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If you’re a peanut butter fanatic, these gluten-free vegan peanut butter cookies are here for you! They got a soft, almost like melt-your-mouth texture and rich peanut butter flavour that’s so satisfying and delicious!
I’m not gonna lie. Usually, I prefer crunchy cookies to soft ones. (Actually, these types of “cookies” are actually called “biscuits” in the UK.)
But, you know, we all got bored from time to time, and I’m also that kind of person who will try new things constantly. So let’s get some soft cookies this time, shall we? (but if you like crispy peanut butter cookies, I got your back as well. You can read this 6-ingredient Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies.)
Frequent viewers here would know that I’m a huge peanut butter addict. So that’s why I choose peanut butter as the hero of my first soft cookie recipe debut. These peanut butter cookies got a soft, almost-like-melt-in-your-mouth texture and are full of rich peanut butter flavour.
I actually adapted a non-vegan recipe from Bake & Bacon to make these gorgeous peanut butter cookies because I like to “veganize” things, which might be able to let some open-minded people realize that we don’t need to use eggs or dairy, or any animal products to make food taste good. (To me, many vegan versions of traditional food taste even better!)
If you are a peanut butter inhaler like me, I think you will love these peanut butter cookies like there’s no tomorrow. (Okay, I might exaggerate a bit, but you know what I mean.)
Watch How to Make It: Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients You Need
- Ground flaxseed: We’re going to make a “flax egg” as a binding agent.
- Peanut butter: It’s the hero of this recipe, so I think you have expected it here. But I’ll suggest using pure peanut butter, the one without any added oil and sugar.
- Extra-virgin coconut oil: I personally adore extra-virgin oil very much because of its amazing taste and fragrance. You can also use vegan butter if you want to.
- Coconut sugar: I like to use coconut sugar because it will give the baked goods a caramel taste. But you can use other types of vegan sugar if you want. Just be aware of the differences in different types of sugar.
- Vanilla extract: Almost everything tastes better with a bit of vanilla, right?
- Gluten-free self-raising flour: Right now I’m in the UK and I use this store-bought one quite often with success. You can just use common self-raising flour if you’re not specifically aiming for making them gluten-free.
- Baking soda: It’s here to make these cookies a bit fluffy.
- Salt: Old friends will know that salt appear in most of my recipes because it will add contrast and bring out more flavours from other ingredients. We’ll just need a tiny pinch here.
Optional Ingredients: chocolate & walnuts
I just dip the cookies in some melted chocolate and sprinkle some chopped walnuts on top to make them look more photogenic. But it’s totally optional. Yet still, I think some of you might want to do the same. So I just want to let you know what I’ve done to those cookies.
How to Make Soft Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
It’s super easy to make these peanut butter cookies. Basically, you just mix different ingredients together and shape them. So the steps are:
- Make the “flax egg” by mixing the ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of water. Set it aside for later.
- Add peanut butter, soft coconut oil, and coconut sugar to a mixing bowl. Whisk together until just combined. Make sure not to over whisk.
- Add the “flax egg” and vanilla extract to the peanut butter mixture. Mix them together evenly.
- Then add flour, baking soda, and salt to the mixture. Mix them together until all ingredients come together.
- Use a tablespoon to scoop out a heaping tablespoon of the mixture and place it on a lined baking sheet. Repeat to use up all cookie dough.
- Use your hands to roll the cookie dough into balls. If they are too soft, you can pop them into the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Gently press the balls against the baking sheet to make them about 1.25 cm or 1/2 inch thick.
- Bake in the preheated oven at 175 °C / 350 °F for 10-12 minutes until the cookies are golden brown.
- Transfer the baking sheet onto a wire rack to let the cookies cool down completely.
How to Store Soft Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
Store these vegan peanut butter cookies in airtight jars or containers. They should be fine at room temperature for 5~7 days. But honestly, they’ve never lasted that long in the place where I am. They will be gone way earlier by then.
Questions You Might Have
I don’t have gluten-free self-raising flour, can I just use gluten-free plain flour (all-purpose flour) instead?
If you only have gluten-free plain flour, just use the same amount of flour, plus 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder. If you’re not specifically aiming for making them gluten-free, you can just use regular plain flour (all-purpose flour).
Are there other substitutions for coconut oil?
Yes, you can use vegan butter to replace coconut oil in this recipe. Make sure to let vegan butter sit at room temperature for a few minutes, so it’s not too hard to handle.
Can I use other types of sugar?
Yes, you can use any common type of sugar, like golden sugar, organic cane sugar, and brown sugar. Just be aware of the differences in taste of different types of sugar.
Final Words
These peanut butter cookies are very soft and fragile, which makes it feel like it melts in your mouth when you bite in. The rich peanut butter flavor is seriously everything I would tell for these cookies. And I hope you love these cookies as much as I do.
If you make them, let me know by leaving comments down below, or tagging me on Instagram (@barrelleaf). Cheers!
More Vegan Recipes:
- Vegan Mixed Berry Crumble Bars (Gluten-free)
- 1-bowl Vegan Strawberry Banana Bread
- Vegan Peanut Butter Mug Cake (Gluten-free, 8 ingredients)
Melt-in-Your-Mouth Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies (Gluten-free)
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed
- 60 g peanut butter
- 35 g extra-virgin coconut oil, or vegan butter, soft*
- 45 g coconut sugar, **
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 60 g gluten-free self-raising flour, all-purpose gluten-free self-rising flour***
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- A pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175 °C / 350 °F. Line a baking sheet with a baking mat.
- Make the “flax egg” by mixing the ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water. Set it aside for later.
- Add peanut butter, soft coconut oil, and coconut sugar to a mixing bowl. Whisk together until just combined. Make sure not to over whisk.
- Add the “flax egg” and vanilla extract to the peanut butter mixture. Mix them together evenly.
- Then add flour, baking soda, and salt to the mixture. Mix them together until all ingredients come together.
- Use a tablespoon to scoop out a heaping tablespoon of the mixture and place it on the lined baking sheet. Repeat to use up all cookie dough.
- Use your hands to roll the cookie dough into balls. Be mindful not to touch them too long; otherwise, it might become too soft. If they are too soft, you can pop them into the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Gently press the balls against the baking sheet to make them about 1.25 cm or 1/2 inch thick.
- Bake in the preheated oven at 175 °C / 350 °F for 10-12 minutes until the cookies are golden brown.
- Transfer the baking sheet onto a wire rack to let the cookies cool down completely.
Video
Notes
- *Coconut oil: Coconut oil will be in liquid form over 24 °C. If your coconut oil is fluid, pop it in the fridge for an hour or so before you start making the cookies.
- **Coconut sugar: You can also use other types of sugar like brown sugar, golden sugar, etc. Just be aware of the differences in different types of sugar.
- ***Gluten-free self-raising flour: I’m in the UK and I use this store-bought one. You can just use self-raising flour if you’re not specifically aiming for making them gluten-free. If you only have gluten-free plain flour, just use the same amount of flour plus 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder.
