Chewy & Soft Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
These chewy and soft vegan peanut butter cookies are simply put: perfect. After almost a year of playing with the recipe, I finally have the best combination of chew to soft to crispy edges to sweetness ratios.
I’ve tried a lot of peanut butter cookies and they always left me wanting something more. Either they were too crumbly or they melted onto the baking tray or they didn’t taste like peanut butter or they only tasted of peanut butter. None of them were what I was looking for.
So I experimented in the kitchen, using my chocolate chip cookie as a starting point and working from there. In the end, I’ve made my perfect peanut butter cookie.
- The cookie tastes like a peanut butter cookie. Just sweet enough while still letting the peanut butter taste take center stage.
- The texture is the best combination of chewy and soft. The dough doesn’t crumble and fall apart while you are making them.
- No need to chill! The dough also isn’t a soupy mess so you don’t need to chill the dough which means more cookies in less time.
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Ingredients
- Peanut Butter: You can use any type of peanut butter that you like. I’ve tested this with natural peanut butter, conventional sweetened peanut butter, creamy peanut butter, and even sunflower seed butter and soy nut butter! (See below for how to swap it out for a nut allergy free cookie!)
- Baking Soda + Baking Powder: Some recipes don’t call for these ingredients, however, I like the slight lift and spread that these ingredients give the cookies.
- Cornstarch + Flaxseeds: This is the egg substitute in these cookies.
Substitutions
Allergic to Peanut Butter? No Problem! Use an equal amount of sunflower seed butter or soy nut butter! You can also use cashew butter or almond butter. If using sunflower seed butter, reduce the amount from 2/3 cup to 1/2 cup as sunbutter is a little more viscous than peanut butter.
Recipe Notes
- It’s really important that you let the cookies rest on the hot trays for a good 10 minutes before eating one. Vegan cookies are more delicate and need those extra few minutes to finish baking and come together.
- Use room temperature vegan butter and peanut butter. Cold butters won’t whip up as nicely, meaning you won’t get as much air into the cookie dough which will result in tough cookies.
- Dip the cookies in melted chocolate for the ultimate chocolate-peanut butter lover cookie.
More Cookie Recipes
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Equipment
- Hand mixer or stand mixer recommended but not necessary
- Whisk
- Mixing bowls and spoons
- Measuring cups and spoons
- parchment paper
- baking trays
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 3 tablespoons hot water
- 1/2 cup vegan butter room temperature
- 2/3 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- extra white sugar for rolling cookies about 1/3 to 1/2 a cup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C and make sure the oven racks are in the middle of the oven for the best air circulation. Prep 3 baking trays with parchment paper or a silicone non-stick baking mat of your choice. Set them aside.
- Make the flax egg. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flaxseeds with hot water and set it aside for about 5 minutes. This allows the flaxseeds to get gel-like to hold the cookies together.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In the large bowl with the hand mixer, or in the stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the softened vegan butter and peanut butter with both white and brown sugars. Mix this until it is well combined and fluffy, about 3 minutes on medium speed. Add the flax seeds and the vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients. After the wet ingredients are well mixed, start to add the dry ingredients. Add the baking powder, baking soda, cornstarch, salt, and all-purpose flour. Mix this on a low setting until the dough is formed.
- Shape the cookies. Scoop the cookies with a one tablespoon scoop and roll them in the extra white sugar. Place them on lined baking sheets and taking the backside of a fork, press the criss-cross pattern into the top of them.
- Bake the cookies. Bake a single tray of cookies at a time for 13 to 15 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown on the edges.
- Cool and enjoy! Remove the cookies from the oven and let them rest for 10 minutes on the hot trays before removing them to wire racks to finish cooling. Enjoy!
Notes
- How to Store
- Countertop: Keep any leftover cookies in an airtight container on the countertop for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: Freeze any leftover baked and cooled cookies in a freezer safe container for up to 2 months. Allow cookies to thaw on the countertop for a few hours before serving.
- If using sunflower seed butter, reduce the amount from 2/3 cup to 1/2 cup as sunbutter is a little more viscous than peanut butter.
Nutrition
More Cookie Recipes
Vegan cookies for every occasion! From classic vegan chocolate chip cookies to sugar cookies perfect for the holidays, these cookies are easy to make and always super delicious.
