Easy Dairy-Free Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe

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Easy Dairy-Free Peanut Butter Cookies are old-fashioned, nostalgic, and cozy cookies that are the perfect comforting treat. And this recipe is made without butter!

These dairy-free peanut butter cookies are everything you love about the classic, old-fashioned treat, using a simple recipe and basic pantry ingredients, but made without butter.

They pair wonderfully with a cup of coffee, tea, or your favorite cold beverage. And they're great for anyone avoiding dairy.

And these nostalgic cookies make a terrific idea for parties, potlucks, and for bringing on a plate to welcome new neighbors.

Plus, they're a perfect cozy and comforting treat after a long, busy day.

Easy Dairy-Free Peanut Butter Cookies FAQs

How do I keep my peanut butter cookies from crumbling?

Peanut butter can sometimes make cookies crumbly, so be sure to measure your ingredients carefully and avoid over-baking them in the oven.

Can I use crunchy peanut butter instead of creamy?

Yes, you can use crunchy peanut butter if you prefer a bit of extra texture and nut pieces in every bite.

How should I store leftover cookies?

Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week, or freeze them for longer storage.

Can I make these cookies ahead of time?

Yes, the dough can be prepared ahead and chilled, or you can bake the cookies in advance and store them in an airtight container until you are ready to serve them.

Why is there salt in the ingredients of this recipe?

Even though salt tends to make foods, well, salty, it actually plays other roles in baking as well.

For example, the right amount of salt balances flavors in baked goods; it can bring out the sweetness of sugar and, at the same time, prevent them from tasting overly sweet. It also can help dull the bitterness of cocoa.

Salt prevents baked goods from tasting bland, while it balances the richness of the fats. It also helps develop flavor in yeast breads and works with proteins to strengthen gluten and make it more elastic.

Salt helps baked goods stay a little fresher for a little longer and helps delay mold from growing on them.

What is the difference between using baking soda and using baking powder?

Baking soda and baking powder are both synthetic leavens that help baked goods rise, but there is a difference between them.

Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate, which needs another ingredient that is acidic in order to be activated. When the baking soda touches the acid, it creates a carbon dioxide gas, which helps the baked good rise. Baking soda is between 3 and 4 times stronger than baking powder, and if too much baking soda is used, your baked good will end up with a metallic flavor.

Baking powder is baking soda that is already mixed with an acid and a stabilizer and will be activated by moisture and heat. Nowadays, baking powder is called double-acting because it activates twice-once when it gets wet (when you mix the ingredients together) and again when it heats in the oven.

Replacing one with the other can be tricky, and it's not recommended. However, if you have no choice, then do solid research for substituting one for the other for the baked good you are preparing so you don't ruin it.

How useful are the eggs in baking?

Eggs are made up of two parts: the whites and the yolks (the yellow). 

Egg whites are made up of protein that sets when heated and helps baked goods hold their structure. The yolks are made up of fats and vitamins and help ingredients bond.

Eggs also help baked goods rise as well as keep them moist.

It is important to have the right amount of eggs when baking, because if there are too many eggs in a recipe, this can cause a rubbery, dense texture, and if there are too few eggs, this can cause a crumbly, dry texture.

The different parts of the egg will provide different textures to baked goods; using the entire egg in baking will provide moisture and help the baked good rise evenly, using extra yolks will create richer, denser textures, and extra whites will add fluffiness but may create a drier texture.

What is the difference between butter and margarine?

Butter is a dairy product that is made by churning heavy cream until the fats separate from the milk (i.e., buttermilk). Margarine, however, is made from vegetable oil. Butter generally has a lower melting point than margarine as well as a lower water content (and the soft tub margarines have a higher water content than bar margarines).

Using butter in baking cookies can create a crisper, more flaky cookie, while cookies will come out softer and more cakey when made with margarine. It is also generally believed to be better to "cream" using butter rather than margarine.

Using butter adds a kind of toasted nut flavor to baked goods, while margarine doesn't add flavor (however, sometimes with margarine, one might have a waxy feel on the roof of one's mouth after eating something with a high margarine content).

If one wants to make a dairy-free baked good that calls for butter, a dairy-free margarine is a good substitute.

What is the difference between dairy-free margarine and vegan butter?

Vegan butter and margarine have similarities. In fact, all vegan butter is a type of dairy-free margarine. The difference between them is in the content and the baking performance.

Vegan butter is made from fats such as coconut oil, shea butter, or cocoa butter and behaves like butter in that it creates more flaky and crisp textures and has a toasted nutty flavor, while margarine is typically made with the less expensive vegetable oils.

What is the difference between real vanilla extract and imitation vanilla?

Real vanilla is made from soaking vanilla beans in alcohol, imitation vanilla is synthetic, and real vanilla costs quite a bit more than imitation. Whether or not there will be a taste difference in your baking depends on the baked good, so do some research before you decide.

I personally always use the imitation as long as I have a really good brand because it's not worth it to me to spend the extra money.

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Yield: 18 cookies

Easy Dairy-Free Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe

5.0 Stars (2 Reviews)

Print

Delicious and sweet, nostalgic peanut butter cookies, made without butter.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 5 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup peanut butter at room temperature*
• ½ cup dairy-free margarine or other butter alternative
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup white granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, real or imitation
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 egg

Instructions

1. Combine the flour, brown sugar, whie sugar, and baking powder in a mixing bowl.
2. Add the peanut butter, vanill, and egg, and mix thoroughly.
3. Form 1" balls with the dough and place on baking sheets that have been lined with baking paper (leave a couple of inches in between the balls).
4. Using a fork, gently flatten the balls in a criss-cross pattern.
5. Place the baking sheets into an oven that has been preheated to 350°F and bake for around 10 minutes or until the cookies are no longer wet to the touch.
6. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Notes

*If you are using unsalted peanut butter add ½ teaspoon of salt to the dough.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

18

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 263Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 3gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 98mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 1gSugar: 15gProtein: 6g

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