ShareThisHere’s another small batch vegan cookie. I came up with this recipe yesterday after making the molasses cookies. Since this was highly experimental, I made a very small batch – 8 cookies. If you like the recipe, you might want to double it.
If you are not a vegan but like using natural ingredients, honey is a good substitute for the corn syrup. In fact, I made my first batch with honey and loved the flavor. For the vegan version, I changed it to corn syrup. Brown rice syrup or molasses might work too.
I used Smart Balance natural peanut butter because it has added Omega 3’s. Other natural peanut butters should work. Regular peanut butter would probably work, but the cookies might be too sweet so I can’t say for sure.
One last thing. For the flour, I used Eagle Mills Ultragrain, but you could use unbleached all purpose instead.
Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies (Makes 8 cookies)
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoons flour (70 grams) – lightly spooned, evenly swept
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (2.5 ml)
1/8 teaspoon salt (.6 ml)
1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar (48 grams)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (30 ml)
1 tablespoon light corn/glucose syrup or honey (15 ml)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (1.25 ml)
1 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce (15 ml)
1/4 cup natural style peanut butter (64 grams)
Sparkly sugar or turbinado sugar for garnish (optional)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F or 165 degrees C.
In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and salt.
In a second bowl, mix brown sugar, vegetable oil, corn syrup (or honey), vanilla, apple sauce and natural peanut butter. Stir until smooth.
Add flour mixture to brown sugar mixture and stir until mixed. Form dough into 8 equal pieces and shape pieces into balls. Press down slightly to make neat mounds. Place the 8 mounds about 2 1/2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and sprinkle tops with sparkly sugar or use a fork and press a criss-cross pattern on top of each cookie. These don’t spread much, so if you don’t press the criss-cross, make sure you shape the cookies neatly.
Bake for 15 minutes. Let cool for 3 minute on sheet, then transfer to wire rack to cool.
Makes 8 cookies
I just want to say thank you, Anna. I tried several of your cookie recipes last week before Christmas and every one was terrific! I guess that’s why I check this blog daily to see what you’ve discovered next and tried.
Happy New Year.
Laurel
Ooh, I love the small batch idea. Since it’s just Mr. Cakespy and myself, a lot of the time we can’t go through them fast enough. Nice idea! And these look really good!
AK mentioned these and said they were YUMMY! The picture looks fantastic! Yay new camera!
Hi Laurel,
Did you have a particular favorite?
Cakespy, I really liked these, but would love to get a second opinion. They are very, very easy to make, so let me know if you throw together a batch.
AJC, AK and Fuzz both loved version one. This is actually version 2 — it’s slightly more peanut buttery. I’ll send you version one if you want to make it for AK. I think the girls liked version one better because it was more sugar cookie-esqe and less peanut buttery. This version is pretty peanut buttery. Thanks for commenting on the picture.
Hmmmm….I think the caramel macchiato. They’re different and delicious.
Laurel
Anna — do you like the Smart Balance pb? I found it VERY, VERY oily, even when I tried to stir it up. ‘Course, when I tried to remedy the situation by skimming off the excess oil, I found myself with a jar of [totally inedible] peanut butter concrete. I ended up throwing out almost 1/2 a jar (and kicking myself as I did so).
Regardless, I’ll definitely try these cookies, most likely w/ Skippy or Jif that I have on the shelf. Like Cakespy, I, too, love the “small batches”, since it’s just hubby and me. Made 1/2 a batch of the Gourmet Double-Chocolate Biscotti today, subbing a mix of chocolate-covered almonds and espresso beans for the walnuts (allergic) and chocolate chips. Yummy!
Laurel, those were really good. I wish they had been my idea!
Meredith, the oil doesn’t bother me. The peanut butter has added Omega 3’s (from flax) so I figure whatever oil that’s floating around on top is good for me.
Mmm these are great. Thanks for the recipe, I made them last night and they were yummy. A perfect snack for a really hard bike ride, they got me up all the hills!
I was looking for a vegan peanut butter cookie recipe and I came across this one. And I’m so glad! I just made them and they’re awesome. I’ve already ate two! I’m bringing the rest to my boyfriend at lunch.
I’ll definately make them again, and try your other recipes too.
Thank you!
Oh my gosh! I just have to say, I tried that recipe yesterday, and I’ve already eaten almost half the batch (on my own!). I did make some modifications – I had hazelnut butter in lieu of peanut butter and added in organic semi-sweet chocolate chips. When I measured out the flour it “spilled over” so the dough was a bit dry. I added a bit of soy milk to moisten it up, and the end result was the SOFTEST & FLUFFIEST cookies I’ve ever eaten OR made! I just had to say thanks for the base recipe and let you know how my modifications turned out! Can’t wait to check out the other recipes…
Jessica, I rarely have hazelnut butter around, but I might buy some (or make some) just to try your version of the cookies. Thanks for trying it with a different type nut butter.
That’s what’s so fun about these small batch recipes. You can alter them, play with them, and experiement all you want without wasting too many (if any) ingredients.
Thank you for this recipe! Super delicious. I was inspired and in my second batch I added some cinnamon, a spoonful of almond meal and oat flour. A bit crumbly (but I enjoy them that way).
Loved these cookies…The only thing I changed was trading the olis for coconut butter. It turned out perfect.
Hi Mishelle,
Thanks for trying to cookies! I’ll have to buy some coconut oil so I can try your version.
BE CAREFUL, HONEY IS NOT CONSIDERED VEGAN. BUT GREAT RECIPE, CAN’T WAIT TO MAKE IT FOR MY DAD
THANKS LESLEY! I MENTIONED THAT IN THE TEXT ABOVE. STILL, YOU CAN NEVER BE TOO CAREFUL. HOPE YOUR DAD LIKES THE COOKIES.
Thank you sooooo much for the recipe!! It was the best peanut butter bikkies ever!!
but these bikkies turned out wonderfully (chewy and just the right taste) and less guilty 
Thanks again! i am gonna bake them today again!!
My partner normally doesnt enjoy my bikkies that much cause I always try to make healthier version
Hi,
Thanks for posting the recipe. I’m wondering what the texture of the cookies is suppose to be? Like is it suppose to be chewy and moist or something else? I tried this recipe exactly as stated except minus the apple sauce (I don’t have any) and the cookies came out very dry. The texture is kinda like this dusty/sandy type of texture. Do you know what I might be doing wrong? Thanks
Hi George,
My guess is your problem was due to the omission of applesauce and some sort of flour issue. Either you used too much (packed the cups) or used a brand that’s heavier. If you weighed out the flour and used 70 grams, then it was probably something else like the brand of peanut butter.
The cookies are naturally a little dry (but not in an unpleasant way) and crumbly. So it sounds like you just needed a little more moisture added to the dough (applesauce).
Thanks for responding. I used King Arthur All-Purpose Flour and Whole Foods 365 Peanut Butter (the type with peanut bits in them). I actually tried the recipe twice, in the second time, I increased the peanut butter to half a cup, thinking the recipe might need more fat. That only slightly helped the texture of the cookies. The cookies are still on the dry side, like if I bite into them, pieces would fall off. I will get apple sauce and give it a go again.
Also, I am not a vegan, just a vegetarian that wants to avoid using butter as called for in most peanut butter cookie recipes. I am wondering if adding an egg help? And if so, would it make a difference if I used egg whites or a full egg with the yolk. Thanks again.
George, if these cookies aren’t for you, here are a couple of others you may like better. Here’s a link to one of my favorites. It’s a wheat free peanut butter cookie with chocolate chips and it’s very moist and not too crumbly. If you have some oats and rice in the house, you can just grind them in a coffee grinder to make the flour.
http://www.cookiemadness.net/?p=2106
Another good peanut butter recipe is the old flourless variety. It’s not vegan, but it doesn’t have any butter either.
http://www.cookiemadness.net/?p=1109
If you want to keep playing with this recipe by adding egg, you might try beating an egg in a cup then adding in about 2 tablespoons of the beaten egg. I think the applesauce was supposed to be a stand-in for egg anyway.
Also, I’ve found increasing the peanut butter can make a cookie even more dry and crumbly. If you find the original too dry, you might want to keep the peanut butter the same, but increase the oil slightly. Then again, if you’re going to add egg you shouldn’t have too.
Anna,
I really appreciate your responses. It helps out a newbie like me quite a lot. I love the taste of the original recipe, I’m just trying to figure out how to get it to the right texture. I’ll definitely try the apple sauce and see how it goes. Thanks again.
Yummy but I think my regular peanut butter that already had honey flavor was just over powering it. And I also find them to be dry too as George did. Hmmm I did use applesauce but wondering if egg would help too make them more chewy. Next time I’ll use the corn syrup with this peanut butter because its just a tad more honey flavor than peanut butter.
I happened upon your recipe via a Google search, but happy to see some of my friends have commented! I’ll be trying your recipe soon.
These looks really good, but if they have honey in them, then they are not vegan. Also, if they have refined sugar in them, then they are again, not vegan. Refined sugar goes through an animal bone char, yum.
Dayton, I knew about the honey but wasn’t sure about the refined sugar. Does brown sugar go through animal bone char as well? I’ll research that. Thanks for the heads up!
Great recipe! I doubled the batch and used molasses instead of corn syrup and organic peanut butter. I threw an apple in the Blendtec to make the apple sauce. Made the whole batch in about 30 minutes. Very moist and just sweet enough. Just what I was craving! This one’s a keeper. Thanks!
These look delicious! I’ve been looking for a tasty vegan peanut butter cookie recipe and this one looks the best.
As for the question about sugar, some people say refined sugar is ok for vegan diets because none of the bone residue gets in the sugar during the refining process; some disagree, however. I recently started using Sugar in the Raw to replace refined sugar. Their website indicates that they are indeed kosher and ok for vegan diets. They mention that a lot of brown sugars are just refined sugars with added color and flavor. Here’s their website for more info: http://www.sugarintheraw.com/faq/index.html
Anyway, can’t wait to try the cookies!
^^
here’s another sugar brand that I used yesterday (I used the brown sugar for the recipe). They don’t use animal byproducts when making their sugar and it is ok for vegan diets, as well.
http://www.wholesomesweeteners.com/brands/Wholesome_Sweeteners/Fair_Trade_Certified_Organic_Sugar.html
Cookies were delicious!
Julie, thanks! I’ve actually used that sugar before and it’s great. I’ve been reading up on the bone residue issue. It sounds like it’s controversial even among vegans, but to be safe I think I’m going to use sugar in the raw next time I bake for actual vegans.
This is my first time visiting your blog. I was searching for a good vegan pb cookie for a good friend who just had a baby. Her new diet (for breastfeeding) is dairy free among many other restrictions. I wanted to make her a sweet treat for when she returned home from the hospital. After reading about 20 different recipes I decided on yours based on the ingredients and comments.
I have to say, they came out delicious! I ended up making a double batch for my friend (she loved them and ate two immediately), then an additional batch for my husband and I (neither of us are vegan).
The flavor is all there and more.
Thanks for the recipe. I’m now bookmarking your blog and can’t wait to try more recipes!