5-Ingredient Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

Abra and I both have a PB obsession. We buy the biggest jars available at the store and consider it a pantry staple as we’re always trying something new with it. Spreading it over toast and rice cakes, trying it in a salad, smothering apples with it, drizzling it over pancakes and waffles, stirring it into hot chocolate and guzzling it from the jar. NBD.

What can we say, we’re true peanut butter lovahs. Which is exactly why we made you these easy VEGAN PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES for day 6 of #AKCookieWeek. They’re completely customizable and just so happen to be gluten free and grain free too — whoo hoo!

Ingredients in vegan peanut butter cookies

Surprisingly these vegan peanut butter cookies are only made in one bowl with just 5 simple ingredients. No eggs, no dairy, no butter, no gluten! Just a few ingredients for soft, chewy peanut butter cookies that everyone will love. Here’s what you need:

Peanut butter: make sure you use an all natural drippy peanut butter.
Flaxseed meal: we use this to make a ‘flaxegg’.
Pure maple syrup: these peanut butter cookies are naturally sweetened!
Almond flour: make sure to use a fine blanched almond flour to get the right texture and consistency in these cookies.
Baking soda: a little baking soda to create the perfect texture.

vegan peanut butter cookies on a baking sheet

How to make vegan peanut butter cookies

Making peanut butter cookies vegan is easy!

Make a ‘flaxegg’. Combine flaxseed meal and water in a bowl then place in fridge to gel up.
Mix in the remaining ingredients. After flax egg gels up, add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and stir until well combined and a dough forms.
Chill dough for 15-20 minutes. You’ll want to chill the dough while the oven preheats.
Preheat oven and prepare cookie sheet by lining it with parchment paper.
Form dough into balls. Place on prepared cookie sheet and just slightly flatten the top.
Bake cookies. For 10-12 minutes or until edges are slightly golden brown. Allow cookies to cool for 5-10 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to wire rack. Enjoy!

vegan peanut butter cookies on parchment paper with toppings

How to customize peanut butter cookies

I wanted to test these a few different options to make these peanut butter cookies your own, especially during the holiday season.

Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies: Add 1/3 cup chocolate chips to the batter. You can use vegan/dairy free chocolate chips if you’d like. I love sprinkling them with sea salt after.
To make PB&J thumbprints: make sure you slightly flatten the tops of the cookies before baking. Once they come out of the oven, take a ½ teaspoon or your thumb and gently press a thumbprint into the center of each cookie dough ball. Fill the center of each cookie with about ½ teaspoon of raspberry or strawberry jam.
To make peanut butter blossoms: make sure you slightly flatten the tops of the cookies before baking. Once they come out of the oven, take a ½ teaspoon or your thumb and gently press a thumbprint into the center of each cookie dough ball. Next, melt 2 ounces of dark chocolate or about ⅓ cup chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second increments. Add about ½ teaspoon melted chocolate to the thumbprint of each cookie and place back on wire rack. The chocolate will eventually harden, or you can stick them on a plate/cookie sheet and place in the fridge for 5 minutes to harden the chocolate.
To make salted chocolate pretzel cookies: once cookies come out of the oven, place 1 gluten free pretzel in the middle of the cookie and gently press down. Next melt ¼ cup chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second increments, stirring in between until smooth. Drizzle the tops of the cookies with chocolate and sprinkle with a little sea salt.

vegan peanut butter cookies stacked

#AKCookieWeek Giveaway Details:

We’ll be selecting one lucky person to win a 5-Quart KitchenAid Stand Mixer (in color of choice) at the end of #AKCookieWeek. To enter:

Share any of your Ambitious Kitchen cookie recipe creations by posting a photo to Instagram or in our private AK Facebook group with the hashtag #AKCookieWeek. On Instagram your profile must be public and you must post a photo in your feed (not on stories) in order for the entry to count.
The more you share, the great your chance of winning!
18+ USA only.

Winner will be randomly selected on 12/12 and contacted via Instagram or Facebook.

I hope you love these vegan peanut butter cookies! Please leave a comment below and let me know if you make them.

5-Ingredient Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

Deliciously soft, classic vegan peanut butter cookies made with 5 simple ingredients plus a few fun flavor variations! You’ll love making these easy vegan and gluten free peanut butter cookies for the holidays and any time you need a sweet treat.

1
tablespoon
flaxseed meal + 3 tablespoons water
½
cup
creamy natural drippy peanut butter (only peanuts + salt as ingredients)
Optional: ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4
cup
pure maple syrup
1/3
cup
packed fine blanched almond flour (pack it like you would with brown sugar)
1/2
teaspoon
baking soda

In a medium bowl, mix together flaxseed meal and water. Place in the fridge for 10 minutes to allow for the mixture to gel up.
After 10 minutes, add peanut butter, pure maple syrup, almond flour, and baking soda to the bowl and mix until well combined. The dough should appear to be soft and somewhat wet. Refrigerate dough for 15-20 minutes while oven heats up.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
After 10-15 minutes, roll dough into heaping tablespoon sized balls (yes the dough will still be slightly soft) and place on cookie sheet. Gently flatten the tops of the cookies with the palm of your hand. If you like thicker, puffy cookies, do not flatten. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes. Allow cookies to sit on baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Makes 15-18 cookies.
Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies: Add 1/3 cup chocolate chips to the batter. You can use vegan/dairy free chocolate chips if you’d like. I love sprinkling them with sea salt after!
To make PB&J thumbprints: make sure you slightly flatten the tops of the cookies before baking. Once they come out of the oven, take a ½ teaspoon or your thumb and gently press a thumbprint into the center of each cookie dough ball. Fill the center of each cookie with about ½ teaspoon of raspberry or strawberry jam.
To make peanut butter blossoms: make sure you slightly flatten the tops of the cookies before baking. Once they come out of the oven, take a ½ teaspoon or your thumb and gently press a thumbprint into the center of each cookie dough ball. Next, melt 2 ounces of dark chocolate or about ⅓ cup chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second increments. Add about ½ teaspoon melted chocolate to the thumbprint of each cookie and place back on wire rack. The chocolate will eventually harden, or you can stick them on a plate/cookie sheet and place in the fridge for 5 minutes to harden the chocolate.
To make salted chocolate pretzel cookies: once cookies come out of the oven, place 1 gluten free pretzel in the middle of the cookie and gently press down. Next melt ¼ cup chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second increments, stirring in between until smooth. Drizzle the tops of the cookies with chocolate and sprinkle with a little sea salt.