These vegan peanut butter cookies are so rich and buttery, you'll never believe they're vegan and gluten-free. The secret ingredient is the applesauce, which keeps them moist and flavorful. Plus, they're cute as a button and easy to make with just a few simple ingredients.
Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies, anyone?
Did you know it takes about 540 peanuts to make just one 12-ounce jar of peanut butter? At least according to the National Peanut Board. Yes, there is indeed a peanut board. Who knew?
The first peanut butter, as we know it, was created in Canada in the late 1800s. And some years later it made its way to the U.S. And the rest is history.
I've always loved peanut butter, and I think I've passed that on to my kid. He literally eats it by the spoonful. I wonder where he learned that? 😉
The Secret Ingredient to Vegan Cookies
There's nothing quite as satisfying as biting into a perfectly baked cookie. And peanut butter cookies are the ultimate indulgence.
But traditional peanut butter cookies are made with ingredients like eggs and butter. So of course, I felt the need to veganize this classic cookie!
The secret ingredient here is.... applesauce! In fact, it's a pretty great ingredient for any kind of vegan baking. The applesauce helps to keep the dough nice and moist, and gives just a little bit of extra sweetness.
Plus, applesauce has tons of health benefits, so these cookies are basically health food. 😀
Don't worry your vegan peanut butter cookies will not taste like apples - I promise.
For this recipe, go crazy with your peanut butter. If you like chunky, use chunky. If you like creamy, go creamy. They're your cookies, after all.
I do recommend avoiding the all natural peanut butter, as it tends to separate and make the dough a bit soggy. If you must have the natural variety, keep your peanut butter in the fridge to help it stick together better.
Let's Make Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
You won't believe how easy this recipe is to make. It takes just a few simple ingredients, that you probably already have in your pantry.
Like always, start by getting all your ingredients ready. Really there isn't much prep to be done here.
The hardest part will probably be measuring out your peanut butter and then getting it all out of the measuring cup because it's just so sticky.
Start by mixing up the baking soda, flour, sugar, applesauce, vanilla, and salt in a medium bowl.
(I used rice flour to keep this recipe both vegan and gluten-free.)
Give everything a good stir, until it's well combined.
Once you've got those ingredients mixed well, now you get to add the peanut butter. You can use a spatula to help get your peanut butter out of the measuring cup.
Then use your spatula to fold your peanut butter into the rest of the ingredients. Using a folding technique makes the mixing easier to manage because of how thick the peanut butter is.
Once your batter for your vegan peanut butter cookies look uniform throughout, it's time for the next hardest step: waiting.
Try not to eat all the dough at this point. You'll be tempted.
Instead, put your cookie dough into the fridge for one hour to chill. This will make it a lot firmer and easier to handle.
Once the dough is chilled, use a spoon or a cookie scooper to form the dough into balls, and line them up on your cookie sheet.
But don't put the rounds of cookie dough too close to each other because once you're done putting the dough on the pan, you're going to "style" them.
Take a fork and gently smush each peanut butter cookie, making a crisscross pattern on the dough. This will help flatten your cookies and make them look all fancy.
Since the dough is chilled, it will flatten nicely and the criss-cross marks will stay put. That's why the chilling step is so important.
Once you've crisscrossed all your cookies, pop them into the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes.
When they're done, let them cool completely so that they don't fall apart. And then they'll be ready to eat!
These vegan peanut butter cookies are also great crumbled on top of another dessert, like a scrumptious vegan chocolate cake or vegan ice cream. Or for more cookies- check out my vegan chocolate cookies or vegan sweet and salty tahini cookies.
Short on time? My one-bowl vegan peanut butter cookies are made with tahini and coconut sugar and skip the chilling step, so they go from bowl to oven in about 10 minutes.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Peanut butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup rice flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ cup applesauce
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- Pinch salt
Instructions
- Start by adding your peanut butter to a medium bowl. Then, mix in the baking soda, sugar, flour, applesauce, vanilla, and salt.
- Give it a good stir, until everything is well combined into a dough.
- Place the dough in the fridge for about one hour to cool.
- Once the dough is chilled, spray your baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
- Roll the dough into small balls, and place them in rows on the cookie sheet. Now get a fork and add in some crisscrosses to flatten the cookies a little.
- Put into oven at 350 degrees (F) for 10 minutes.
- Once they are done, take out and let cool completely. They are fragile when first baked. So let them cool and harden up before removing from the cookie sheet.
- Once cooled, enjoy! Or you can even crumble them on top of a favorite dessert. Enjoy.
Kim Mastro says
Omg made these tonight & they were the bomb dot com!!! I actually had no peanut butter yet had a bag of peanuts in shells so I deshelled & made peanut butter by adding coconut oil to the peanuts put in processor & voila homemade crunchy peanut butter...thus made my cookies replacing granulated sugar for coconut sugar & AWESOME OUTTA THE OVEN!!! PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES TO DIE FOR!!! Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe...VEGAN IS OHHHH SO GOOD👍
Nicole says
I am so glad they turned out well for you! Thanks so much for stopping back to tell me - always makes my day.
Abigail says
Can another flour type besides the rice flour?
Nicole says
I expect almond flour or a gluten-free baking flour would work just as well.
Jony says
These cookies come out beautifully and If not the very best, certainly one of the best vegan peanut butter cookies I have tasted.
Earvin says
Love this cookies! Imagine a delicious snack that is guilt free snack! Thanks a lot for the ideas!
Courtney says
These are my absolute favorite vegan pb cookies. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Stephanie says
I made these but I used regular flour. They were delicious. Everyone loved them and had no idea they were vegan cookies. They are crispy on the edges but soft in the middle. Easy to make. I will definitely make again. Thanks for the recipe. I also just used a cheap store brand peanut butter.
Steph says
First time I made vegan pb cookies. I used regular flour, not rice flour. These were so good. My daughters friends devoured them. No clue they were vegan! Will make again for sure. Chewy, soft center and crisp edges-perfect.