Ahhh! It’s officially Christmas cookie season and I couldn’t be more thrilled. Consider this my first of many efforts to make your holiday season a little bit more simple and delicious. The great news? This just happens to be a 1-bowl, 7-ingredient, 30-minute recipe! I love (baking) simplicity.
The ingredients list for these cookies is simple:
Peanut Butter
Graham crackers
Flaxseed
Brown Sugar
Unbleached flour
Vegan butter
Jam
That’s it! I can almost bet you have all of these items on hand. I love it when that happens.
In addition to the ingredients being minimal, the process is about as simple as it gets. Simply mix your wet ingredients in one bowl, add in your dry, mix and you’re good to go! Just roll those babies out and them give them a thumbprint. Playing with your food = so much fun.
After a short 10 minutes in the oven simply top them with warmed jam and they’re ready to eat. I sprinkled mine with a bit more graham cracker crumbs and thought it the perfect finish to a perfect peanut butter cookie.
The important stuff: What do they taste like? Kind of incredible.
A little crisp on the outside
Oh-so tender on the inside
Packed with PB flavor
Not-too sweet
& The perfect combination of flavors.
I mean, peanut butter, jelly and graham crackers are kind of meant to be together.
Even better news? They travel well and somehow get better the second day! I love it when that happens.
They’re also fairly customizable. If you aren’t a peanut butter fan, sub almond butter. And if you don’t like jam (who are you?), sub Nutella, a mini PB cub or a square of dark chocolate! Dream big and eat (cookies) often this December. Happy baking, friends!
PB&J Graham Cracker Thumbprints
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp flaxseed meal (to make flax egg)
- 2 ½ Tbsp water (to make flax egg)
- 1/2 cup natural salted peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
- 1/4 cup Earth Balance vegan butter (softened // or coconut oil)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
- 1/3 cup finely crushed graham cracker crumbs (plus more for topping)
- 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 10 Tbsp jam of choice (I used strawberry)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C)
- Prepare flax egg by mixing flaxseed meal and water in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Beat peanut butter and softened butter together until light and fluffy. Add flax egg, brown sugar and stir.
- Add graham crumbs and stir to combine. Then add in flour a little bit at a time until a firm dough forms – you don’t want it to be crumbly. It should take about 1/2 cup (as original recipe is written).
- Scoop out 1 packed Tbsp worth of dough and gently form/roll into balls. Moisten your hands with olive or canola oil if they aren’t molding easily. Place on lightly greased baking sheet.
- Flatten balls gently with the bottom of a glass and use your thumb or finger to make an indention.
- Bake for 8 minutes and remove from oven. The indentions should’ve puffed up, so press them back down a little and pop them back in the oven to brown up a little more – 2-3 minutes until slightly golden brown. Be careful not to over-bake or they’ll be too crunchy.
- Let rest on pans for a few minutes then transfer to cool on wire racks. Once the cookies are cooled, heat your jam until warm and pourable in a saucepan over medium-low heat or in the microwave. Then spoon small amounts (~1 tsp) of your jam into the middle of each cookie. Sprinkle with a few more graham cracker crumbs and serve immediately.
- Let cool completely before covering. To store, cover and keep at room temperature for up to 2-3 days.
Melanie says
Remember to use vegan brown sugar to keep these vegan. In the USA, most sugar is cane sugar, which is made white using bone char. Sugar beet sugar is vegan, but brown sugar from sugar beets may not be. So check your labels!
Stephanie Zick says
Another wonderful recipe; I had to fight my kids off to top with the jam because they wanted them immediately. Everyone agreed the jam topping was well worth the wait!
Ha, love it! We’re so glad everyone enjoyed it! xo
Heather says
Excellent Cookie and Super Easy! Win, Win. My substitution was to the flour to make these gluten free. I used 1/4 cup oat flour and 1/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 All Purpose Flour instead of the 1/2 cup all purpose flour. They turned out perfectly. I would make these again without hesitation. So very delicious!
Amazing! Thank you for sharing, Heather! xo
Paige R says
Yum these were pretty easy to make. I used brown coconut sugar instead of regular brown sugar. The only suggestion is to say softened vegan butter to remind people to leave butter out for a while before you start. If the vegan butter is out a bit I think the peanut butter and vegan butter would blend a bit better. I used grape jelly. Good cookie!!
Thanks for sharing, Paige! The ingredients say softened, but we’ll make sure to add it to the instructions too.
Alex says
I used a small cookie scoop and it made 29 cookies the only thing I did differently was to add 2 tsp vanilla. I topped them with a tart homemade raspberry jam to balance the sweetness. Oh MY! My wife said they were the best cookie I’d ever made! THANK YOU DANA!!!!!!!
Whoop! So glad you both enjoyed them! Thanks for sharing, Alex!
Kathy says
These are fantastic! Everyone (vegan and non vegans 😄) loved them ! I made half with raspberry preserves and half with cherry preserves. Already shared the recipe with my niece. Will be making these again ❤️
Whoop! Thanks so much for the lovely review, Kathy!
Tina says
I have no idea where I went wrong but these didn’t turn out for me. I followed the recipe exactly, using coconut oil, not vegan butter. Instead of measuring the flour with a cup, I actually weighed it and put in 60 g, which should be equivalent to 1/2 cup. I baked these as directed but they *completely* spread out on the cookie sheet. They were wafer thin and exceedingly crumbly. I couldn’t even pick one up off the parchment paper without it falling apart!
That being said, the flavor was awesome, sooo I took my crumbly mess of cookies and pressed them into a tart pan. I baked that for about 3 minutes, pulled it out of the oven, and spread a thin layer of peanut butter on top of that. I popped that in the freezer while I boiled 1 cup of cashews (ain’t got time to soak, haha). I drained the cashews and blended them with a 6 oz container of plain unsweetened coconut yogurt, 1/4 cup coconut oil, 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and a dash of salt until creamy. I poured that on the chilled cookie/peanut butter crust, and then I swirled in more peanut butter, and used the reserved graham crackers intended to top these cookies to have an aesthetic dusting along the rim of the tart. I topped that with pieces of cookie dough I had saved for my partner. It’s in the freezer now, for a quick chill, and then I’ll transfer it to the fridge before serving.
And there you have it, peanut butter cookie cheesecake! Lol. Not the original intention but really, what a springboard!
I’ll have to try these cookies again. Any idea where I went wrong? I might be inclined to blame the coconut oil, but I do prefer using coconut oil just because it ends up being so much cheaper than vegan butter!
Ha! Glad you turned it into something tasty! As an FYI coconut oil creates more of a crumbly cookie vs vegan butter, which creates a more moist, tender cookie. That’s probably what happened!
Sally says
Do you think you could freeze these for longer storage?
Hi Sally! I think so, separated by parchment, they should do well in the freezer!
Marcy says
I made these for friends and they were super successful! I subbed extra flour for graham crackers (last minute realized I didn’t have any) and coconut sugar for brown sugar. They were really easy and I was able to make them in my dorm kitchen. Thank you for the recipe!
Sylvia Isler says
This recipe looks great! Can’t wait to try it. Do you think it would be ok to substitute apple sauce for the oil?
I don’t, but it’s worth a shot!
Kupala says
Hi! I love your recipes. This particular one I’ve made twice now, but for some reason they keep coming out really oily. I used the natural peanut butter, stir it, blend with the sugar and both times the balls at the end are so oily I can literally squeeze the oil out. Any fixer thoughts? Thanks!
Strange! Maybe scale back on vegan butter next time? Or add more dry ingredients?
Silvia says
Can the flour be replaced with oat flour or almond flour or coconut flour? And if so, which substitution do you recommend? Also, can I replace the brown sugar with coconut sugar? Thanks!
Mariah says
I made these last night with almond butter. Amazing! I will definitely make them again.
Jess says
Can I modify the recipe with a regular egg instead of a flax egg ?
Thanks !!
Molly says
When I was a kid my mom would make peanut butter cookies with a hershey kiss in the middle during the holiday season and they were one of my favorites. These cookies instantly reminded me of those and I decided to give them a shot with a square of dark chocolate in place of the jam (and the non-vegan hershey kisses). They were amazing! I brought them to work and one of my coworkers even asked for the recipe, so I sent him the link back to your recipe!
An added bonus is how easy they are to make, nothing better than an easy recipe that produces a delicious cookie. Thank you for another great one!
Galit says
Is there a way to make this without graham crackers? Replace with flour maybe? I will never find them where I live and I really REALLY want to make these cookies!!! Thanks in advance.
rachel says
Ok…I seriously have an addiction to peanut butter. It is pretty much my favourite food. I made these for the holidays, and my non-vegan friends and family were also huge fans of these cookies. I will be making these often! :)
Kasey says
Oh these sound right up my alley! Happy holidays! x
Whoop! I can’t wait to try these with nutella or chocolate chunks in the middle as well. Happy Holidays to you, too!
Leigh says
There is something about the thumbprint cookie that screams Christmas to me. Add to that PB, J AND Graham flavours together how could it be anything but sensational! I can’t wait to try this! Thanks for all these great, easy to make recipes and beautiful step-by-step photos too!
As a side note to Grace from Australia – making your own graham crackers would be worth the effort! They are very yummy! Should you want to try this cookie RIGHT NOW (like I do) you could probably substitute a digestive type cookie and maybe add a pinch of cinnamon.
Thanks for the graham cracker tip, Leigh! Hope you enjoy these cookies.
Grace says
According to Web, Graham Cracker is like a whole-wheat flour, unsalted butter, brown sugar with honey and cinnamon. There is nothing like that in a pre-packaged biscuit in Australia! Maybe I will have to learn how to cook Graham Crackers.
Grace says
Your Aussie fan here. Does anyone know what is a substitute for Graham Cracker in Australia?
Probably just a biscuit/cookie?
Alexe @ Keys to the Cucina says
These look delicious and wonderfully simple!
Abbie @ Needs Salt says
I am loving the combination of flavors here! The cookies are so adorable and look totally delicious and addictive. I absolutely love graham crackers in anything. This cookie dough (unbaked) looks like something I could eat definitely get used to eating with a spoon.
Pinning!
Thanks Abbie!
kris says
I want to make these but im not sure what natural pb you mean, is it the kind with the oil on top that you have to mix in or is it the kind that says natural but you dont need to stir before using? Thanks so much
Yes, natural PB as in the kind that you have to stir. But really, any kind should be fine as long as it’s not the sweetened stuff or one with hydrogenated oils. You really just want peanuts and salt. Hope that helps!
RawInTheMiddle says
What a neat recipe, and nice that it has just a handful of ingredients. Thanks for sharing.
Beth says
Would these work with an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend or even oat flour?
It’s worth a try! Though I’d probably sub an egg for the flax egg to help with the binding/texture. Hope that helps!
Cindy says
Oh my goodness! They are mmmmmmmmm GOOD! Love the crunchy texture and the way the jelly adds a bit of pizazz. Can’t wait to try them with a dab of chocolate, my favorite food group!
Thanks for the recipe. :o)
Tara@PNWRunner says
These look amazing! Perfect if you are craving a PB&J or PB or Jelly or whatever! haha! I bet it would be yummy to put chocolate on top instead of jelly. :)
Exactly! That’s what I’m doing next ;D
Amanda @ Once Upon a Recipe says
Perfection. I’m loving all of these quick, easy, few ingredient recipes!
Brie @ Entrée the Giant says
My brother-in-law and his girlfriend and both vegan, but the BIL’s got a bad nut allergy – thinking these would still be delish with some sun butter subbed in for the pb though :)
Cindy says
There is an asterisk next to the word “flour” in the ingredients list. Why is it there?
Cindy, good question! I added it as a caution in the recipe because you should add the flour a little at a time (as you see in the instructions). However, I just removed the asterisk because I can see how that could be confusing. Hope that helps! thanks again :D
Cindy says
Thanks for the clarification! I can’t wait to try them. :o)
Stephanie @ Girl Versus Dough says
Simple cookies = the best cookies. Especially with PB and J!
Maryea {Happy Healthy Mama} says
Aaaahhh simplicity is just what this mama needs. These look like the perfect Christmas cookie to make with my 5 year old. Can’t wait to try it! :)
Gwen @simplyhealthyfamily says
I’m loving the simplicity of these cute guys! The texture looks amazing! My little PB&J monsters will devour these {me too :}
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
These are such a fun flavour!