Vegan Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprint Cookies

These vegan peanut butter thumbprint cookies are soft, chewy, and loaded with classic peanut butter & jelly flavor, with no eggs or dairy! Just 6 ingredients, one bowl, and 15 minutes of baking time + low-sugar/ sugar-free and gluten-free options available!

Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies with Jelly Filling

When it comes to classic flavor combinations, peanut butter and jelly is a favorite of mine. I've already shared a recipe for vegan PB&J Blondies, and now it's the turn of these vegan peanut butter thumbprint cookies with jam/jelly. They require just a handful of ingredients, are even simpler to make, and definitely hit the PB&J spot!

What are thumbprint cookies? They are cookies made from dough rolled into a ball and then pressed with a thumb to create a little hole in the center to fill with your topping of choice. They have several names depending on where you're from, including 'jam drops' in Australia and 'Hallongotta' (meaning 'raspberry cave') in Sweden.

With a peanut butter base, these 5-ingredient peanut butter cookies are wonderfully soft, chewy, and packed with peanut butter flavor. Topped with the fruit preserve of your choice, these vegan thumbprint cookies perfectly combine sweet, salty, nutty, and fruity. You can even adapt the recipe to sugar-free or gluten-free or swap out the filling!

Once baked, enjoy these easy vegan peanut butter cookies at potlucks, parties, and on the go. They also make a great addition to your holiday baking list and Christmas cookie gifts! You can even make them in advance as they're freezer-friendly, too!

Looking for more simple but delicious vegan sweet treats? You might enjoy frosted blackberry orange cupcakes, raisin oatmeal cookies, or blueberry zucchini muffins!

The Ingredients

I make these 5 ingredients peanut butter cookies with, you guessed it, just five ingredients. Top them with the fruit preserves of your choice for a simple but delicious vegan cookie recipe!

• Peanut butter: Use smooth or chunky peanut butter. A creamy one is best.
• Vegan butter: Make sure it's room temperature.
• Sugar: I used regular granulated sugar, but you could also use brown sugar or experiment with sugar alternatives like granulated erythritol.
• Vanilla: Use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor that doesn't taste artificial.
• Flour: I used regular wheat all-purpose flour, but this vegan peanut butter cookies recipe should also work with a 50/50 blend of regular and whole wheat AP flour. Alternatively, experiment with GF all-purpose flour to make delicious vegan, gluten-free peanut butter cookies.
• Fruit preserves: Use your favorite jam/jelly/preserve (with or without seeds). Raspberry jam, strawberry, and grape are my favorites. Use a low sugar option if preferred.

What else could I fill/ top the vegan thumbprint cookies with?

Along with fruit preserves, there are several flavor pairings you might enjoy with these vegan peanut butter cookies, including:

To Fill

• Vegan chocolate: Bake the cookies without the filling and then pour In melted dairy-free chocolate (dark, milk, or white) once the peanut butter and jelly cookies have cooled.
• Ganache: For a softer chocolate filling, combine the melted chocolate with a small amount of canned coconut milk (full fat). This will help to keep it from setting 'solid.'
• Vegan Nutella: Add your favorite vegan chocolate spread after baking and cooling the cookies.
• Vegan caramel: These dairy-free peanut butter cookies also pair wonderfully with vegan caramel and vegan Dulce de leche style fillings.

To Top

• Coconut flakes: Sprinkle raw coconut flakes/ desiccated coconut over the prepared vegan thumbprint cookies before baking them for extra flavor and texture.
• Dairy-free chocolate-dipped: Wait until the dairy-free peanut butter cookies have cooled, and then dip half the cookie in melted dairy-free dark chocolate. Allow to set and enjoy!
• Icing: Prepare a simple icing with powdered sugar (or sweetener) and dairy-free milk to drizzle over the vegan peanut butter cookies.
• Granulated sugar: To add crunch to the raspberry thumbprint cookies (or preserve of your choice), you could sprinkle them lightly with granulated sugar before baking.

You can also experiment with adding around ½ teaspoon of baking powder to the vegan peanut butter cookie dough to provide a bit more lift to the vegan peanut butter cookies recipe.

How to Make Vegan Peanut Butter Thumbprint Cookies?

It takes just a handful of simple steps to pull together these easy vegan peanut butter cookies, with minimal effort or technical skill needed!

• 1) First, preheat the oven to 350F/177C and line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
• 2) Add the peanut butter, vegan butter, sugar, and vanilla to a large bowl and beat it with an electric mixer (or use a stand mixer or whisk) on medium speed, until fluffy.

• 3) Then, add the flour, adding ½ a cup at a time, mixing until it's combined.

• 4) Using a tablespoon measure, roll the vegan peanut butter cookie dough into a ball and then use your thumb to flatten and make a dent in each cookie and spoon in the preserves of your choice.

Alternatively, you can use the back of a ½ teaspoon measuring spoon to create even-sized indents in each of the vegan peanut butter cookies.

• 5) Bake the vegan peanut butter thumbprint cookies for 15 minutes on a large cookie sheet with 1-2 inches of space between them. Then, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for at least 30 minutes on a wire rack. Enjoy!

FAQs

Top Recipe Tips and Notes

• Don't overwork the dough: The gluten in the wheat flour can become overworked if you over-mix the cookie dough. This can lead to flatter, tougher, chewier cookies. Instead, mix it until the flour has 'just' combined into the dough.
• Adjust the indent size: The bigger the indent, the more filling you can add. However, be careful not to overfill them, or they'll become a mess in the oven.
• Don't skip the cooling step: I've made the mistake of trying to enjoy one of these peanut butter & jelly thumbprint cookies too soon from the oven. The molten lava heat of the preserves quickly made me regret my decision.
• To make stuffed cookies: If you want the vegan peanut butter cookies to ooze with filling when you bite into them, try this 'stuffed cookies' method. Roll out around ½ tablespoon of dough for the cookie base, add a teaspoon of filling, then top with another ½ tablespoon disk. Seal the edges and bake.

Storage Instructions

Prep ahead: You could prepare the vegan peanut butter cookie dough 2-3 days in advance and store it covered tightly in the refrigerator. Allow it to rest at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before continuing with the recipe. You can also freeze the dough for up to three months.

Store: Allow the vegan peanut butter & jelly thumbprint cookies to cool and then store them loosely covered at room temperature for 3-5 days or in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 7-10 days.

Freezer: Flash freeze the vegan thumbprint cookies until solid, then transfer to a Ziplock/Stasher or other freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Allow them to thaw at room temperature before enjoying them.

More Vegan Sweet Treats

• Easy vegan lemon cake
• Vegan blackberry orange cupcakes
• Blueberry zucchini muffins
• Raisin oatmeal cookies
• 2-ingredient raspberry syrup
• Vegan coffee nice cream
• Simple strawberry juice

If you try this Vegan Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprint Cookies recipe, I'd love to know what you think in the comments below. I'd also really appreciate a recipe card rating!

Photos by Alfonso Revilla