Oil Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies made with just 7 simple ingredients in 20 minutes or less! These cookies have a good amount of crispiness around the edges, but are soft inside. They aren’t as “dense” as other peanut butter cookies, thanks to a secret ingredient!
These Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are oil free! That’s right, no butter, vegan butter, canola oil or anything like it. There is a lot of peanut butter, so these cookies are by no means low fat, but if you are avoiding oil, then this is a good recipe for you!
These cookies sure don’t need oil to be chewy, rich and delicious. You won’t miss it at all. Most peanut butter cookies call for loads of butter or even shortening. These are a much healthier version of everybody’s favorite cookie! And they don’t sacrifice on taste. The secret ingredient is…… applesauce. I don’t usually like applesauce in dessert recipes, but somehow, it really works in this recipe! It makes the cookies a bit lighter, not as dense as peanut butter cookies usually are. But they still hold together well, and they DON’T taste like applesauce.
My kids love these Oil Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are a true favorite in our home. This recipe makes a pretty small batch, so they might go really fast! Double the recipe if you want more.
If peanut butter and chocolate aren’t your thing, you can leave out the chocolate chips for a purely peanut butter cookie.
These cookies can easily be made gluten free by using a gluten free blend of flour. They turn out just fine with any kind of flour you want to use. Happy baking!
If you make this recipe, let me know how it goes! Rate it, leave a comment and tag a photo @noracooksvegan on Instagram. Enjoy!
Oil Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
- 1/3 cup organic sugar
- 2 tablespoons no sugar added applesauce
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour *Can also use a gluten free mix
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- tiny pinch of salt, optional *If your peanut butter is unsalted, you may add a tiny pinch of salt.
- 1/3 cup dairy free chocolate chips, mini ones if you can find them
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Add the peanut butter, sugar, applesauce and vanilla extract to a medium bowl. Mix well until combined.
- Now add the flour, baking soda and salt if using, to the wet ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Do not over mix. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Scooping a heaping tablespoon at a time, roll into a ball and flatten onto the baking sheet a little bit, creating a cookie shape. These cookies won't flatten out much while they bake.
- Bake for 8-9 minutes. They will appear very soft and not done, but as they cool they will set. Let them cool for at least 10 minutes before removing from the pan, or they may fall apart.
The only recipe out there which met my criteria. It was yum, my 4 year old ate 4 big ones in one go…
I did some substitutions: 1/2cup jaggery powder instead of sugar. Home made Pumpkin purée instead of apple sauce. Raisins instead of chocolate chips. Can’t believe all the subs worked and they came out perfect. Very soft when fresh and hardened once cooled down (maybe because of the jaggery).
I’m glad that you and your 4 year old enjoyed the cookies! Thanks for sharing your baking experience and wonderful review!
Soooo delicious and simple!!!! Thank you for a yummy recipe 😀
Delicious!! One of our favorite treats:))
Awesome! Thanks for sharing your fantastic review!
Great for when you want an oil free vegan treat! I baked them a few minutes longer than indicated , plus I substituted the apple sauce with canned pumpkin! 🙂
Hi Juliana. Thanks for sharing your great feedback and idea about the cookies! I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
These cookies turned out perfectly. I had no applesauce so I subbed vegan sour cream. I made them into a dozen cookies, as I prefer a smaller cookie (because I want to eat multiples!). I’ve got no issues with oil or butter, but I do love a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie, and this one satisfies!
Hi Nora,
How long will this last in a glass jar and can one freeze it before baking?
Thank you
The baked cookies should keep for about 4 or 5 days when stored at room temperature or even longer in the fridge. And yes, you can freeze the rolled cookie dough balls for about 3 months.
These are so delicious!!!! I’ve made them twice now, doubling and then tripling the recipe. When tripled, I can still get all cookies on two cookie sheets. These are so soft and rich, with the perfect combo of peanut butter and chocolate. Thanks again, Nora!
I’m so happy you loved the cookies, Emily! Thank you for your feedback and review!
These cookies are right up my alley with being INCREDIBLY soft and chewy. Thanks!
I tried the recipe. They tasted good but never got hard. I baked them for ten minutes and let them cook for ten minutes. They are almost like raw cookies. They were edible but would like them to be a little hard.
Quickly made these for a gathering I am going to tomorrow and was disappointed that I only got 8 cookies from this recipe. Looking more closely at the measurements it makes sense but usually with Nora’s recipes I get a good helping without having to double.
Made recipe as-is and they came out perfectly delicious! Cooked for 9 minutes, waited 10 minutes and they were a little crispy on the edges but soft and chewy on the inside. They were a hit with my hubby and 16 year old. This recipe made 13 cookies so I’ll definitely double it next time!
Hi Tammy. I’m glad the cookies were a hit in your home! Thank you for sharing your great feedback!
Absolutely fabulous! I bake a ton of sweets and mostly vegan. I have a few favorite go-to recipes and this will be added to the list! Thanks so much! PS: I used monkfruit sweetener instead of regular sugar. Worked great!
Thanks for sharing your review and comments! I’m thrilled this recipe will be added to your go-to list! Happy cooking!
Would it be possible to substitute white flour for the whole whea?
I look forward to making them
Yes, that will work just fine. Happy baking!
These are delicious. I doubled the recipe for my husband’s birthday and used a medium cookie scoop and got 24 cookies all together. I will be making these again
Thanks! I’m glad you loved the cookies! I appreciate you taking time to share your review!
I’ve made these twice now using almond flour and they’re addictive! Delicious! Extremely soft but I don’t care!! Haha!
I’m so glad you are enjoying the recipe and I’m glad they work with almond flour, thanks!
Are these supposed to be this chewy n soft? Baked for 20 min but are still very soft even after cooling .
They are quite soft and a bit delicate, and they harden up a bit after cooling.
These are fantastic! We’ve been trying to really cut down on oil, and never would have guessed that these cookies would be as good as any recipe with tons of butter. Thanks!
Hi Alex. So glad you love the cookies! Thank you!
Made these yesterday and they are now my go to recipe. Simple ingredients and directions were spot on. Just finished up the batch a few minutes ago and they were still as moist as they were yesterday. Thanks for a great recipe!
You’re welcome!