These cookies use a ripe mashed banana and vegetable shortening in place of eggs and butter, making them fully vegan with nine everyday ingredients and no chilling time. You get two dozen cookies in about 25 minutes, which makes them genuinely useful when you need a batch for a crowd and don’t want a complicated project. The banana cuts the added sugar roughly in half compared to a standard peanut butter cookie, and you’d never guess it from the taste.
The short version of why this works
Two things carry this recipe. First, the banana acts as a binder the same way an egg would — the natural starches and sugars in a very ripe banana hold the dough together and keep the centres soft after baking. Second, vegetable shortening is 100% fat with no water content, unlike vegan butter, which typically contains 15–20% water. That extra water would create steam in the oven and spread the cookies out flat. Shortening keeps them thick, gives you crisp edges, and doesn’t compete with the peanut butter flavour.
Troubleshooting
- Cookies spread too thin: Your shortening may have been too warm. If your kitchen is hot, refrigerate the measured shortening for 10 minutes before mixing. Also check that your baking sheet isn’t still warm from a previous batch — always use a cool pan.
- Fork sticks badly when pressing the crosshatch: Dip the fork in the rolling sugar between every single cookie, not just when it starts to stick. A light coating each time prevents tearing and keeps the pattern clean.
- Dough is too sticky to roll into balls: The banana may have been very large or very wet. Add flour one tablespoon at a time, up to two extra tablespoons, until the dough holds its shape when rolled.
- Cookies taste starchy or bland: The banana wasn’t ripe enough. The skin should be heavily spotted or mostly brown. A yellow banana won’t provide enough sweetness or moisture to balance the flour.
- Uneven baking across a large batch: When making multiple trays, rotate each tray halfway through baking and swap oven positions. Ovens run hotter at the back, and this matters more when you have several trays going at once.
Smart swaps
- Vegetable shortening: This is the one ingredient worth keeping as written. Vegan butter works in a pinch but produces a flatter, softer cookie with less defined edges. Skip the swap if you can — not worth the texture trade-off.
- Creamy peanut butter: Use a standard commercial creamy peanut butter (like Jif or Skippy), not natural or stir-required varieties. Natural peanut butter has inconsistent oil separation that makes the dough greasy and hard to roll.
- All-purpose flour: A 1:1 gluten-free flour blend works here because the banana provides most of the binding. Expect a slightly more crumbly texture.
- Granulated sugar for rolling: Coarse or turbinado sugar gives a crunchier exterior and holds up better visually if you’re making these ahead for a party tray.
Leftovers and make-ahead
Baked cookies keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. They actually firm up a little on day two, which many people prefer. For longer storage, freeze baked cookies in a single layer first, then transfer to a zip bag — they keep for up to 2 months and thaw at room temperature in about 20 minutes. If you’re making these for a crowd, the raw dough balls (pre-rolled in sugar) can be frozen on a tray and baked straight from frozen at 350°F for 13–14 minutes, so you can prep them days ahead and bake fresh the day you need them.
Peanut Butter Banana Vegan Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 medium ripe banana mashed
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup vegetable shortening such as Crisco
- 1 tablespoon water
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2-3 tablespoons extra sugar for rolling
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer), combine the peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, mashed banana, vanilla, shortening, and water. Beat on medium speed for 1–2 minutes until smooth and well combined.
- When well mixed, add the baking soda, baking powder, and flour. Again, mix until well combined.
- To assemble the cookies, take about 1 teaspoon of dough, and roll it in a ball with your hands.
- Roll each ball of dough in a small bowl of extra sugar to coat, then place on a parchment-lined or lightly greased baking sheet, spacing them 2 inches (5cm) apart.
- With a fork, press the dough down in one direction, then rotate 90° and press again to create the classic crosshatch pattern. Dip the fork in sugar if it sticks.
- Bake at 350°F / 175°C (180°C fan-forced) for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden brown and the centres still look slightly underdone — they will firm up as they cool.
- Cool completely on a wire rack.
Nutrition
Your questions, answered
Can I double this recipe to make 48 cookies at once?
Yes, this recipe doubles reliably without any adjustments to technique or timing. Just mix in a large bowl or stand mixer with enough capacity, and bake in batches on separate trays — the per-cookie bake time stays the same at 10–12 minutes.
How ripe does the banana actually need to be?
The skin should have heavy brown spots or be mostly brown — that’s the target. A ripe banana mashes completely smooth, blends into the dough without lumps, and provides enough natural sugar to keep the cookies from tasting flat.
Can I make the dough ahead and bake later?
Yes — roll the dough into balls, coat them in sugar, and refrigerate on a tray for up to 24 hours before baking. You can also freeze the unbaked balls for up to 2 months and bake them straight from frozen, adding 2–3 minutes to the bake time.
If you liked this one
- Classic Soft Sugar Cookies
- Ultimate Banana Bread
- Indulgent Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
- Melt-in-Your-Mouth Scottish Shortbread Cookies
