As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Make Edible Peanut Butter Cookie Dough dipped in vegan chocolate using just 9 wholesome ingredients and 10 minutes of your time to prepare. It’s the perfect quick dessert to satisfy a sweet tooth and can even be stashed in the freezer for the next time a cookie dough craving hits. Peanut butter fans will rave about this one!
This edible vegan cookie dough is one of my favorite recipes that later inspired my cookbook, The Friendly Vegan Cookbook. It was included in one of the first ebooks I released in partnership with my business partner, Michelle Cehn (founder of World of Vegan) and will forever be special to me. Plus, who doesn’t love cookie dough? It’s soft, sweet, and can even be baked into a fresh batch of cookies!
Why You’ll Love This Edible Peanut Butter Cookie Dough
- It’s an eggless cookie dough. Making eggless peanut butter cookie dough is incredibly easy and automatically makes the cookie dough safer to eat. If interested in additional eggless peanut butter dessert recipes, try my Vegan Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies, Easy Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars, vegan peanut butter cookies, and 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Oatmeal Balls.
- No baking required! This sweet treat is insanely easy to make and made with just 10 minutes of prep. No baking, no fuss!
- Made with basic ingredients. You’ll need just 9 budget-friendly, simple ingredients to make these dairy-free chocolate-covered peanut butter dough balls.
- Contains a nut-free option. If you’re making these cookie dough balls for school lunchboxes or bake sales, make them nut-free with sunflower seed butter.
- Makes for the perfect gift. If you’re looking to gift something to a friend but don’t want to buy them more “things,” make them a batch of this edible vegan cookie dough and gift it to them in a beautiful glass jar. Add a sweet note, a cute ribbon, and you’re ready to go!
The Ingredients
- Vegan butter: I used a stick of Miyoko’s Creamery Vegan Butter, but any vegan butter of choice will work. If the vegan butter and peanut butter used is salted, omit the added salt.
- Sugar: A combination of brown sugar and granulated white sugar create the perfect moist, rich-flavored vegan cookie dough. To ensure your sugar is vegan, use organic.
- Applesauce: Adds additional natural sweetness, moisture, and keeps these cookie dough balls oil-free.
- Peanut butter: A natural, runny peanut butter is best. If you have a thick, creamy peanut butter, give my Vegan No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls with Rice Krispies a try.
- Vanilla: Optional, but pure vanilla extract adds additional depth of flavor and subtle sweetness.
- Baking soda: Although this eggless edible cookie dough recipe is no-bake, baking soda helps balance the flavor and lightens the texture of the cookie dough.
- Flour: I used all-purpose flour, but another flour such as whole wheat flour or an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend will work.
- Vegan chocolate chips: Use dark, vegan chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, or any other high-quality dairy-free chocolate.
For full ingredient measurements and recipe instructions, scroll down to the complete recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Variations
- Sugar variations: Replace the brown sugar with coconut sugar for a more refined sugar-free option.
- Peanut butter variations: Swap the natural peanut butter for almond butter, cashew butter, macadamia nut butter, or another nut butter of choice. If nut-free, use sunflower seed butter.
- Omit the vegan chocolate: If you prefer to eat your edible cookie dough ball by the spoonful, skip the outer vegan chocolate layer altogether.
- Add toppings: Roll these edible cookie dough balls in crushed peanuts, cacao nibs, cocoa powder, shredded coconut, or vegan chocolate sprinkles.
How to Make Edible Peanut Butter Cookie Dough
- 1) In a large mixing bowl or stand mixing bowl, cream together the vegan butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy and smooth.
- 2) Add in the apple sauce, peanut butter, vanilla, and sea salt. Beat again until well combined.
- 3) In a separate, small mixing bowl, whisk together the baking soda and 2 teaspoons of hot water. Once dissolved, pour the mixture into the edible cookie dough batter.
- 4) Using a spatula, gently stir in the flour until well combined.
- 5) Shape the edible cookie dough into tablespoon-sized balls. Once formed, place the cookie dough balls on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- 6) If desired, dip the peanut butter cookie dough balls in vegan chocolate. Melt the chocolate in the microwave or using a double boiler. Using two forks, dip each peanut butter cookie dough ball into the vegan chocolate and coat evenly before transferring the cookie dough balls back to the parchment-paper lined sheet. Work fast – the melted vegan chocolate hardens quickly!
- 7) Once coated in vegan chocolate, place the baking sheet directly in the freezer until hardened. Serve chilled, as desired. Enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
This vegan cookie dough is already made without eggs, but in order to make it safe to eat, it is important to use heat-treated flour. Raw flour can contain harmful bacteria such as E. coli. To make this cookie dough safe to eat raw, heat-treat it before adding it to your cookie dough or purchase flour that was heat-treated beforehand.
Yes. Instead of melting the vegan chocolate chips and coating the raw cookie dough, mix the whole vegan chocolate chips into the peanut butter cookie dough batter. Scoop the cookie dough batter into large spoonfuls and spread out on a lined baking sheet. Pat down each cookie dough ball slightly to flatten, then bake the peanut butter cookies for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F.
If your cookie dough is dry and crumbly, mix 1 tablespoon of plant-based milk or additional hot water into the dough at a time until moist. When you squeeze the cookie dough between your fingers it should hold together well.
My favorite way to melt dairy-free chocolate is using a double boiler or a microwave. If using a microwave, place the vegan chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave the vegan chocolate chips in 30-second intervals until melted. If using a double boiler, fill a small pot with water, then place a large glass bowl over top. Fill the bowl with vegan chocolate chips, then heat over medium heat until the dairy-free chocolate has melted.
This recipe makes roughly 24, 1-inch cookie dough balls. If you prefer to make a small batch, halve the recipe and make 1 dozen instead.
Top Recipe Tips
- Use softened vegan butter. Cold, straight-from-the-fridge butter will not mix well into the batter. To make well-creamed, soft cookie dough, use softened vegan butter. Cold vegan butter typically takes 1-2 hours to soften at room temperature. If short on time, fill a drinking glass or mixing bowl with boiling hot water. Let the water sit for 1 minute, then discard. Immediately place the hot drinking glass or bowl over the vegan butter and let the hot steam soften the dairy-free butter until soft enough to use.
- Use a cookie scoop. Speed up the prep work required by using a cookie scoop. This will allow you to scoop evenly-sized dough balls with ease.
- Avoid over mixing. Once the dry ingredients are added to the batter, mix at a low speed. Over-mixing will make the cookie dough tough and stringy. Mix until just combined, then stop!
Storage Instructions
These edible cookie dough balls will keep best when stored in the freezer. To prevent freezer burn, transfer the frozen cookie dough balls into a freezer-safe bag or airtight container and keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.
When ready to eat, set the cookie dough balls at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before eating.
More No-Bake Dessert Recipes
- 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Oatmeal Balls
- Beet Energy Balls
- Chocolate Covered Trail Mix Peanut Butter Balls
- Vegan No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls with Rice Krispies
- Vegan Peanut Butter Cups
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bites
Photos by Alfonso Revilla
Edible Peanut Butter Cookie Dough
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup of vegan butter, softened
- 1 cup of granulated sugar
- 1 cup of packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup of plain applesauce
- ¾ cup of peanut butter
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- 2 teaspoons of hot water
- 3 cups of all-purpose flour
- 2 cups of vegan chocolate chips
Instructions
- Cream together the vegan butter and both sugars until smooth.
- Beat in the applesauce, peanut butter, vanilla, and salt.
- Dissolve the baking soda in hot water and then add it to the batter.
- Stir in the flour.
- Shape cookie dough into 1-inch balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Then melt the vegan chocolate using a double boiler or microwave. Using two forks, dip each peanut butter ball into the vegan chocolate and spin to coat. Work fast because the dairy-free chocolate hardens.
- Place on a sheet and freeze until ready to serve.
Notes
- Use softened vegan butter. Cold, straight-from-the-fridge butter will not mix well into the batter. To make well-creamed, soft cookie dough, use softened vegan butter. Cold vegan butter typically takes 1-2 hours to soften at room temperature. If short on time, fill a drinking glass or mixing bowl with boiling hot water. Let the water sit for 1 minute, then discard. Immediately place the hot drinking glass or bowl over the vegan butter and let the hot steam soften the dairy-free butter until soft enough to use.
- Use a cookie scoop. Speed up the prep work required by using a cookie scoop. This will allow you to scoop evenly-sized dough balls with ease.
- Avoid over mixing. Once the dry ingredients are added to the batter, mix at a low speed. Over-mixing will make the cookie dough tough and stringy. Mix until just combined, then stop!
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Although plantbasedonabudget.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Plantbasedonabudget.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
I’m actually a little sad that I found this recipe because I cannot stop making it and eating it all myself 😂
Ha. One of those love hate kind of things! They’re just that good!
I wish I had a batch of these in my fridge every single day, so good!
Right?! Ever-filling too haha!
Edible cookie dough? Yes please! This is sooooooo good.
Gotta love it! Such a yummy treat!
These cookie dough bites are so good and loved how quick they were to make!
Right?! Such a quick and tasty treat!
such a fun to make and yummy dessert!