Buttery, melt in the mouth vegan peanut butter shortbread cookies made with just 4 ingredients! Recipe on thecookandhim.com #veganbaking #veganshortbread #peanutbutterrecipes #peanutbutter #shortbreadcookies

Posted in Recipes on 23.07.2023

Crunchy Peanut Butter Shortbread

prep: 20 mins / cook: 15 mins / inactive: 0 mins / total: 35 mins / quantity: 25 - 30 cookies Print recipe?

Buttery, melt in the mouth vegan peanut butter shortbread cookies made with just 4 ingredients! Recipe on thecookandhim.com #veganbaking #veganshortbread #peanutbutterrecipes #peanutbutter #shortbreadcookies
Buttery, melt in the mouth vegan peanut butter shortbread cookies made with just 4 ingredients! Recipe on thecookandhim.com #veganbaking #veganshortbread #peanutbutterrecipes #peanutbutter #shortbreadcookies

Buttery, melt in the mouth vegan peanut butter shortbread cookies made with just 4 ingredients!

Simple, no fuss, no chilling required, rich and delicious cookies made, baked and ready to eat in around half an hour?  Well, yes please!  These peanut butter shortbread cookies really do tick all the boxes for easy to make and delicious to eat.  The addition of peanut butter takes these vegan cookies into the realms of ‘oh just one more’ to 10 cookies later and ‘where did ALL those cookies go?’

I’ve always taken my shortbread seriously.  And why fix what ain’t broke. Shortbread is one of those absolute timeless classics that I always thought shouldn’t be messed with.  But one day I’m standing there spreading peanut butter on digestive biscuits (anyone else do that?) and wondered what peanut butter would be like actually IN the biscuit.  But I didn’t want to make digestive biscuits – I’ve already done that.

Buttery, melt in the mouth vegan peanut butter shortbread cookies made with just 4 ingredients! Recipe on thecookandhim.com #veganbaking #veganshortbread #peanutbutterrecipes #peanutbutter #shortbreadcookies

Crunchy or smooth peanut butter?

I’ve used both making these shortbread cookies and hand on heart they both taste amazing.  And slightly salted peanut butter is a whole other story!

How to make these easy peanut butter shortbread cookies:

There’s only 4 ingredients so this is going to go fast.  Try and keep up 😉

Either by hand or in a stand mixer beat together the peanut butter and spread.  I’ve used tub margarine rather than vegan butter or block margarine as the addition of peanut butter adds enough richness to the shortbread.  It also gives a softer, creamier baked cookie.

Beat in the sugar then add the flour and mix together just until it forms a dough.

Buttery, melt in the mouth vegan peanut butter shortbread cookies made with just 4 ingredients! Recipe on thecookandhim.com #veganbaking #veganshortbread #peanutbutterrecipes #peanutbutter #shortbreadcookies

Tip the dough out onto your work surface and knead for just a moment or two until it’s soft and smooth.

Dust your surface with a little flour then roll out the dough to around 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) thick.

Use a cutter to cut out the cookies.  Shape and size of the cutter is up to you, I used a 2 inch (5cm) round cutter.  You can also cut simply into bars with a knife.

Place the cookies on a lined baking sheet then re-roll the trimmings until you’ve used all the dough.

Crunchy Peanut Butter Shortbread

With a fork poke a few holes in each biscuit then bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes until just set and very lightly golden.  They will firm up a little as they cool.

As soon as they come out of the oven sprinkle with a little extra sugar.

Cool completely on wire racks and store in an airtight container.  They actually keep pretty well for a few days – if they ever last that long!

Buttery, melt in the mouth vegan peanut butter shortbread cookies made with just 4 ingredients! Recipe on thecookandhim.com #veganbaking #veganshortbread #peanutbutterrecipes #peanutbutter #shortbreadcookies

Looking for even more easy vegan cookie recipes?  Try these:

Cinnamon Sugar Cream Cheese Cookies

White Chocolate and Raspberry Cookies

Chocolate Orange Shortbread

Oatmeal Cookies

Crunchy Peanut Butter Shortbread - delicious melt in the mouth vegan cookies made with just 5 ingredients | thecookandhim.com

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Crunchy Peanut Butter Shortbread

prep: 20 mins / cook: 15 mins / inactive: 0 mins / total: 35 mins / quantity: 25 - 30 cookies

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup (150g) vegan margarine
  • 1/2 cup (125g) peanut butter (see note)
  • 3/4 cup (160g) golden caster sugar + extra for sprinkling
  • 1 + 3/4 cup (300g) plain flour

 

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 170 Fan / 190 C / 375 Fan / Gas 5 and line a couple of large baking trays with parchment or silicon mats
  2. Beat together the dairy free spread and peanut butter - you can do this by hand or using a stand mixer
  3. Beat in the sugar
  4. Add the flour and mix just enough to form a soft dough - don't over-mix as this can make the shortbread tough rather than meltingly soft!
  5. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and roll out to around 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) thick
  6. Cut into shapes with a metal cutter (I used a 5 cm/2 inch round cutter) or cut finger shapes with a sharp knife
  7. Carefully lift onto your prepared trays and put a couple of rows of holes in each cookie using a fork
  8. Bake for 15 minutes until just starting to turn golden.  Sprinkle on a little extra sugar on each cookie as soon as you take the trays out of the oven
  9. Leave to cool completely before storing in an airtight container

Notes

  • I've used both crunchy and smooth peanut butter when making these shortbread cookies and they both taste amazing!
Crunchy Peanut Butter Shortbread

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2 Comments

  • These look delicious, I’ll be trying this recipe soon. Thank you. (Roll out to 2″ thick, should be ½” thick (2″ round))

    • Hi Yvonne, good spot!! Sometimes I swear I don’t know what my fingers are doing, but it’s certainly not paying attention to measurements! I’ve adjusted the recipe now, roll the dough out to around 1/2 cm thick (1/4 inch). The thicker the biscuit the more shortbread like they’ll be, if they’re thin they’ll be more crunchy, if that makes sense?! I’d love to know how you get on and thank you again
      Sam x

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Hello there!  I’m Sam, former Michelin star pastry chef and now your go-to vegan foodie on a mission to make plant-based eating a deliciously easy adventure!  From cozy comfort foods to vibrant salads and decadent desserts, there’s something for everyone in my kitchen.

Whether you’re cooking for one or for a houseful I believe food doesn’t have to be complicated to be full of FLAVOUR and I want to show you how.  I’ve been a rigorous meal planner for over a decade whilst embracing seasonal ingredients (because that’s where the real flavour is!)

I’m also a dedicated dog mum to Nooch and Baxter and enjoy cooking them homemade treats (many of which are posted here) when I’m not screaming at the tennis or devouring fantasy fiction.

All things autumn - warming soups, savoury bakes and delicious sweet treats!

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