Vegan 3-ingredient peanut butter cookies that are incredibly easy to make and use common pantry staples. They also have no egg, no refined sugar, no dairy, are gluten-free and keto-friendly, just like my almond flour shortbread cookies!
Why you'll love these cookies
DIFFICULTY: These vegan 3-ingredient peanut butter cookies come together in one bowl. You can make them in less than 30 minutes!
TASTE/TEXTURE: Many 3-ingredient peanut butter cookies can be dry. However, these cookies are rich and 'buttery' as they use almond flour and a higher ratio of liquid ingredients compared to other recipes. They melt in your mouth and are more delicate than typical chocolate chip cookies as they don't have any butter or oil.
3 ingredients to make peanut butter cookies
Notes about the ingredients
Smooth natural peanut butter. I used creamy peanut butter which has no additives and is made of only roasted peanuts and a pinch of salt. I haven't tested peanut butter with added oils or crunchy peanut butter.
Almond flour adds moisture which makes the cookies feel rich and 'buttery'. You may use other flours such as oat flour or fine white rice flour, however, they make the cookies drier and more crumbly.
Maple syrup as our sweetener and partial binder. I do not recommend substituting maple syrup with brown sugar or white sugar as they won't help the ingredients stick together.
Normally, 3-ingredient peanut butter cookies rely on eggs. However, with the addition of maple syrup (to help bind the ingredients) and almond flour (which adds fat and richness), you can make peanut butter cookies with no egg!
A complete list of ingredients, quantities and instructions are in the gray recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to make peanut butter cookies step by step
Simply add the 3 ingredients to a bowl and mix until combined. I recommend using a sturdy wooden spoon as the cookie dough is thick!
Initially, the cookie dough will be very soft and feel like a very thick paste. However, the mixture will quickly thicken up and have the consistency of soft yet tacky cookie dough.
The more moist and tacky your cookie dough, the less crumbly and dry your final cookies will be!
Use clean hands (or a small ice cream scoop) to roll the soft cookie dough into balls. The cookie dough may look too soft to handle, but it will still work!
To get 20 cookies, each ball of cookie dough should weigh around 24 grams... if you don't eat any of the raw cookie dough (which is delicious so I will not judge)!
Place the cookie dough balls on a lined baking/cookie sheet then gently flatten them with a fork. You can make them as thin or thick as you like! The dough may stick a little to the fork, but with a bit of patience (and gravity), this step is easy.
I was able to fit all of my cookies on two cookie sheets. The cookies don't spread much when baked so you can place them 1 inch (2 cm) apart.
Baking these 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies
If you'd like your cookies to have crisp edges and a soft chewy center, I recommend baking them for around 10 minutes. For cookies that are crisp throughout, I recommend baking them for around 15 minutes.
The vegan peanut butter cookies are ready when they start to change in color. They will be very soft when you take them out of the oven. However, they will continue baking whilst on the baking tray and will firm up a lot!
When the cookies have fully cooled down, they will become crispy and soft cookies! You won't be able to stop at just one!
If you love peanut butter desserts, check out my vegan peanut butter chocolate muffins or peanut butter jam pie!
Expert tips
This recipe is super versatile! To the unbaked cookie dough, you can also add:
- vegan chocolate chips
- vanilla extract
- spices, such as cinnamon
Or you can dip the cookies in chocolate and sprinkle them with crushed peanuts or flaked salt (shown below)! Check out my 3 ingredient almond flour shortbread for examples.
I haven't tested this recipe with other types of nut butter but readers have told me that it works! Keep in mind that peanut butter is a little more oily than other nut butters so other types of cookies may be drier.
More easy vegan cookie recipes
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3-ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies (no egg + vegan)
Ingredients
- 1 cup (250g) smooth natural peanut butter
- 1 ¼ cups (125g) almond flour / blanched almond meal, (note 1 for substitutes)
- ⅓ cup (115g) maple syrup
Instructions
- Note: Like all my recipes, this recipe has been tested using grams so I'd recommend weighing your ingredients for accuracy!
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line two baking sheet with parchment paper.
Preparing the cookies:
- Add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix until combined. Allow the mixture to sit for around 2 minutes to thicken up. The final cookie dough should have the consistency of a soft and slightly tacky paste that is thick enough to roll into balls. (note 2)
- Using clean and damp hands or a small cookie scoop, divide the cookie dough into around 20 balls (~24g each). Place the balls on the lined baking tray.
- Use a fork to flatten each ball and mark each cookie with a criss-cross pattern. You can make them as thin/thick as you like! Alternatively, you can just flatten each ball with the palm of your hand.
Baking and storing the cookies:
- Bake the cookies for 10-15 minutes or until the edges are very slightly golden brown. Cookies baked for 10 minutes will be soft and chewy whereas cookies baked for 15 minutes will be crisp throughout.
- Allow the cookies to completely cool on the baking tray. They will initially be very soft but will firm up a lot when they cool!
- For the best texture, enjoy the cookies on the day of baking either warm or at room temperature. Alternatively, store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days, in the fridge for 2 weeks or up to 2 months in the freezer.
Notes
- Alternatively, you can use 100g oat flour or 50g fine white rice flour to get a similar cookie dough consistency as the almond flour version. If you use these other flours, mix your cookie dough and let it sit for a few minutes to thicken up. I personally prefer the cookies with almond flour as they're less dry and crumbly. I haven't tested this recipe with any other type of flour.
- The softer your cookie dough, the richer and more 'buttery' your final cookies will be. If you'd like softer cookies, feel free to add 1-2 tablespoons of peanut butter or maple syrup. If you'd like drier cookies, add 1-2 tablespoons of almond flour.
Nutrition
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Loved making these cookies, so easy, super quick. They were a hit with my family. Sooo delicious with a cup of tea/ coffee. I dipped the cookies in dark chocolate and sprinkled on top some crushed walnuts and pistachios.
Just slightly sweet for me, next time I make these I was thinking of reducing the amount of sweetness from the maple syrup, would this affect the cookies being dry?
Hi Elly, I'm so glad you enjoyed these cookies and I love how you decorated them! Yes, you're right with the maple syrup; reducing the syrup will make them drier. It might work if you replace some with coconut oil or vegan butter :). Hope that helps!
I've baked them yesterday. So easy and fast to make them. I've replaced the maple syrup with Monk fruit powder [to avoid the sugars] 1/4 metric cup and added 1 "chia-egg" [1 tsp of chia seeds powder in 3 tsp of water] as a binder. I also added a pinch of clove powder for aroma and taste. It worked very well.
Thank you for sharing the recipe. I'll keep baking these biscuits often from now on.
Hi Dwight, I'm so happy that you enjoyed the cookies and that it worked with your substitutions! Thanks so much for your feedback 🙂
Easy to make and good. I may add more maple syrup next time but all in all, really good!
Glad that you enjoyed them Miriam! They'd be lovely with more maple syrup if you prefer something sweeter 🙂
I cooked this delicious cookies they were so nice and guilt free:)
Goes well with coffee
Aw that's wonderful to hear, thanks so much for leaving a comment Holly!
This is a great and easy recipe! I made it for my 5 year old child, and instead of using maple syrup I used dates, and it perfectly worked! I could not imagine that it would be so delicious and crunchy! Just do it guys! It worth it!
If you want to see the version using dates, please check @lancheirasdalele on Instagram!
Thanks for your recipes, they are really great!!! I love your page and Instagram! You rock!
I'm glad these cookies worked with dates and that you enjoyed them overall! Thanks so much for your kind comment and for your support xx
Súper deli, the Best cookies ever. Thank for to share it.
My pleasure and I'm so glad you enjoyed these cookies!
I made these yesterday!! Super easy!! Super tasty!! Thanks so much for this recipe 🙂!!
I'm so glad to hear Christos!
Lovely recipe! Since I had only 100 grams of almond flour, I have added less peanut butter (40% with sesame seeds so it gave a halva-like taste. Instead of maple syrup only I have mixed maple syrup and 3 table spoons of local honey. I do recommend this recipe!
The sesame/halva addition sounds delicious!!!! Thanks for letting me know and for your comment 🙂
WOW!! this recipe is amazing, I didn't had enough almond fluor only 1/4, so I added for the rest 1 cup of cashew fluor that I had and wow!! Delicious!! Can't wait to try it with only almond fluor but truly, an amazing recipe, thank you for sharing it.
Ooh it's good to know that it works with cashew flour too! Thanks so much for your positive feedback 🙂
I followed the measurements but used almond butter, anise, maple syrup and almond flour for more depth of flavor. I also refrigerated the dough 30 minutes before shaping on cookie sheet so that they would bake more evenly once in the oven.
Love a quick fix recipe! Thxs for the inspiration.
Oooh I loove the sound of your substitutions! So glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave your feedback!
These are just perfect! I made these for myself being GF and Dairy free. And I totally loved the precise measurements. I doubled the recipe and used almond butter and they came out delicious!!
Definitely a recipe to make again! Bravo!
Soo glad you enjoyed these Sunit and I love that you used almond butter instead (I personally prefer it too). Thanks so much for your feedback x
I am allergic to peanuts. Can this recipe be made with Almond or Sunflower Seed butter?
Yes, I'd say so!
Hello,
Can i use regular peanut butter like crafts???
I haven't tried it so am not 100% sure. Let me know if it works for you!
Literally didn't have any of the ingredients, but followed the ratios with what I had. Also, used an air fryer because I was only baking for myself. For 3 Nutella cookies:
1. 25g oat flour - used nutribullet to turn oats into flour
2. 10g coconut flour
3. 20g raw honey - hold back vegan police!
4. 45g hazelnut butter/spread
5. Pinch of salt
10-12min in an air fryer - BAM!
And, of course, cacao!
Loove the sound of air fryer Nutella cookies!! I've got to try that combination myself (hazelnuts are my fav). Thanks for the notes about the ingredient amounts too! I always appreciate your comments! x