Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

Thick and soft vegan peanut butter cookies that melt in your mouth! These buttery cookies are easy to make and use simple ingredients.

Cuisine American, Vegan

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 12

Total Time 32

Servings cookies

Calories 149

Author Anthea

½ cup (115g) vegan butter room temperature (note 1)
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar or more brown sugar
½ cup (95g) packed brown sugar or more granulated sugar
1 tablespoon (15g) dairy-free milk plus more as needed (note 2)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (250g) smooth peanut butter (note 3)
1 ⅓ cups (165g) all-purpose plain flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour (note 4)
¾ teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt if using unsalted peanut butter

Add the vegan butter, sugars, dairy-free milk and vanilla to a large bowl. Use a hand mixer to beat until light and fluffy and some of the sugar has dissolved. Add the peanut butter and beat until well combined.
Add the all-purpose flour and baking soda and mix until just combined. The cookie dough should be very soft and tacky, but not too sticky. The consistency of your dough will hugely depend on the consistency of your peanut butter and vegan butter. If your dough is crumbly, add a 1/2 tablespoon (8g) of milk at a time and mix again. If your dough is very sticky, add 1 tablespoon (8g) of flour and mix again (or chill your dough).

Place the granulated sugar in a flat bowl.
Divide and roll the cookie dough into around 24 balls. Toss each ball in the granulated sugar.
Arrange the cookie dough balls on your lined baking trays spaced about 5 cm (2 inches) apart. Use the back of a fork to make a criss-cross pattern on each ball and slightly flatten each cookie.

Bake the cookies in your preheated oven for around 11-15 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden brown. For soft cookies, bake them for around 11 minutes. For crunchier cookies, bake them for around 15 minutes.
Allow the cookies to cool on the baking trays for at least 20 minutes. They'll be very soft when they're hot but will firm up. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Store the baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 2 months. If you would like soft peanut butter cookies, add a slice of bread to the container with the cookies.

These cookies will work with chilled spreadable vegan butter. If using spreadable butter, I recommend omitting the milk and adding more flour if necessary. Your dough may be a little softer and will spread more. You can also use softened coconut oil (and include the milk). Your cookies will be more crisp as coconut oil is higher in fat than vegan butter.
Don't skip the milk as it helps dissolve the sugar which binds the cookies. The exception is if you use spreadable vegan butter as it contains more liquid.
You may use chunky peanut butter but may need to add an extra splash of milk to your dough.
Unlike regular flour, different brands of gluten-free flour have different densities, so 1 cup of one brand can weigh 125g, whereas another brand can weigh 160g. I used the grams measurements using a flour blend made from maize, tapioca, rice flour and vegetable gums. Depending on your brand of flour, you may need to add an extra dash of flour or milk.