Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies
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Published Dec 09, 2020, Updated Jan 19, 2024
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These delicious and healthy peanut butter cookies are made in one bowl and with only 4 ingredients. Sweetened with maple syrup and made without eggs or butter! Vegan + gluten-free.
While I love my healthy peanut butter blossoms, I’ve been wanting to create a classic peanut butter cookie recipe and here they are!
And guess what? You only need FOUR ingredients to make these… no butter, no eggs and no traditional flour! I know it doesn’t seem right… but it is correct and these cookies are simply delicious!
In years past, I have always loved getting together with my family and friends for cookie baking and cookie exchanges! This year looks different, but I’m still determined to get creative and connect. I see Zoom or FaceTime baking days in my future… with ugly holiday sweaters, holiday music, the whole shebang.
This recipe would be perfect to make while Zoom-ing with a loved one – just gather the ingredients, mix and bake!
Peanut Butter Cookie Ingredients
Like I mentioned above, you only need four simple ingredients (five if you decide to add the salt). If you’re like me you probably have all of the ingredients to make these cookies sitting in your kitchen right now!
- creamy natural peanut butter – look for a brand with just one or two ingredients (peanuts and salt).
- maple syrup – make sure to get pure maple syrup, not the artificial pancake syrup.
- vanilla extract
- almond flour – look for blanched super-fine almond flour. I like Bob’s Red Mill.
- flaked sea salt – optional but I like sprinkling on top for added flavor.
Substitutions & Notes
- Almond flour – I highly recommend using almond flour for this recipe for the best result, but I have tested it with oat flour and the cookies will still turn out, but they are a bit more dry tasting because oat flour has less fat than almond flour.
- Peanut butter – I’m assuming you can swap with any nut or seed butter, but I’ve only tested the recipe with natural peanut butter and almond butter, which is also delicious!
- Maple syrup – You can totally use another liquid sweetener like coconut nectar or honey. I’ve tested these with honey and they were yummy, but I personally like the flavor of maple syrup better.
- Want a real deal peanut butter cookie recipe? Try these 3-ingredient peanut butter cookies instead!
How to Make Peanut Butter Cookies
Because we’re not using eggs, butter or traditional flour, these cookies can be made in one bowl. Woo-hoo for less dishes! Here’s how to make them:
- Mix wet ingredients – Add peanut butter, maple syrup and vanilla into a mixing bowl. Stir until combined.
- Add dry ingredients – Add the almond flour to the wet ingredients and stir until incorporated.
- Shape cookies – Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Flatten each dough ball with a fork, making a criss cross pattern and sprinkle with sea salt if using.
- Bake – Bake at 350ºF for 12 minutes or until the cookies begin to brown. Let cookies cool on a wire rack and enjoy!
More Cookie Recipes
- Almond Flour Crescent Cookies
- Healthy No Bake Cookies
- Oatmeal Date Cookies
- Healthy Sugar Cookies (Cut-Out Cookies)
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy natural peanut butter
- 1/2 cup maple syrup, or honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup almond flour
- flaked sea salt for topping, if desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add peanut butter, maple syrup and vanilla into a mixing bowl. Once combined, add in almond flour and stir until incorporated.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop dough onto prepared baking sheet. Alternatively, you can scoop dough with a spoon and roll it into a ball.
- Flatten each dough ball with a fork, making a crisscross pattern and sprinkle a little flaked sea salt on top of each cookie, if using.
- Bake in a preheated oven for about 12 minutes or until cookies begin to brown. Remove from oven, allow cookies to cool on a wire rack and enjoy.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thanks for the recipe,it fast and easy and most of all its delicious, thanks again!!!!!!
So glad you loved this recipe, Kim! Thanks for the review. I so appreciate it. 🙂
I was going to make my usual cookies with peanut butter, egg, and brown sugar but I broke the glass canister that house the sugar. I knew that I had seen a peanut butter cookie recipe using maple syrup on Instagram but my phone was charging. I am so glad because this recipe is just what I need as I am trying to eliminate dairy. It is so delicious that I have to keep telling myself that I can’t eat the all at one time.
Ahh yay!! So glad you loved these cookies. Thanks for coming back to leave a review, Kay. I so appreciate it!
I made these and added dark chocolate chips and ME OH MY SO YUMMY :D. This recipe became a template for banana oat bars with peanut butter too :D. I always have tons of fun looking at your website, well done!!
Ohh I bet the addition of the dark chocolate was SO good!! I’m glad you’ve loving the recipes, Matilde. 🙂
Sooooo good! I added a chocolate kiss on top since I was craving peanut butter and chocolate. Delicious!
These cookies were easy, delicious, and a hit with my whole family! Even my dad, a self-proclaimed “peanut butter cookie connoisseur”, approved! We will definitely be making them again soon
So glad these cookies were a hit, Brooke! Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
I never bake, but the recipe didn’t leave me shaking in intimidation and I had all the ingredients on hand! Pretty tasty, indeed. Consistency was less cookie-like for me, more of a grain bar mouth feel to it but it’s def a keeper. Thank you!
Made these this morning with maple syrup. They were super easy and delicious! I ended up refrigerating the dough for about an hour so it was easier to shape into balls. I might try a batch tomorrow with honey to see if I can tell the difference.
Ahh yay, so glad you enjoyed these cookies!! Let me know if you try them with honey and what you think. 🙂
So easy and delicious! My mother is a skeptic of healthy desserts and even she couldn’t stop eating them! They were very fast and simple to make. I used whole wheat flour instead of almond flour in a 1:1 conversion and it worked out just fine.
Woo!! That makes me so happy to hear. I’m so glad these cookies were a hit. Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it. <3
I followed this exact recipe but the dough was super sticky. It was really hard to roll into a ball and flatten. Am I missing something?
Mmm, and you used almond flour and maple syrup or did you use honey?
These were sooooooo good! The only bad thing is that I’m constantly snacking on them! I even had some for breakfast! Ha!
Aren’t they dangerously good?! I’m glad you enjoyed these cookies! Thanks for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it. 🙂