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Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies (Gluten Free, Too)

Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies Fresh from the Oven

When these vegan peanut butter cookies are in the house it’s not long until you hear: ‘who finished the last one???’

The Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies Story

Years ago I adapted a peanut butter cookie recipe to accommodate my gluten intolerant mother-in-law and daughter. We always arrived with a big plate of cookies during the holidays and, with their newly identified problem with gluten, I was determined to make something wonderful they could both enjoy. When we switched from a vegetarian diet to a vegan one, I was equally determined to have a cookie that was gluten free and cruelty free that checked all the boxes of taste and texture that we expect in a homemade cookie.

This recipe has become a household favorite. While it certainly isn’t what most would consider health food, it is after all, a vegan peanut butter cookie that will satisfy anyone. It is also a very easy and fast recipe so it is perfect for people new to baking or cooks who want to share the experience with children.

Making fork marks on the top of the cookies
Making fork marks on the top of the cookies
Vegan peanut butter cookies, ready for the oven
Vegan peanut butter cookies, ready for the oven

Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies in a stack

 

OK, Let’s Make Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies!

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Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies Fresh from the Oven

Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies (Gluten Free, Too)

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  • Author: Georgia @ fullofbeans.us
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 12
  • Total Time: 60
  • Yield: 24 1x
  • Category: dessert
  • Cuisine: American

Description

A delicious, gluten free recipe that uses flax “eggs” as a egg replacement. Satisfying and sweet – they will quickly become a favorite. These vegan peanut butter cookies will satisfy anyone. It is also a very easy and fast recipe so it is perfect for people new to baking.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2 cups creamy peanut butter
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar* (see notes)
  • 1 cup granulated sugar* (see notes)
  • 2 flax eggs
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup gluten free oat flour or oatmeal ground to flour (easy in a dry blender)

Instructions

  1. Start by preparing 2 flax eggs (each egg = 1 Tbs very finely ground flax meal and 3 Tbs water, mixed thoroughly and chilled in fridge for at least 30 minutes)
  2. Heat oven to 350°F
  3. Combine all ingredients
  4. Oil or line with parchment paper 2 cookie sheets
  5. Shape the dough into balls (~1 lg Tbs)
  6. Flatten slightly with crossed tines of a fork
  7. Bake 12-14 minutes
  8. Let cool slightly on cookie sheets
  9. Carefully remove to a cooling rack. They will be a bit fragile until cool.

Notes

  1. Flax “Eggs”
  2. Start by preparing 2 flax eggs (each egg = 1 Tbs very finely ground flax meal and 3 Tbs water, mixed thoroughly and chilled in fridge for at least 30 minutes). The time and cooling is important for proper consistency.
  3. These will work very nicely to convert many recipes that require eggs.
  4. * note on sugar: granulated sugar made from sugar cane is quite often processed with bone char which means that it is not strictly vegan. You can also use beet sugar which tastes the same, but has slightly different baking qualities – pay attention to the cookies as they bake the first time.

More information: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/05/sugar-vegan-bone-char-yikes_n_6391496.html here .

 

Georgia is an unpretentious foodie who, at 50, transitioned from a vegetarian diet to a whole foods plant based diet and is loving it. She works as a nurse, plays as a quilter, loves to run, hates to race.
She thinks dogs are actually angels (in dog suits).

This Post Has 15 Comments

  1. HI, I made these today for my family. They were extremely easy and my 12 year old son loved them. He even shared one with the dog. I used crunchy peanut butter as it was all I had and half the sugar and they are wonderful. Will definitely make them again. Thank you..

    1. Hi Janine!

      Glad that you tried (and enjoyed) the peanut butter cookies. Chunky peanut butter sounds like a great option. We’re glad that your son liked them too. Our dog is a peanut lover, as well, and she’d probably be pretty happy to have one of those cookies! 😄

  2. Wow! I made these today and I simply love them! Super delicious and these may have become a new favourite. I did cut down a bit on the sugar though as I thought it was a bit much! I am not actually vegan but i would love to become one, one day. I think they taste super yummy, And the texture is a little different which I like! Xx

    1. Hi Jemma-Rose, thanks for trying the cookies and letting us know that you enjoyed them. We love that “little different” texture, too!
      That’s great that you are considering becoming vegan. One step at a time works fine and cookies aren’t a bad place to start. 😉 Please let us know if we can help the process, too. We are planning on adding some posts and features to the site to assist new vegans and the vegan-curious. If you sign up for our emails you will see them first! We would love to have you join us 🙂

  3. Wow! That’s a lot of sugar! And, what is the difference between regular sugar and “vegan” sugar? Is there a difference? Wondering if you could cut down on the amount of sugar or use maple syrup instead? Trying to avoid sugar here.

    1. Hi Debra, we totally understand your concerns and thank you for the questions. It makes us realize we should update the post.
      Cane sugar is commonly processed with bone char so you would want to look for beet sugar, or cane sugar that is not bone char processed. Another alternative would be coconut or date sugar.
      Yes, it IS a lot of sugar but we did say that it’s not health food.
      Also, if you use maple syrup (or agave) just watch the cooking carefully because you will add a lot more moisture. Let us know how it works out!
      Greg and Georgia

    1. Hi Toni! So sorry, but I forgot to add the notes to the recipe about making flax eggs. Yikes! I have corrected the recipe.Please give it a try. -Greg

    2. Hi Toni,
      I hope that you got our email about flax eggs. We have updated the post with the instructions to prepare them. Until you mentioned it we didn’t realize that we had forgotten to add those notes. Oops!

  4. These cookies tasted fine, however the texture was a bit odd. They were half crunchy half extremely peanut buttery– like, biting into it was like biting into a spoonful of peanut butter. Wasn’t too bad, but probably wouldn’t make these again

    1. Hi thanks for trying the recipe.
      🙂
      I’m sorry that was your experience, it has never happened to us. If you DO choose to try it again, ovens vary and you might try increasing the cooking time and/or making them a little smaller.

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