3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies (no egg/ vegan)

These ultra soft and chewy Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies are ready in less than 15 minutes! They are gluten-free and there's no egg, no sugar (refined) and no dairy involved! All you'll need is 3 simple ingredients.

These cookies are made without regular flour. There's also no butter and no milk involved making them not only vegan but also lower in fat than more traditional cookies.

For more easy cookie recipes try 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Blossoms, 2-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies, Healthier Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies or Low Calorie Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• It takes less than 15 minutes to prepare (including the baking!) which makes this recipe also great to prepare with kids! 
• It consists of a handful of simple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry.
• There's no special equipment needed- it's all mixed together in 1 bowl.
• These 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies are vegan, refined sugar-free, gluten-free and soy-free. 

Ingredients & Substitution Notes

• Peanut Butter: These peanut butter cookies are made without butter but peanut butter instead. You could use salted or unsalted peanut butter but what's really important is that it contains no additives (no added oil or sugar). Textures can vary from brand to brand and slightly change the consistency of the cookie. The recipe will still work though as long as you use peanut butter that consists 100% of peanuts. If you can't eat peanuts, you could try almond butter instead.
• Almond Flour: The only dry ingredient, that helps the dough stick together. Can NOT be replaced with other grain free flour types such as coconut flour, oat flour or rice flour because the amount needed will be much different. 
• Maple Syrup: These flourless cookies are made without brown sugar such as more regular cookies. Instead the recipe calls for maple syrup as a sweetener. Because there's also no eggs involved, the maple syrup is used to make the dough sticky. You could use agave syrup, coconut syrup or brown rice syrup instead.

How to Make These Peanut Butter Cookies

These vegan peanut butter cookies are super easy to make. All it takes is a few minutes of prep time and less than 10 minutes of baking! 

Step 1: Make the dough

Put all of the ingredients (peanut butter, almond flour & maple syrup) to a medium mixing bowl and stir until well combined using a spoon or a spatula. Put the dough in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Divide the dough into 16 pieces using a cookie scoop or spoon. Place them onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Use a (slightly damp) fork to press down the cookie balls, creating a cross shape. 

Put in the oven to bake for 12 minutes. Take the tray out of the oven and leave the cookies on the hot tray for another 15 minutes (they will continue to bake). Then transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Expert Tips

• Do not overbake: For these eggless peanut butter cookies to stay really soft and chewy, it's important to bake them for about 12 minutes max. If you prefer crispier cookies, go for 13 minutes. 
• Don't flatten too much: The cookies should be quite thick still after flattening them with a fork. 
• More flavor: these vegan peanut butter cookies exist only of 3 ingredients. To achieve more flavors, add some additional ingredients (see section below for suggestions).

Optional Add-Ins

• Vanilla Extract: Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract for some subtle vanilla flavors.
• Cinnamon: pairs very well with peanut butter and creates a slightly more festive flavor. 
• Cacao: try adding a teaspoon of cacao powder for some additional flavor.
• Chocolate Chips: for even more chocolatey flavors, try adding some chocolate chips. Go for vegan chocolate chips to keep this recipe vegan.
• Protein Powder: add even more protein (peanut butter is already high in protein) with a scoop of protein powder. Make sure to reduce the amount of almond flour by a scoop then. 
• Nuts: Mix in some chopped nuts such as pecans or walnuts for some additional crunchiness. 
• Sea Salt: Sprinkle with some sea salt to create some delicious sweet and salty flavours. 

Storage & Freezing

Keep these peanut butter cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Can also be frozen in an airtight container or ziplock bag. Defrost on the counter the night before. 

FAQs