Low Fat Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
This wholesome peanut butter cookie recipe trims the fat, calories and prep time. And the taste is divine. The only flour in this recipe is a 1/2 cup of whole wheat, but you would never guess. Don’t get out a sauce pan. And you can forget about dragging out a mixer. All you need is a mixing bowl and a spoon! It’s the perfect go to cookie recipe when you need a sweet fix and you’re too tired to work for it.
At my worst (200 pounds) I remember towards the end, right before I realized I had to do something about my weight I was on a peanut butter cookie making loop. The peanut butter cookie recipe I was making was insanely bad. They contained 1 cup of shortening, 2 cups of sugar (one white and one brown), 2 eggs, 1 cup of peanut butter and 3 cups of white flour. What the hell was I thinking? These days I can’t even imagine doing that to my body! And why would I or you? These are BETTER than anything with a bucket of shortening, in taste and texture. GO TO RECIPE >
Peanut Butter
Hi,
My name is Josh Latham, I’m the creator of My Vegan Cookbook dot com.
My goal with My Vegan Cookbook dot com is to have a
collection of recipes that are isolated soy free, whole foods heavy,
100% vegan, free of hydrogenated oils and most importantly, taste
amazing. 
Scoot said,
January 17, 2008 @ 12:34 pm
Oh my gosh, these are wonderful! I am eating my first one right now and just had to comment. Thank you, Josh! I had been craving something sweet and these fit the bill perfectly without giving me the gross feeling that comes from eating overly processed food. Hooray! :o)
Jackie said,
January 18, 2008 @ 6:28 am
These look delicious, Josh. My brother’s coming up today for his massage and lunch, and he always asks, “what’s for dessert”? If I have time before he gets here, I’m going to make these cookies!
Thanks again for all the work you do.
pinkcdcase said,
May 12, 2008 @ 6:42 am
Hi I made these for my family picnic (they are cool peeps but they loove their full-fat mayo and butter-laden cookies, etc) a few weeks ago and they were a hit! The only thing was that I couldn’t find a bake time in the recipe so my first batch turned out burnt & crispy. 5 minutes turned out to be the perfect time. Also everyone thought they were oatmeal cookies - not peanut butter cookies! But they were still very delicious
I’m looking forward to making your brownie cookies in the near future..
Also did you use peanut butter with with salt added or no salt?
My Vegan Cookbook said,
May 12, 2008 @ 8:22 am
Pinkcdcase, I used unsalted peanut butter. I can’t believe I left out the cooking time! Where is my head?
tjvegan said,
May 23, 2008 @ 10:44 pm
This recipe looks great. Ive been looking for a good recipe for peanut butter cookies as I have recently discovered a lower fat substitute for peanut butter.
Having been, in the not-too-distant future, actually over 200 pounds (im from australia so I dont know pounds too well), and being now way below that, I am now very intolerant to any form of fat, so even a little bit of peanut butter is a no go.
I have found that chickpea flour (besin) mixed with liquid to your preferred consistency kinda works (i use water, but i guess a milk substitute would work) . Of course its not exactly the same, but if your like me itll do. So now Im going to try this recipes with chickpea butter instead of peanut…i hope it works.
Thanks
morelife said,
October 19, 2008 @ 7:53 pm
These are delicious! Thanks so much for this recipe. I really appreciate having the nutritional info, but I’m curious about the amount of fiber per serving. Any idea? Thanks again.
My Vegan Cookbook said,
October 19, 2008 @ 8:21 pm
I have plans to start listing the fiber in my recipes and I’m going to go back and list them in the old recipes too. I haven’t a clue about the cookies, although I imagine they are pretty fiber-full.
katie said,
October 28, 2009 @ 5:18 pm
Where’s the recipe?
My Vegan Cookbook said,
October 29, 2009 @ 8:15 am
Katie, at the end of the paragraph talking about the recipe, there is a link that says “Go to recipe”.
Deborah said,
November 27, 2009 @ 7:20 pm
These cookies are amazing! And so simple too. What is the actual baking time?
Caren said,
December 16, 2009 @ 4:53 pm
mmmm ! DEEEELISH!
Namaste said,
January 30, 2010 @ 1:50 pm
Mmmmmmmm, yummy! I happened upon this recipe when looking for something not necessarily vegan, but quick and healthier than most sweets. I was actually looking for something healthier yet easy to bake since I’m short on time for my dad’s birthday tomorrow. I didn’t have apple sauce, flax seeds or maple syrup, so I had to modify it just a tad bit. I also wanted to use less sugar than the recipe originally called for as well. I made it work for what ingredients I had on hand and it’s amazing. For my dad I baked it in a brownie pan, kind of bar-style, and had enough left over to bake a few cookies on the side for me and my boyfriend. I found that baking for about 15 minutes worked, and they didn’t turn out burnt or overdone.
Namaste said,
January 30, 2010 @ 1:53 pm
“I have plans to start listing the fiber in my recipes and I’m going to go back and list them in the old recipes too. I haven’t a clue about the cookies, although I imagine they are pretty fiber-full.”
On the nutrition facts of the flour and the oats, it should have the fiber content listed. I’m pretty sure peanut butter as at least a bit of fiber in it as well. Add all of this up, and then divide it by how many cookies the recipe yields, and you have the fiber content. The same can be applied to the other nutritional info like calories, fat, sodium, etc.
meesh said,
February 4, 2010 @ 8:16 pm
yum! these cookies were just what i was looking for. Lovely recipe! I didn’t have molasses or flax seed so i upped the applesauce to 1/4 cup and added a couple tablespoons more of peanut butter. I also added a teaspoon of mapeline (delicious maple flavoring) on top of the 1 tsp vanilla and a solid pinch of cinnamon. Thanks a bunch and i look forward to reading more of your blog! happy eating!
Tanya said,
February 20, 2010 @ 2:39 pm
This is a great recipe! I didn’t have flaxseed and used the equivalent amount of wheat flour (so a total of 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour). I added some dark chocolate chips too and they were like having a Reese’s peanut butter cup! In my oven, they took 19 minutes at 325F. I’m suppose to take them to a game night, but my boyfriend is eating them all prior…
amber said,
February 26, 2010 @ 6:17 pm
i love these cookies. made them last fall before i was a “grocery store vegan” (i only buy vegan, but eat vegetarian stuff if it’s given to me). this recipe helped me to realize that vegan cooking can be absolutely awesome and delicious. i just wanted to thank you for that. i plan to make them again soon, and i can’t wait to try some of the other recipes (love the lentil loaf also- have made it twice). this cookbook is so wonderful- thanks again for doing such a great thing!!
Margie said,
March 22, 2010 @ 2:18 pm
My daughter has such a sweet tooth and these cookies hit the spot. They are delicious and nutritious!! Thank you!
jayne said,
March 28, 2010 @ 2:39 pm
These were great–not too sweet, easy and they taste like they are good for you.
Thanks for a great recipe!
jessica said,
April 25, 2010 @ 7:06 am
Great cookies. I was looking for something for an energy boost for kids between activities and these fit the bill. I think next time I could cut down on the sugar.
shelley zara said,
April 27, 2010 @ 3:14 pm
What is the baking time? The color of the bottom of the cookie is too imprecise to gauge the time. That requires stopping and scraping the cookie off the baking sheet. Please clarify. Thanks
My Vegan Cookbook said,
April 30, 2010 @ 3:18 pm
Shelley, I baked the cookies in 10 minutes, you might want to watch them the first time they bake because everyone’s oven is different. Once you bake them once and have timed them, then you will know how long to bake them for.
Mandi said,
May 16, 2010 @ 12:35 pm
This is a very nice recipe. I was baking for a friend who follows a gluten-free diet so I used 1 cup of amaranth flour and no oats and it came out very well. If I make them for myself again I’ll try them with oats. This made 18 cookies and they came out to 97 calories each. I baked them for 12 minutes and they were just right.
crystal said,
May 16, 2010 @ 1:19 pm
These are the best cookies EVER. Seriously.
I gave them to all my non-vegan friends and they were totally impressed.
I only had whole flaxseeds when I made them the first time, so I just tossed them in anyway — the added crunch was nice. I made them again (only three days later!) and I used ground flaxseed and added vegan chocolate chips. Delicious!
Veggie V said,
June 20, 2010 @ 4:22 pm
I made these cookies today; they were a little too sweet for me and a little less peanut buttery than I wanted. So I made another batch. The second time I didn’t add the brown sugar, just the honey, which I used to replace the maple syrup. I also nixed the oil and replaced it with apple sauce (so 3 TBS total) and doubled the peanut butter. Yum! Thanks for sharing your recipes =)
Ashley said,
July 24, 2010 @ 6:31 am
Just made these last night and wanted to make sure to comment on how great they were. Non-vegan boyfriend approved! Said they tasted like granola bars, and from the way it sounded, it was a compliment. Love how soft and chewy these turned out. When I was looking for PB cookie recipes, I came across another one with 1/2 cup shortening and tons of sugar, so glad I could still have PB cookies without the guilt! Thank you, beautifully laid-out blog BTW!
Laura said,
July 30, 2010 @ 10:45 pm
OMGosh!!!!!! These cookies are AMAZAZING! I am a peanut butter freak and love love peanut butter cookies! These are soo amazing and so guiltless! I can eat them anytime and they taste amazing! The applesauce really makes a difference too in the moistness, so they are really chewy. If you like chewy cookies, I found that cooking mine for 7 minutes and taking them out to cool for 2-3 minutes, then sealing them in a ziploc bag will keep them moist and chewy and they taste amazing! Thank you sooo much for this recipe!!!! I’ll for sure try the brownie cookies and the oatmeal raisin ones too!
C. A. said,
July 31, 2010 @ 4:05 pm
I think these were the best peanut butter cookies I have ever made, vegan or otherwise! thanks!
Linda said,
August 11, 2010 @ 7:30 pm
These were great tasting! But I don’t think they will make good hockey pucks…..