This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
These vegan peanut butter cookies are soft, chewy, easy, and have only 4 ingredients! There are no eggs in these old fashioned peanut butter cookies.
I wanted to create a simple dairy-free peanut butter cookie, and I like what I came up with. I think the peanut butter lovers among us will like them too.
These classic peanut butter cookies aren’t fancy, but they don’t need to be. They’re not too sweet either (they’re still sweet), but my first batch was waaay too sweet. Ah, my first attempt at this recipe was a total fail in general, and I decided that taking out like half the ingredients would up my chances for success. 😛
Pro Tip: The cookies will probably seem too soft when you take them out of the oven, but that’s fine! They will firm up as they cool. Gently remove them from the baking sheet and let them cool on a cooling rack.
Let me try to describe the texture of these cookies the next day (assuming you stored them in a sealed container): when you first bite into them, they’re a little bit flaky/crumbly, then you get that soft chewiness.
I hope these cookies satisfy your peanut butter craving! We tested these out on a few of my husband’s coworkers, and one lady said “That cookie was AMAZING!” and she couldn’t believe it was vegan because she thought vegan meant bland. Well, I want to change that perception. One cookie at a time!
Have you ever made vegan cookies? Will you try this easy vegan cookie recipe? Let me know in the comments below!
Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 3 tablespoons water)
- 1 cup smooth/creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F. Move the rack to the middle of the oven. Line a large baking sheet with a Silpat non-stick mat or parchment paper.
- Prep your flax egg and let it sit for about 10 minutes.
- Add the peanut butter, sugar, flour, and flax egg to a large mixing bowl. Using an electric hand mixer on low speed, mix until combined.
- Roll the batter into balls (mine were just shy of 1.5" each, makes about 16-18 cookies). Use a fork to press them down a bit (make a criss-cross pattern). Space them about an inch apart since they do spread a bit.
- Bake the cookies for 18-20 minutes (I baked mine for 20).
- The cookies will likely seem too soft when you take them out of the oven, but that's ok. They will firm up as they cool. Carefully remove them from the baking sheet and let them cool on a cooling rack.
- Store cookies in an airtight container as soon as they've cooled. Their final texture is slightly crumbly when you bite into it, but soft and chewy inside.
Notes
- This is the hand mixer I used to make this recipe.
- Ground flaxseed is also sold as something called "flaxseed meal" (I use Bob's Red Mill brand).
- Be sure to spoon + level the flour (don't scoop it or you'll end up with more than needed).
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
© Salt & Lavender Inc. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this blog post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization to social media is strictly prohibited.
You may also like my vegan sugar cookies or my vegan matcha cookies.
I had to add a little bit more water because the mixture was so dry and crumbly. I had to bake a little longer because the middle still tasted like the mixture. They are okay, but don’t taste like peanut butter and I scooped a little extra. Thank you for the recipe! It was great trying something different. Maybe if I add a little more sugar next time.
Hi Toni! Sorry they didn’t work out so well for you.
I just made these again and gave 5 stars, not 4 like my last review. Here’s why: I made again, still w/ almond butter and whole wheat white flour. I added hemp and chia seeds and chopped almonds (I cook for nutrition). And these are still great! I rate this 5 for taste, ease of making and the ability to doctor these up and they still come out really well. That’s a good recipe! I again mixed with my bare hands; wash the kid’s hands and let them have a go. Few tools, little clean up, but a good end product. Experiment as I did, tho I’m sure the original recipe is very good. I’m reasonably experienced in the kitchen, but always want to be inspired by new food ideas. This is a basic I hadn’t thought of, will make again (probably doctored up…). Thanks for posting this recipe. I’m “gifting” some of these to friends tomorrow.
Aww thanks for coming back! I am so glad you like this recipe and tried it again!
I changed some stuff, as per usual, but these came out very well; I used what I had on hand. I used almond butter, lavender sugar (had lavender buds to use) and a wee bit of brown sugar. Added a pinch of salt and all the flour was whole wheat white (all I usually use for the fiber & protein benefits). I ended up using only about a 1/2 cup flour. I made the flax egg, thought it too runny so added a tablespoon of psyllium husks (a good binder and extra fiber, too). I mixed by hand, was worried I ruined it with my husks and changes, but got in there and mixed the dough w/ my barehands (mixing with spoon or mixer would not have worked), squeezing into the shapes for the pan, used fork to flatten and they came out great! I will make again, add the flour a bit at a time, etc. BTW I am not vegan or vegetarian, but like recipes that don’t have to involve animals in all my meals! 😉
I am so glad they worked out and you liked them. 🙂 I agree… I like to do the same and I am not veg/vegan either.
Fantastic! I chose this recipe because it’s so similar to my mom’s (nonvegan) one. It brought back so many childhood memories! ❤️ It was super easy and quick to make, and I took them to a game night where I’m the only vegan. Halfway through my friend said, “Wait, YOU made these? No way they’re vegan!” I count that as a win lol
Some minor things I did differently: I mixed by hand because I didn’t feel like washing my hand mixer lol. I made smaller cookies and baked them for slightly less time, and I was out of both parchment paper and Pam so I just used my nonstick cookie sheet.
Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly and was so satisfied! My only complaint is that my friends ate them all and I didn’t get any leftovers lol
I am so happy you and your friends enjoyed them, Rebecca! Thanks for your sweet comment. 🙂
Dry, crumbly and really just no flavor. Threw them in the trash after 1 bite.
I really liked this recipe. It was a tad crumbly so I added a tbsp or so of unsweetened applesauce ( and a chia egg instead of flax because that’s what I had)
I’m glad it worked out, Kirs! 🙂 Love the apple sauce idea.
Dry, crumbly. Pissed off that I had to use almost a whole jar of peanut butter only to have a fail sheet of cookies. Thanks.
I’m sorry they didn’t work out for you! 🙁
I used honey instead of sugar and it works. I also use homemade peanutbutter too
Awesome! Thanks for the tip!
One note, use raw sugar, as refined sugar contains bone char, and is not vegan.
Good stuff these cookies!
So glad you liked them, Bob!
Cookies were very dry and crumbly, did not taste well either.