil, but it may work. Let us know how it goes if you try it! 🙂
I made these into cookie bars and added white chocolate chips. The result was AMAZING!!!! I think I will need a larger pants size now! Haha.
That sounds awesome! Hahaha, so glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for the wonderful rating. 🙂
I made these today and words cannot express how well these turned out! It took me longer than I’d like to admit to find a P.B. cookie recipe I felt could work with Adam’s all natural peanut butter. The one I have is crunchy instead of smooth. They are completely perfect! (For anyone wondering I used 2-TBSP soy milk, and I’m at a higher altitude.)
Thanks so much for sharing and the awesome rating! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe. 🙂