Soft and tender vegan peanut butter chocolate chip cookies with gooey pools of chocolate. The dough doesn’t need to be chilled and the cookies are easy to make!
Ingredients you’ll need
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the gray recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Notes about the ingredients
Creamy peanut butter. These cookies will work with processed peanut butter (like Skippy) or natural peanut butter that has no added oil. Natural peanut butter results in slightly more crumbly cookies.
Chocolate chips and chocolate chunks. We’re adding chunks of chocolate to these cookies as they stay gooey and melted for longer!
Granulated sugar to encourage the cookies to spread and a little brown sugar for depth of flavor.
These cookies are adapted from my vegan peanut butter cookie recipe but have a different ratio of sugar and baking soda so they spread more and have chewier edges.
Making vegan peanut butter chocolate chip cookies
These cookies are easy to make! In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter with the sugar and peanut butter, add the dry ingredients, then fold in the chocolate chips. For the full instructions, scroll to the bottom of this post.
For the best peanut butter cookies, here are my recommendations:
- Measure your sugar and flour accurately. If you’re using measuring cups, use the spoon and level method. To do this, use a spoon to add flour to your measuring cup, and level it off with a knife. If you use your cup to scoop flour out of its container, you can collect too much flour which results in dry cookies. Or, for the best results, use the gram measurements.
- Make sure you beat the butter, sugar and non-dairy milk well. The milk helps dissolve the sugar, and the dissolved sugar helps bind the cookies (like a partial egg substitute). If you don’t beat the wet ingredients well, your cookies will be more crumbly.
Baking these cookies
I like using a cookie scoop to divide cookie dough as it’s easier, less messy and gives you more even portions.
Peanut butter hinders cookies from spreading, so we need to slightly flatten the cookie dough balls before baking.
If you like extra thick Levain-style cookies, leave the cookie dough as balls. The thicker cookies have chewy and crisp edges with a doughy center.
How to store the cookies
These cookies stay soft and keep well for a few days. I recommend storing them in an airtight container in a cool place. If your home is very warm, keep them in the fridge!
If you’d like to ‘refresh’ your cookies so you get gooey pools of chocolate, zap the cookies in the microwave for a few seconds. Or reheat them in the oven for 5 minutes.
Customizing this recipe
You can replace the granulated and brown sugar with coconut sugar. Your cookies may not spread as easily (so flatten them a little more) and might be a little more crumbly.
Otherwise, check out my 3-ingredient vegan peanut butter cookies made from only almond flour, maple syrup and peanut butter, and add chocolate chips.
Yes, you can use almond butter or cashew butter in these cookies without any big changes. However, those nut butters are usually thicker than peanut butter and contain less fat, so your cookies will be a little drier. You may also need to add more dairy-free milk to your dough.
More easy vegan cookies
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Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Soft and tender vegan peanut butter chocolate chip cookies with gooey pools of chocolate. The dough doesn’t need to be chilled and the cookies are easy to make!
Servings: 18 cookies
Ingredients
Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
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Instructions
Make the vegan peanut butter cookies:
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Add the vegan butter, sugars, dairy-free milk and vanilla to a large bowl (if using a hand mixer) or the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat until light and fluffy and some of the sugar has dissolved. Add the peanut butter and beat until well combined.
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Add the flour, baking soda and salt and mix until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir through. The cookie dough should be very soft and tacky, but not too sticky. The consistency of your dough will hugely depend on the consistency of your peanut butter and vegan butter. If your dough is crumbly, add a ½ tablespoon (8g) of milk at a time and mix again. If your dough is very sticky, add 1 tablespoon (8g) of flour and mix again (or chill your dough).
Shape and bake the cookies:
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Divide and roll the cookie dough into around 18 balls.
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Arrange the cookie dough balls on your prepared baking sheets with about 5 cm (2 inches) between them. Using your fingers or the back of a glass, slightly flatten all of the balls. If desired, press more chocolate chips or chunks in the surface of each cookie.
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Bake the cookies in your preheated oven for around 13-16 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden brown. For soft cookies, bake them for less time or for crunchier cookies, bake them for longer.
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Allow the cookies to cool on the baking trays for at least 20-30 minutes. They’ll be very soft when they’re warm but will firm up. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely. If desired, sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
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Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Notes
- These cookies will work with chilled spreadable vegan butter. If using spreadable butter, I recommend omitting the milk if necessary. Your dough may be a little softer and will puff up more. You can also use softened coconut oil (and include the milk). Your cookies will be more crisp as coconut oil is higher in fat than vegan butter.
- Don’t skip the milk as it helps dissolve the sugar which binds the cookies. The exception is if you use spreadable vegan butter as it contains more liquid.
- This recipe works well using gluten-free flour but I recommend using the gram measurements. Unlike regular flour, different brands of gluten-free flour have different densities, so 1 cup of one brand can weigh 125g, whereas another brand can weigh 160g. I used a blend made from maize, tapioca, rice flour and vegetable gums. Depending on your flour, you may need to add an extra dash of flour or milk.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 cookie | Calories: 225kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Sodium: 107mg | Potassium: 75mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 244IU | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg
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