Peanut butter cookies are a beloved treat for lots of us, so they don’t need any introduction. There tons of quick and easy recipes of these nutty delights. But almost all of these recipes call for brown sugar.
What will happen if you don’t have brown sugar for peanut butter cookies at hand? Nothing critical.
You’ll notice some texture change and you may finish up with a bit crispier cookies.
Brown sugar is acidic, it comes into reaction with baking soda and produces carbon dioxide, making the dough puffier.

White sugar can’t take part in this reaction, because it doesn’t contain molasses – the acidic agent, so cookies are comparatively thinner and crispier.
But white sugar also participates in the process of leavening when creamed with butter. In any case you’ll get super delicious cookies which are really easy to make. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cookies Without Brown Sugar
Ingredients
- ¾ cup peanut butter
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking tray with parchment paper or silicone mat.
- Whisk together the egg, caster sugar and vanilla sugar. Make sure your egg is at room temperature.
- Pour the beaten egg into a bowl with peanut butter, add baking soda and a pinch of salt, and whisk together until well-combined and uniform.
- Scoop out the batter with a spoon and roll into 8 small balls.
- Transfer balls onto a baking tray and press lightly with the back of a fork to create a criss-cross pattern. Make around 10-12 cookies.
- Let them bake in a preheated oven for 8-10 minutes.
- When baked, leave them in a tray for 3-4 minutes, then place onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Serve and enjoy!
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