This post contains affiliate links.
These vegan peanut butter cookies make 24 and have just 7 grams of sugar each. Several popular vegan versions I checked have 11 to 13 grams per cookie. Coconut sugar and a little maple syrup sweeten the dough, with no flax egg, vegan butter or chilling.
A batch of 24 covers a cookie swap, a snack night, or the freezer. Nine pantry ingredients, two bowls and a fork are all you need. For more ideas, browse my vegan desserts.
What's in this post
Why You’ll Love It
- Lower in sugar. Each cookie has 7 grams of sugar, and most of it is added from coconut sugar and maple syrup.
- A big batch. The recipe makes 24 cookies in about 23 minutes, plus cooling time.
- No egg replacer. There’s no flax egg, applesauce or vegan butter, so the cookies are vegan and dairy-free with pantry staples.
- No chilling. The dough bakes right away, so you can go from bowl to oven.
- Protein and fiber. Each cookie has 3 grams of protein and 1 gram of fiber, with 122 calories.
Vegan Peanut Butter Cookie Ingredients
Here’s a quick breakdown of why I use certain ingredients. The full list with amounts is in the recipe card below.
- Creamy peanut butter: It brings the rich flavor and holds the dough together. Natural peanut butter separates, so stir the jar well before measuring. If you like making your own, try my Creamy Homemade Nut Butter.
- Coconut sugar: Use coconut sugar in place of brown sugar. It adds deep, caramel-like flavor.
- Pure maple syrup: It sweetens the dough alongside the coconut sugar.
- Unsweetened oat milk: It keeps the dough dairy-free and smooth.
- All-purpose flour: Bleached or unbleached both work.
Blend the Rainbow
Smoothie Challenge
I’d love for you to blend it up with me! For 5 days, I’ll send you a daily smoothie recipe along with a shopping list so you’re ready before day one.
How to Make Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
- Prep and mix. Set the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment so the oily dough won’t stick. Then mix the peanut butter, coconut sugar, oat milk, maple syrup and vanilla until creamy. A stand or hand mixer gives the smoothest dough.
- Whisk the dry ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, sea salt and cinnamon until well combined.
- Combine. Add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture and stir with a spatula. Stop when the dough looks crumbly so you don’t overmix.
- Check the dough. It should feel a little sticky. If it won’t hold together, drizzle in more oat milk, one teaspoon at a time.
- Shape and press. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and set them on the baking sheet. A cookie scoop works, but rolling by hand gives a better shape. Then press each ball with a fork for the crisscross. Don’t flatten them too much, so they bake evenly and don’t puff up.
- Bake and cool. Bake for 8 minutes, until the edges turn golden brown and the centers look just set. Then let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Next, move them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
While testing, I tried chilling the dough in the fridge and freezer, and I tried baking it right away. The cookies turned out the same, so I skipped the extra step.
Substitutions and Variations
- Peanut-free: Use cashew, sunflower, almond or tahini in place of the peanut butter. If the dough looks dry, add oat milk one teaspoon at a time.
- Chocolate chips: Stir in up to 1 cup of vegan chocolate chips. You can’t flatten the dough balls with a fork then, but they should still turn out well.
- Milk: Use any dairy-free milk in place of the oat milk. Cow’s milk also works, but the texture changes and the cookies are no longer vegan. Skim milk gets closest.
- Gluten-free: Swap the all-purpose flour for a 1:1 gluten-free baking blend. You can also blend gluten-free rolled oats into a fine flour.
- Oat flour: Blend rolled oats in a high-powered blender until finely ground. Then use that in place of the all-purpose flour.
Storage and Freezing
- Storage: Keep the cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
- Freezer: Freeze the cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Then thaw them at room temperature before serving.
- Big batch: Since the recipe makes 24 cookies, freeze half right after baking.
More Vegan Desserts
Looking for another plant-based treat? Try these next:
- No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Bites: rich, silky bites for peanut butter fans, with no oven needed.
- Fudgy Vegan Chocolate Mug Cake: a fudgy chocolate cake you make right in a mug.
- Jam-Filled Vegan Strawberry Muffins: tender vegan muffins with a sweet strawberry jam center.
Common Questions
Overbaking is a common cause, since peanut butter cookies already look brown. Pull them when the edges turn golden and the centers look just set. Then let them cool on the tray. Dry dough also crumbles, so add oat milk one teaspoon at a time until the dough holds together.
No. I tested chilled dough and dough baked right away, and the cookies turned out the same. So you can bake straight from the bowl.
Each cookie has 7 grams of sugar. Most of it comes from coconut sugar and maple syrup, so it counts as added sugar. Each cookie also has 3 grams of protein and 1 gram of fiber.
Keep the cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 week. For longer storage, freeze them in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Swap the all-purpose flour for a gluten-free baking flour at a 1:1 ratio. You can also blend gluten-free rolled oats into a fine powder and use that instead.
Yes, but the cookies are no longer vegan or dairy-free. Cow’s milk is richer and higher in protein, so the texture and bake time can change. Skim milk gets closest to the original results.
Recipe Card
Chewy Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup peanut butter creamy
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup oat milk unsweetened
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp sea salt, unrefined
- ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon ground
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350 °F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, mix the peanut butter, coconut sugar, oat milk, maple syrup and vanilla until smooth and creamy, using an electric mixer if you have one.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
- Add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until combined; the dough will look crumbly at first, then turn slightly sticky. If it doesn’t hold together, add a little more oat milk, a bit at a time, until it does.
- Shape the dough into 1-inch balls and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Press each ball with a fork in a crisscross pattern to flatten slightly.
- Bake until golden brown at the edges and set in the center, about 8 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
You’ll want it later
Save this recipe
Drop your email and I’ll send it to you.
Share with a friend
Recipe Notes
- Texture Tip: Use a creamy, no-stir peanut butter. Natural peanut butter that separates can make the dough oily.
- Nut-Free: Sunflower seed butter works in place of the peanut butter, as do almond or cashew butter if nuts are fine. Sunflower butter can turn the centers slightly green as it reacts with the baking soda; it’s harmless.
- Gluten-Free: Oat flour or a gluten-free flour blend works in place of all-purpose flour. To make oat flour, blend certified gluten-free rolled oats until finely ground.
- Storing: Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Nutrition
Saturated Fat: 1 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3 g | Sodium: 203 mg | Potassium: 75 mg | Sugar: 7 g | Vitamin A: 5 IU | Vitamin C: 0 mg | Calcium: 12 mg | Iron: 1 mg
great taste; my cycling group loved them. Definite had to use more of the milk (I used my own blend of nut milk) to add moisture to the dough. Easy to make.
Awesome. Thanks for making and sharing them, Jean. (Fellow cycler here) Keep rawking and riding!
Will the cookie recipe work with cow milk, i understand it wont be vegan, if so, what percentage of fat?
Yes, you could, but the results won’t be identical. Cows milk is richer and higher in protein which can affect texture and cooking times. If you do use cow’s milk, I would use a skim to minimize the difference in outcomes.
I made these several times using almond butter sometimes and peanut butter sometimes. I thought they were delicious.
Cookie season is fast approaching us. It would be fun to bring these to an event so people could see how tasty plant based desserts can be. Thanks for your feedback, Wilma.
The peanut butter flavor was there as was the crispy edges and soft center. But the baking soda! Too much. Not really edible at 1 tsp of baking soda. Maybe I’ll try 1/4.
Thanks for the feedback, E.