These vegan peanut butter blossoms are soft and chewy with crispy edges and topped with vegan chocolate. Now butter and egg-free for an easy, affordable, crowd-pleasing holiday cookie!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Peanut butter blossoms (aka peanut butter kiss cookies/cyclops cookies) are one of THE most popular holiday cookies, and for good reason. The classic combination of chocolate and peanut butter is hard to beat, and these cookies are as easy to make as they are delicious. They're perfect for cookie swaps, holiday parties, potlucks, and, frankly, anytime!
Best of all, this version is butter and egg-free without sacrificing flavor or texture, making it a budget-friendly, crowd-pleasing treat.
Peanut butter lovers might also enjoy peanut butter balls with Rice Krispies, vegan peanut butter blondies, or this easy vegan chocolate peanut butter pie.
The Ingredients and Substitutes
Please refer to the recipe card for the full list of ingredients and their quantities.
- Peanut butter: Use creamy peanut butter (like Jif's or Skippy), not natural peanut butter, which can cause excess spreading unless extra flour is added.
- All-purpose flour: For gluten-free peanut butter blossoms, use 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour, like Bob's Red Mill or King Arthur's.
- Vegan chocolate kisses: Vegan chocolate kisses (like No Whey! Smooches) are great but chocolate chunks, squares, or mini peanut butter cups also work.
Tip: If you can't find dairy-free kisses, you can make your own using dairy-free chocolate in a chocolate kiss mold.
Simple Recipe Variations
- No-kiss blossoms: Drizzle with melted vegan chocolate or make an imprint (like my vegan peanut butter and jelly thumbprint cookies) and fill with vegan chocolate or peanut butter.
- Mini blossoms: Use smaller dough balls, reduce bake time, and top with a vegan chocolate chip.
- Spices: Add cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin spice, chai spice, or cardamom.
- Sea salt: Sprinkle the slightly melted vegan chocolate kiss with flaky salt to adhere.
- Jam: Make a 'thumbprint' indent, add jam, then top with vegan chocolate.
- Holiday blossoms: Use vegan colored sugar sprinkles (red and green for Christmas peanut butter blossoms. Pink for Valentine's, Orange for Halloween, etc.).
How To Make Peanut Butter Blossoms
Step 1: In a large bowl, mix the peanut butter, both sugars, applesauce, and vanilla until smooth.
Step 2: Mix in the flour, baking soda, and salt to form a soft dough. Don't over-mix.
Step 3: Cover and chill the dough for 30 minutes.
Step 4: Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Using a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop, divide the vegan cookie dough, shape it into balls, roll it in granulated sugar, then transfer to the prepared sheet.
The chilling helps the vegan cookies hold their shape while baking. Don't skip/rush it!
Step 5: Bake the vegan peanut butter blossoms for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies have puffed up, with set edges. Meanwhile, unwrap the vegan chocolate Kisses.
Step 6: Immediately press a vegan chocolate kiss halfway into the center of each cookie, cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool (or freeze for 15-20 minutes). Enjoy!
The cookies crack around the edges when the vegan chocolate is pressed in. This is completely normal!
FAQs
Absolutely! You can make and store it covered in the refrigerator for 1-2 days OR in flash-frozen dough balls in a Ziplock/Stasher for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen, adding 2-3 minutes.
If they spread too much, it's likely the dough hasn't chilled enough. It may also happen if you've used natural peanut butter.
Absolutely! Use a 1:1 swap to a gluten-free all-purpose flour like Bob's Red Mill or King Arthur's.
Air fry in a single layer in the air fryer basket (in batches if necessary) for 6-8 minutes at 350°F/175°C.
Pro Recipe Tips
- Measure flour properly: Fluff it in its bag, spoon it into a measuring cup, and level with a knife to avoid dense, cakey cookies.
- Use creamy peanut butter: Natural peanut butter may cause cookie spread and greasy dough.
- Don't skip the chill: To avoid cookie spread. When baking in batches, chill the dough between.
- To adjust the texture: 1-2 minutes less baking = chewier cookies. 1-2 more = crispier cookies.
- Add the vegan chocolate immediately: Press the veagn chocolate into the cookies immediately out of the oven, so it 'sticks'. If you're worried about them melting too much, freeze them for 10-15 minutes first.
Serving Suggestions
Enjoy these peanut butter blossoms alone or with a drizzle of vegan caramel sauce or berry coulis, a vegan banana milkshake, and/or a scoop of plant-based vanilla ice cream (like this vegan vanilla ice cream, vegan coffee nice cream, or vegan mint chocolate chip ice cream).
Storage Instructions
Store: Store the homemade peanut butter blossoms in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the refrigerator for 10-14 days.
Freeze: Flash-freeze on a tray until solid, then freeze in a Ziplock/Stasher for up to 3 months.
More Vegan Cookie Recipes
If you tried this peanut butter blossoms recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks!
Peanut Butter Blossoms
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Ingredients
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar plus more for rolling
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 24 vegan chocolate kisses (or chocolate squares/chunks or mini peanut butter cups)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, applesauce, and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined.
- Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until a soft dough forms.
- Cover the dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes to help the cookies hold their shape.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Scoop about 1 tablespoon of dough and roll it into a ball. Roll each ball lightly in granulated sugar and place it on the prepared baking sheet, leaving space between cookies.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the cookies are puffed and just set around the edges.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and immediately press one vegan chocolate kiss or piece of vegan chocolate into the center of each cookie.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Don't skip the chill: To avoid cookie spread. When baking in batches, chill the dough between.
- To adjust the texture: 1-2 minutes less baking = chewier cookies. 1-2 more = crispier cookies.
- Add the vegan chocolate immediately: Press the veagn chocolate into the cookies immediately out of the oven, so it 'sticks'. If you're worried about them melting too much, freeze them for 10-15 minutes first.
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