Peanut Butter Dairy-Free Cookies are soft, chewy, and have a smooth peanut butter flavor with a delightful sugar coating. You’ll love that this cookie recipe is made without milk and bakes in under 10 minutes!
Why You’ll Love Dairy-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
- Simple to Make: These easy dairy-free cookies require no special tools and a cookie scoop or tablespoon helps the cookies be perfectly sized for even, no-fuss, baking.
- Soft and Sugary: Cookies have a slightly crisp outer layer of sugary goodness and a soft inside that will melt in your mouth. Don’t believe that desserts without butter or milk are dry. Smooth vegan butter and creamy peanut butter lock in moisture for lactose-free cookies everyone can enjoy.
- Easy to Make Ahead: Batter stores well overnight in the refrigerator so you can mix ingredients a day before and serve up fresh baked cookies at just the right time. You can also store sugar-coated dough balls in the freezer for a cookie fix anytime!
Ingredients
To make peanut butter cookies without dairy, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Vegan Butter: Plant-based creamy buttery texture without dairy, softened at room temperature.
- Creamy Peanut Butter: Keeps these cookies smooth and moist. Choose one that you like the flavor of - preferably one that has a strong peanut flavor!
- Brown Sugar: For molasses notes and chewy texture. Light or dark brown sugars work, but dark brown sugar has an elevated molasses flavor.
- Granulated Sugar: Classic granulated sugar for sweetening the dough and coating cookies before baking.
- Egg: One whole egg works to bind the batter, best at room temperature.
- Vanilla Extract: A cookie classic. You can also use an equal amount of vanilla paste.
- All-Purpose Flour: If gluten is an issue for you, you can swap for a gluten-free baking blend.
- Salt: Fine salt mixes easily into the dough.
- Baking Soda: For chewy, not flat cookies.
Substitutions
- Gluten-Free Flour: For gluten-free dairy-free peanut butter cookies I use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour.
How to Make Dairy-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
Here’s how to make peanut butter cookies with no milk:
Step 1: In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl with a hand mixer, add the vegan butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Cream together until light and fluffy.
Step 2: Add the egg and vanilla, and beat again.
Step 3: In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Add this to the wet ingredients and use a spatula to mix until just combined.
Step 4: Cover the bowl and let it chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours, or up to overnight.
Step 5: Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 6: Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop the chilled dough onto your hand and roll it into a ball. Roll the ball into some granulated sugar and place it on the baking sheet. Be sure to leave at least 2 inches in between the dough balls.
Step 7: Bake the cookies for 8 to 9 minutes. When they come out they will be very soft. Let the cookies cool on the pan for about 10 minutes before moving them onto a wire rack to keep the bottoms crisp.
Recipe Success Tips
- Use non-natural peanut butter. Natural peanut butter tends to separate and will change the texture of these cookies and may cause them to be oily. SKIPPY® or similar no-stir peanut butter is recommended.
- Start with room-temperature butter. These non-dairy peanut butter cookies use vegan butter, which can melt at cooler temperatures than dairy butter. Room-temperature ingredients mix well together. This means your cookies will have a smooth texture without being greasy.
- Use a cookie scoop. A cookie scoop makes cookies the same size and helps them spread evenly. I use a 4-teaspoon scoop to fit 8 cookies per tray.
- Shape cookies into circles after baking. If you love symmetry or want a uniform presentation, you can shape your cookies into a fleet of perfectly round treats. Underbake the cookies for 30 seconds to 1 minute and then, working one cookie at a time, place a large round cookie cutter around the cookie. Gently swirl the cutter around the soft cookie, evening out any imperfections and creating beautifully round cookies.
Recipe Variations
Dairy-free peanut butter cookies can be made with any of these variations:
- Chocolate: Mix in or press a few chocolate chips into the peanut butter dough balls for chocolate chip peanut butter cookies. To keep this cookie recipe non-dairy, make sure to use a non-dairy chocolate chip such as the Enjoy Life brand. Or use a vegetable peeler to top cookies with shreds of your favorite chocolate bar.
- Finish with a Drizzle: Drizzle baked cookies with additional melted peanut butter or dark chocolate.
- Almond: To double up on nutty flavor, use almond extract instead of vanilla extract and press one whole almond into the center of each cookie when you remove them from the oven.
- Keto: If you're looking for a keto-friendly recipe, try these sugar-free peanut butter cookies instead.
Serving Suggestions
Dairy-free cookies are delicious for a weeknight dessert or packing in lunchboxes. These cookies are made without milk, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t also delicious for dunking into a glass of non-dairy milk or dipping in your coffee!
Storage Directions
- Store: Dairy-free peanut butter cookies keep covered in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freeze: Cookies can also be kept in a freezer-safe container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Cool completely before freezing. Sugar-coated cookie dough balls also freeze for up to 3 months.
- Defrosting: Thaw cookies at room temperature for 30 minutes - 1 hour or until thawed through.
FAQs
You may find yourself asking, “does peanut butter have milk or dairy in it” since “butter” is in the name? Most peanut butter is gluten-free and dairy-free and many are made with just a few ingredients.
If you are vegan or eat dairy-free, check the ingredients to confirm the jar works for you. SKIPPY® brand has several options that are certified vegan, including their classic creamy variety, and are great for this recipe.
Peanut butter cookies fall apart if there is too much flour or not enough moisture in the dough or if you transfer cookies from the baking sheet before cooling. This dairy-free cookie recipe uses an egg and vegan butter for moist cookies that hold together. Measure or weigh the ingredients, especially flour, carefully, for cookies that don’t fall into pieces.
Peanut butter cookies are high in fat, so if your cookie dough gets too warm while you're mixing the ingredients, it can split and become too greasy. I find it very helpful to chill the dough after creaming the butter and sugar for about 5-10 minutes, and then again after beating in the egg and vanilla.
Tools Needed to Make This Recipe
- Measuring cups & spoons
- Stand mixer
- Mixing bowls
- Spatula
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Wire cooling rack
- Kitchen scale (optional)
- 4-teaspoon cookie scoop (optional)
More Peanut Butter Recipes
Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you loved this Dairy-Free Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe as much as I do. For more mouth-watering dairy-free, gluten-free, and/or vegan dessert inspiration, make sure to follow me on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also get all of my newest content delivered straight to your inbox by signing up for my email newsletter — I promise not to spam you!
Dairy-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegan butter softened to room temperature
- ⅔ cup creamy peanut butter
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar plus extra for rolling
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour* See Notes for gluten-free options
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl with a hand mixer, add the vegan butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Cream together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the egg and vanilla, and beat again. Keep the bowl in the fridge to keep it cool while preparing the dry ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Add this to the wet ingredients and use a spatula to mix until just combined.
- Cover the bowl and let it chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours, or up to overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using a cookie scoop (mine holds 4 teaspoons or about a heaped tablespoon), scoop the chilled dough onto your hand and roll it into a ball. Roll the ball into some granulated sugar and place it on the baking sheet. Be sure to leave at least 2 inches in between the dough balls.
- Bake the cookies for 8-9 minutes. When they come out they will be very soft. Let the cookies cool on the pan for about 10 minutes before moving them onto a wire rack to keep the bottoms crisp.
Notes
- I use Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour for dairy-free gluten-free cookies. 1 cup is 148g.
- Have all ingredients at room temperature.
- Don't use natural peanut butter - you CAN technically use it but the texture won't be right.
- Shape cookies into circles after baking. If you love symmetry or want a uniform presentation, you can shape your cookies into a fleet of perfectly round treats. Underbake the cookies for 30 seconds to 1 minute and then, working one cookie at a time, place a large round cookie cutter around the cookie. Gently swirl the cutter around the soft cookie, evening out any imperfections and creating beautifully round cookies.
Stephanie says
It's got egg in it. How is that vegan?
Ai says
Hi Stephanie. This is a dairy-free recipe, not a vegan recipe. Hope that helps!