Peanut butter lovers, get ready to bake up a delicious gluten free + vegan peanut butter cookie recipe. If you have an egg allergy, Celiac Disease, or other dietary restrictions, I’ve got you covered.
Be sure to check out the ingredient notes, as I cover the different swaps and substitutions you can make with this recipe.Also be sure to look at the table of contents. You can see the questions that have been answered, and something there may apply to you. Let’s get to baking!
Allergy Note: This recipe includes notes for making these cookies peanut free.
Tools for Your Simple Homemade Peanut Butter Cookies
You won’t need too many tools to make these awesome chewy peanut butter cookies today.
- Stand Mixer + Bowl + Paddle Attachment
- Kitchen Scale
- Spatula
- Baking Tray
- Cookie Scoop (I love the OXO brand)
- Parchment Paper
Simple Ingredients to Make the Best Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
I don’t want to brag, but I’ve heard nothing but good things about these cookies. Here are all of the ingredients you’ll need today.
Flax Gel/Egg
This isn’t like regular flax eggs you may have made with other recipes, so please don’t modify the ratio.
- 3 TBSP Golden Flax Meal (Gerbs for Proper Results)
- 6 TBSP Water
Part 1 Ingredients
- 225g Dairy Free Butter/Vegan Butter of Choice (8 ounces) almost room temperature
- 225g Organic Peanut Butter (8 ounces, see notes for peanut free options)
- 240g Organic White Cane Sugar
- 100g Organic Dark Brown Sugar
Part 2
- 200g Sorghum Flour, superfine OR Brown Rice Flour, superfine
- 100g Millet Flour, superfine
- 70g Tiger Nut Flour (tuber, NOT a nut) OR Organic GF Purity Protocol Oat Flour
- 30g Arrowroot
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 2 tsp Organic Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
Ingredient Notes
Before we get to the full instructions, I want to share options on how you substitute different ingredients in this recipe. Remember, these swaps are more about function than taste to make sure everyone can have something safe and delicious. Should you need to make a swap, your cookies will still taste good, but different from what I’ve made.
Peanut Butter Options
You can use any of the following in this easy recipe:
- Natural Peanut Butter
- Creamy Peanut Butter
- Crunchy Peanut Butter
- Organic Peanut Butter
Peanut Free Option Information
If you have a peanut allergy or maybe your jar of peanut butter has been by a child who used up most of it, then left a teeny tiny amount of PB in the jar and put it back in the fridge….. I hate when that happens… point is, you can make this awesome recipe with other spreads and butters. Here are some peanut butter substitute suggestions.
- Almond Butter
- Cashew Butter
- Hazelnut Butter
- Macadamia Nut Butter (only use this if you love the taste of macadamia nuts)
- Pistachio Butter (only use this if you love the taste of pistachios)
- Soy Bean Butter
- Sunflower Seed Butter
- Tiger Nut Butter (tuber, not a tree nut, great if you’re top 9 allergy free)
I don’t suggest coconut butter, walnut butter, watermelon seed butter, or chickpea butter for these cookies. If you can have tree nuts, prioritize nut butters as they have a lot of great depth of flavor. Tiger nut butter (tuber, not a tree nut) is the next top priority based on taste.
If you need a top 9 allergy free cookie, the best brands for seed butters are Sunbutter, 88 Acres, and Beyond the Equator, all of which are produced in top 8 allergy free facilities. These brands also offer crunchy versions of some favors which would be fun to try with these cookies.
If You Need a Sugar Substitute
This cookie recipe uses a classic white sugar + brown sugar combination to bring you a fantastic flavor. Both white sugar and brown sugar are granulated sweeteners (grains) and not liquid sweeteners.
If for some reason you need to swap a sugar, you can only use other granulated sweeteners (date sugar, maple sugar, etc.). You cannot use a liquid sweetener such as maple syrup in place of the granulated sweeteners.
These Are Gluten-Free Cookies, But….
For those who don’t need a gluten-free cookie, you can use 400g of an all purpose flour. The taste will change, the but the function will be the same.
Directions
Let’s get busy making our perfect peanut butter cookies. The best thing about this recipe is that it will show you, hands on, that’s it’s not hard to make peanut butter cookies (or cookies in general if you ask me). Preheat your oven to 325f/160c, and line your baking sheets with parchment paper (for best results you’re going to want to use parchment paper).
To make the cookie dough, start by combining your flax meal and water in a small bowl. This is your flax egg. Allow the water and flax to gel for several minutes.
Place your stand mixer bowl on your kitchen scale and tare to zero. Add all of the Part 1 Ingredients, and tare to zero between them. Now, with the paddle attachment, combine the ingredients. and mix until well combined.
Next, turn your mixer off and return it to your scale. Tare to zero, then add in the Part 2 Ingredients, one at a time. Remember to tare to zero between them. Once they’re all in, return the bowl to the stand. Pulse to combine at first (to prevent a giant mess), then mix on medium speed until a cookie dough forms. That’s it. I know, super easy, right?
If you’ve never made cookie dough before, you’ll know it’s combined properly because the ingredients form a giant mass and pull away from the side of your bowl. You should be able to shape the dough, almost like a play-dough, and it won’t be wet or runny.
If your dough is a little dry for your liking, you can add up to 2 TBSP of water (or something like almond milk or soy milk) to the dough.
Use a medium cookie dough scoop to portion your dough. Roll each portion into a ball, place it on your prepared baking sheets, then flatten a bit with your hand. Use the back of a fork to make a criss-cross/hashtag/pound symbol pattern on top if you’d like. Once all of your cookies are ready, bake at 325f/160c for 16 minutes.
For extra flavour, sprinkle a little finishing salt on your cookies right after they come out of the oven. Cool your cookies on the tray for 8-10 minutes before moving.
Cookie Storage
You can store your baked cookies in an airtight container on your counter for several days, or freeze them for 4 months. I don’t suggest storing your baked cookies in the refrigerator. Edible cookie dough on the other hand should be stored in the refrigerator, or frozen.
To freeze baked cookies, allow the cookies to cool completely. Push the cookies together on the baking tray, and put as many as you can in one single layer. It’s OK if the sides are touching. Cover with a piece of parchment paper and add another single layer of cookies. Now, put the whole tray in your freezer and leave it there for several hours, until the cookies have frozen solid. Once solid, transfer the frozen cookies to a freezer bag and label.
Related Resources
- Peanut Butter Substitutes (all about nut butters, seed butters, and more)
- Is Peanut Butter Gluten Free (a deeper look at ingredients, cross-contact, and more)
- Peanut Butter vs Cashew Butter (comparing nutrition, taste, texture, and applications)
- Nutella vs Peanut Butter (comparing nutrition, taste, and more)
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Different Ways to Enjoy Your Vegan Gluten Free Cookies
You don’t have to make regular cookies if you’re in the mood for something else. With that in mind, here are a few fun ways to use this recipe:
Make cookie balls coated in chocolate.
You’ll want to use a sphere silicone mold for baking to pull this off. The mold will force your dough to make a cookie ball shape rather than spread. Once your cookies have cooled completely, dip them in tempered chocolate for an extra layer of fun.
Top your cookies with a vanilla bean glaze.
To pull this off, you’ll want to purchase organic ground vanilla. In a large mixing cup, combine powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp of ground vanilla, and a splash of vanilla extract. Then, add a liquid of choice (water, almond milk, soy milk, etc.) to form the glaze. Drizzle this all over your cooled cookies.
Make a maple peanut butter cookie.
To make this, add maple extract to your cookie dough. Additionally, swap half or all of the sugar for organic maple sugar. The end result is a peanut butter cookie bursting with mapley goodness.
Make jazzed up edible cookie dough balls.
First, you’ll need to toast all of the flour for 20 minutes, then allow it to cool completely. From there, follow the recipe and leave out the baking soda. Use a cookie dough scoop to portion your edible cookie dough into balls. Roll them into balls, place them on a baking sheets lined with parchment paper, and freeze.
In a separate bowl, temper chocolate (there are several easy ways to do this rather than the pastry chef way with a double boiler and thermometer). Now, place shelled peanuts into a freezer bag and crush them with the smooth side of a mallet or with a rolling pin.
Grab your cookie dough balls from the freezer, dip them in the chocolate, then roll them through the crushed peanuts. Leave them on the baking sheets to set, then you have some seriously jazzed up edible cookie dough balls to enjoy.
More Delicious Gluten Free + Vegan Cookie Recipes
I’ve shared a lot of cookies over on RAISE, my membership website. Here are just a few of the cookie recipes available, and my kids (who can be legit cookie monsters) just love them to bits. All of these recipes are gluten free, vegan, and top 9 allergy free.
- Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Top 9 Free Oatmeal Cookies (one of my kids’ all time favorites)
- Dairy-Free Danish Butter Cookies (it’s like those buttery cookies sold in the blue tin)
- Easy Egg Free + Vegan + Gluten Free Cakey Sugar Cookies
- Candy Cookie Bars (One of my kids is willing to buy me a big LEGO set if I’ll make them a ridiculous amount of these cookies)
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Answering Your Cookie Questions
Is a cookie sheet the same thing as a baking tray?
Not always. Usually when a tray is marketed as a cookie sheet, the material may be different. Additionally, some cookie sheets have small holes in them to promote air circulation. A baking tray will generally be a thick slab of some type of metal with curved edges.
You can use a baking tray for cookies, however, you can’t use a cookie tray in all situations. You wouldn’t be able to use one when making a cake, or with recipes that have a wet batter.
Can I use all white sugar in this recipe instead of the brown sugar?
If you need to only use white sugar in this cookie recipe, the cookies will still function, however, they won’t taste the same. Brown sugar has more depth of flavour when compared to white cane sugar, so you’ll want to keep that in mind. That’s not to say that the cookies won’t taste good, just that they’ll taste different.
Will a hand mixer be able to make this cookie recipe?
Yes, an electric hand mixer (that has a good amount of power) should be able to make this cookie recipe in a large mixing bowl. I personally have the KitchenAid with 7 speeds and tends to handle cookie dough pretty well.
Do gluten free peanut butter cookies work for ice cream sandwiches?
Absolutely yes they do!! These gluten free PB cookies are great for an ice cream sandwich. Just be sure your cookies have cooled 100% before building your ice cream sandwiches. Also, know that you could make a lot of ice cream sandwiches in advance since these eggless peanut butter cookies are also freezer friendly.
Do I really need to make the criss-cross pattern before baking?
Nope. Only do this is you really want to or if you want to have the look of classic peanut butter cookies. The criss-cross pattern doesn’t affect the function of your cookies. You’ll also have one less fork to clean 🙂
Do I need to cool my baked cookies on a wire rack?
No, you don’t need to use a wire rack (sometimes called a cooling rack) to cool these cookies. I cool mine on the baking tray for 8-10 minutes before transferring them, and you’ll need to do the same to take advantage of the carryover cooking. If you’re working in a small kitchen and have a cooling rack that stacks, that could be super helpful to use after the 8-10 minutes on the tray.
Can I swap the flour for almond flour instead?
No, you can’t use almond flour in place of my flour blend in this recipe. Gluten free flours such as almond flour and coconut flour have very special properties and recipes need to be developed with those specific flours in mind. Now, if you were to use an all purpose flour that has almond flour as part of the blend, that would be OK. On its own though, almond flour can’t get the job done.
Will coconut sugar work in this recipe?
Yes, coconut sugar, or any other granulated sweetener, can replace the white sugar and brown sugar in this recipe. However, the taste will absolutely change. The function will still be there, but be sure to manage your expectations. Also, it must be a granulated sweetener (so nothing like maple syrup or honey would work).
Will whole wheat flour work in this cookie recipe?
Whole wheat flour, in place of my gluten free flour blend should work out OK. I wouldn’t use a specialty flour such as spelt flour or barley flour in these no egg peanut butter cookies, but a whole wheat flour (all purpose flour) should be A-OK. Happy baking!
Is it safe to eat the raw cookie dough since there’s no raw eggs?
Do you know what’s so interesting: most people don’t know that you should eat raw flour (in addition to raw eggs). Will sampling a little raw cookie dough knock you out? No, of course not. However, if you’d like to eat copious amounts of “raw peanut butter cookie dough” you’ll need to make this recipe in the edible cookie dough style.
To do that, you’ll bake the flour for about 20 minutes at 350f/175c. After baking, allow the flour to cool completely, then make the recipe. If you don’t have any intentions of baking the raw cookie dough, you can skip the baking soda as well.
How close are these to traditional peanut butter cookies?
I may be biased, but I’d say this eggless peanut butter cookie recipe is pretty dang close to traditional peanut butter cookies. They have a rich peanut butter flavor, the classic criss-cross pattern, and sugar. Focus on the sugar. Ohu! And the texture is on point as well.
The cool thing about cookies, in my humble opinion, is that they come in a huge range of options. With that in mind, it’s not too difficult to create something that’s close to a traditional recipe since we can swap this for that and so on.
Does this recipe make a soft cookie?
I wouldn’t say these delicious peanut butter cookies are soft. They definitely have crispy edges and a bit of a chewy texture in the center. If you’re wanting something that’s cloud/pillow soft, you’d need to adjust the flour ratio, as well as the shape when baking.
Would crunchy peanut butter taste better than smooth peanut butter in these cookies?
That’s going to come down to personal preference. I have a child that will only eat crunchy spreads/butters and when I make these cookies, I often make a second batch with a crunchy butter. Said child thinks they’re the best peanut butter cookies on the planet when I do that. If they happen to eat one made with smooth peanut butter, they’re like, eh, they’re OK.
So whatever you love is what you should bake with. Both smooth peanut butter and crunchy peanut butter will have the same function in the recipe, and only the texture will change. Have fun!
Would these cookies taste good with American buttercream frosting?
If you used a small amount of American buttercream frosting, I’d say yes. However, if you plan to use a lot of the frosting, I’d say no and that’s because American buttercream tends to be pretty sweet. If you opt for the frosting, think about fun flavor pairings such as chocolate frosting + PB cookies, etc.
Could I add chocolate chips to this cookie recipe?
Yes, you can add chocolate chips and have mouth watering gluten-free dairy-free peanut butter chocolate chip cookies that allllllll your friends will want. For the record, I’ve tested this recipe with both dairy-free chocolate chips and dairy-free white chocolate chips. In terms of how much chocolate chips to add, you’ll want to use what you’d use if you were making chocolate chip cookies. They both turn out beautifully.
I follow a low sodium diet. Could I adapt this recipe for my needs?
You sure can! I have a few suggestions for you. First, make sure you purchase no salt peanut butter. Next, don’t use the salt that I call for in this recipe. Third, add one teaspoon of organic ground vanilla. It’s a pricey product, but worth every penny.
Fourth, and this is optional, add maple extract (I use the Cook’s Organic brand) to your recipe. 1 or 2 teaspoons should be good. The goal of all of these suggestions is to make you the perfect vegan peanut butter cookie without salt, which means we’ll need to bring in some flavouring options from other ingredients. The maple and ground vanilla do that SO well. Enjoy!
Can I use coconut oil in place of the vegan butter in this recipe?
I don’t suggest that. A better substitute would be coconut shortening or palm shortening. Coconut oil is a special fat and if you need to use it for a medical reason, I think you’ll have better results by starting with a recipe that uses it to being with.
Would I be able to sweeten these cookies with applesauce instead of sugar?
No, this dessert is not designed to be sweetened with applesauce. It would not only ruin the consistency and sweetness of the cookies, but the overall flavor profile as well. What you’ll want to do is search online specifically for something like “vegan gluten-free peanut butter cookies recipe sweetened with applesauce”. When you’re that specific, you’re more likely to find what you need.
If you’re unable to find anything like that, and assuming you can have dates, try searching but use dates instead of applesauce in your search. You can also look up “raw vegan peanut butter cookie recipe” and find options that use unrefined sweeteners. Happy baking!
Could I swap some of the flour for protein powder?
In theory, yes, in practice, maybe. There are a lot of factors, and the top concern would be the type of protein powder you’re using. Some protein powders have a pretty distinct taste and may clash with these cookies. Others don’t bake as well.
If you’ve done this before and know the ratio for your specific protein powder, I think it’s worth a try. If you’ve never done this before, I’d suggest searching something like “vegan protein powder cookie recipe” so you can gaining a working knowledge of how it works.
Is there a way to make this cookie recipe with less carbohydrates?
No, there really isn’t. I mean, you could reduce the cane sugars by about 15 – 20% which can help. I’m guessing you have a limited number of carbohydrates you can consume in one sitting. If that’s the case, you have two options. First, use a small cookie dough scoop when portioning your dough so you have smaller cookies. Smaller cookies = less carbohydrates. You’d only have a bite or two of cookies, but you wouldn’t need to use a special recipe.
Your second option is to look up a low carb or keto peanut butter cookie recipe. Unfortunately, this recipe isn’t made to be adapted for low carb and keto. Make sure you include egg free or vegan in your search term of you need that as well.
Would these cookies taste good with brownies?
If we’re talking about brookies, um, yes. These peanut butter cookies would taste amazing with brownies. Talk about a great combination of two desserts 🙂
Could I bake these as cookie muffins?
Yes, you can, but I suggest making them mini muffins. When you use a large/standard muffin tin, the bake time is considerably longer and you run the risk of burning your cookies. If you make mini muffins instead, your bake time won’t change too much (it will probably be a tad longer since the cookies are technically taller), and the cookies won’t burn.