These soft and chewy vegan peanut butter cookies make the perfect protein-packed after-school snack. You won't be able to stop at just one!
Everyone has their own idea of what makes a 'perfect' cookie, don't they. Are you in the chewy or the crunchy camp? Slightly salty or very sweet? Round and thick or large and thin?
Well if you like chewy, salty, large thin-ish cookies, then my vegan peanut butter cookies will be for you.... read on!
Peanut butter is all over the internet at the moment, (not that it ever went out of fashion), and with good reason. I'm sure there's some ratio of salty-sweet and fat-protein that our bodies are programmed to crave, and peanut butter really hits the spot.
It is perfect for vegans, of course, as peanuts are jam-packed with protein, vitamins and minerals. (The sugar content is of course less good for you, so just have one at a time!).
What do I need to make my Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies?
Ingredients
Peanut butter Go for a good-quality crunchy peanut butter - look for as few ingredients and high peanut content as possible. (Smooth peanut butter also works well if that's all you have in the cupboard).
Peanuts I always use salted peanuts here as I love the salty-sweet combination in these cookies, but if you want them just plain sweet, use unsalted instead.
Dairy-free milk Use an unsweetened milk - whatever you have in the fridge. Soya, oat or nut milks all work really well.
Dairy-free margarine A good quality block margarine is important here, (tubs of spread have too much water in them for baking). I like Flora Plant Butter or Naturli block margarine, but any similar block will be fine.
Caster sugar and dark brown muscavado sugar This combination of light and dark sugars gives the ultimate chewy cookie with a crisp crust. Caster sugar is the most important one, and if you don't have dark brown sugar, you can use light brown or demerara instead.
Plain flour If you prefer you can use half-and-half white and wholemeal flour.
Bicarbonate of soda Gives a rise without being 'cakey' - make sure you use bicarbonate rather than baking powder, as they behave differently.
Equipment
A food mixer makes light work of creaming together the butters and sugar. I have a Kenwood KMix which I love but there are many different options out there to suit all budgets.
Alternatively, you can use a large bowl with an electric hand whisk. The type with two beaters is much better at creaming butter and sugar - something like this.
Vegan Cookie Variations
You can mix up this recipe by:
- Using almond or cashew butter and chopped almonds/cashews in place of peanuts
- Adding dark chocolate chips instead of the peanuts (check they are vegan)
- Adding sultanas or dried cranberries for a fruity twist
Or perhaps you might like to try my Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies (pictured left) instead?
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For more quick and easy vegan recipes take a look at my latest book Vegan in 15.
"Brilliant! Chock full of easy recipes and great tips and advice" Hello! Magazine
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Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 185 g peanut butter (I used crunchy, but smooth will work fine too)
- 85 g dairy-free margarine
- 95 g caster sugar
- 100 g dark brown muscavado sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 160 g plain flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2 tbsp dairy-free milk
- 50 g peanuts (I like to use salted peanuts, but use unsalted if you prefer a sweeter cookie)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160°C / 320°F / Gas Mark 3.
- In a food mixer (or large bowl and electric whisk) beat together the peanut butter, dairy-free margarine, sugar and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Stir in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and dairy-free milk until fully combined. Roughly chop the peanuts, add to the bowl and mix until they are evenly spread through the dough.
- Divide the dough into 12 balls of a fairly equal size, and place on a baking tray covered with baking parchment or greaseproof paper. Squash the balls with a fork in a cross pattern, then bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove the cookies from the oven after 15 minutes - they will still be very soft, don't panic! They will harden as they cool - this is the secret to a chewy cookie. After 10-15 minutes they should be firm enough to move to a cooling rack, (or to eat if you just can't wait!).
5 Star rating from me!! Made these a few times and they always turn out great. Very morish too - I can never stop eating them! I use dark chocolate chips as well as the chopped peanuts and it makes them extra yummy. I also make them with gluten free flour and they turn out just the same as with ordinary flour. I use sunflower margarine to make mine (i'm not vegan). Love, love, love them. Thank you for all your recipes
Made these twice now. Absolutely scrumptious! The second time I made them with gluten free flour and they turned out just as good.
Oh that's great to hear, thanks so much Sue! X
Hi Kate, just posted a batch of cookies to my student son and his housemates, currently in lock down in Brighton. No better way to cheer them up!
Also many thanks for your recipes especially the cakes and tray bakes, I f.ind the results so reliable that I only cook vegan cakes now, whether they are for the family or non-vegan friends for special occasions.
Secretly spreading the word!
That's so lovely to hear Linda, thanks so much! Hope the cookies cheer up your son and his mates, not a fun time to be a student at the moment, they have all my sympathy.
Hi, I made this recipe and absolutely adored it. However, I tried to use the recipe again for regular chocolate chip cookies (no peanut butter) and It was a disaster! Could you please give me any tips on how to amend the recipe when not incorporating PB
Thanks!
So glad they worked out first tine Prisanna. The peanut butter is fairly fundamental to the recipe here as it binds the dough as well as flavours, so you could just add the chocolate chips in too but don't leave out the peanut butter. I am planning a separate chocolate chip cookie recipe at some point as I've been experimenting with the recipe, will let you know when I get round to posting it!
These are the BEST peanut butter cookies ever! I add a tablespoon of dissolved instant coffee and 4 tablespoon of rolled oats instead of peanuts. They are amazing thanks for the recipe!
I am loving this cookie recipe. I will be making it again this New Year's Eve Party celebration. My kids love it and they won't stop eating. Thanks for this. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Xoxo.
Hi Kate, thanks for sharing. Forgive my naive question. When you say dairy-free milk do we just choose what we like, ie. soy, almond, etc.? I tried searching on Amazon for dairy free milk butI just saw all sorts of nuts, coconut milk and others.
Yes, dairy-free just means soy, almond or whatever you like that doesn't harm cows! I usually use soy because it has the highest protein content, so mimics cow's milk better. Almond is great too.
These sound absolutely divine. I'm definitely in a chewy cookie camp plus love peanut butter so I'm sure these would definitely hit the spot. My 7-year-old shares my taste in this department so might have to try these ! 🙂
Me and my kids are big peanut butter fan and I am always looking for delicious and eat cookies recipes.. looks like my search is over.. can't wait to try it!
It doesn’t get much better than a dessert with peanut butter in it. I could eat all of these.
My daughter is allergic to peanuts, so we avoided having them in the house while she was a child... but she's in college now -- so we are back to being a peanut and peanut butter household. Thanks for this!
Peanut Butter Cookies are one of my very favorites! I will choose it over Chocolate Chip any day. I love the chewy cookies the best.
I would love to pack these as snacks while traveling!
I am a big peanut butter fan and I love peanut butter cookies! There is something about them that is so addictive and I am definitely in the chewy camp too. Thanks so much for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice!