Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies
This post may include affiliate links. Thank you for your support.
These healthy peanut butter cookies are soft, chewy and made with just 4 simple ingredients. Naturally sweetened and easy to make in one bowl, they’re the perfect better-for-you treat.
If you have ever wanted a peanut butter cookie that comes together with basically no effort and still tastes completely satisfying, this is it. Four ingredients, one bowl, no eggs, no butter, no traditional flour. I know that sounds too good to be true but I promise it works and these cookies deliver every single time!
If you are a peanut butter cookie lover you are also going to want to try my peanut butter oatmeal cookies for another easy one bowl version that is just as simple and delicious.
Table of Contents
Why I Love These Peanut Butter Cookies
- Only 4 ingredients: Peanut butter, maple syrup, vanilla and almond flour. That is genuinely it. No butter, no eggs, no complicated steps.
- One bowl, easy cleanup: Everything comes together in a single bowl which means less mess and more time to enjoy the cookies.
- Perfectly soft and chewy: The almond flour gives these cookies a texture that is hard to beat. And if you are a fan of baking with almond flour, my almond flour chocolate chip cookies are another must try.
- Naturally sweetened: Just maple syrup for sweetness which means these cookies are not overly sugary. They taste indulgent without the sugar crash.
“Saw the recipe and wanted to try them out. Worst idea ever. Already on the third batch this week and I’m running out of peanut butter! Very good and if you love peanut butter you will LOVE these.”
Ingredients Needed
- creamy natural peanut butter – the star of the show and what gives these cookies their rich nutty flavor. Look for a brand with just peanuts and salt as the only ingredients. Make sure it is drippy and well stirred before measuring as a thick or dry peanut butter will affect the texture of the dough.
- maple syrup – the natural sweetener that holds the dough together and adds just the right amount of sweetness.
- vanilla extract – adds warmth and rounds out the overall flavor of the cookie.
- almond flour – gives these cookies their soft, slightly chewy texture and keeps them naturally gluten-free. Make sure you are using finely ground blanched almond flour and not almond meal. I love Bob’s Red Mill super fine almond flour for the best results.
Find the full ingredient list with measurements in the recipe card below.
Substitutions
- Almond flour: I highly recommend using almond flour for this recipe for the best results. I have tested it with oat flour and the cookies will still turn out, but they are a bit drier 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.
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:
- Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Step 2: Add the peanut butter, maple syrup and vanilla to a mixing bowl and stir until combined. Add the almond flour and stir until fully incorporated.
- Step 3: Use a medium cookie scoop to portion the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Flatten each ball with a fork in a crisscross pattern and sprinkle with flaked sea salt if using.
- Step 4: Bake for 12 minutes or until the cookies begin to brown around the edges. Let cool on a wire rack before serving.
Brittany’s Tips
- Use drippy natural peanut butter: This is the most important tip for this recipe. A thick or dry peanut butter will make the dough too stiff and hard to work with. Give your jar a good stir before measuring and make sure it is at room temperature. If your dough still feels too sticky just add an extra tablespoon of almond flour at a time until it comes together.
- Do not skip the cooling time: These cookies are soft and fragile straight out of the oven. Let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack. They firm up as they cool and the texture is so much better once they have had time to set.
How to Store
Room Temperature: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Refrigerator: These cookies keep really well in the fridge for up to 7 days. The texture firms up a bit when cold which I actually love.
Freezer: Peanut butter cookies freeze beautifully. Place cooled cookies in a freezer-safe bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or enjoy straight from the freezer for a cold treat.
Frequently Asked Questions
This usually comes down to the brand of natural peanut butter you are using. Some are much runnier than others. If your dough feels too wet or sticky simply add an extra tablespoon of almond flour at a time until it comes together.
Absolutely and I highly recommend it! Fold in a few tablespoons of your favorite chocolate chips after the dough comes together for a peanut butter chocolate chip version that is truly hard to resist.
I would not recommend it. Almond flour has more fat and less starch than regular flour which is what gives these cookies their soft texture. Oat flour can work as a substitute but the cookies will be slightly drier.
More Cookie Recipes You’ll Love
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
- ½ 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.1 cup creamy natural peanut butter, ½ cup maple syrup, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 cup almond flour
- 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.flaked sea salt for topping
- 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
Notes
- Almond flour: Finely ground blanched almond flour is strongly recommended. Oat flour can work as a substitute but the cookies will be slightly drier.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the fridge for up to 7 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This Recipe? Rate & Comment Below!
Whoa!!! These are amazing, Turned out so light and fluffy! Perfect sweetness! Thank you!
Yay! So glad you loved these cookies, Teresa. Thanks for making the recipe and for coming back to leave a review. I really appreciate it!
these are the BEST & so easy. has anyone frozen them ? just wondering if that would work well or not
So glad you loved these, Karen! Yes, they freeze really well, just let them cool completely, then store them in an airtight container or freezer bag, and thaw at room temp when you’re ready to enjoy.
Made these exactly as per the recipe. They were moist with a great peanut butter flavor. They don’t spread so the size, shape and thickness is really in your control. Baked for 10 minutes on middle rack and took them off the cookie sheet and onto a wire rack to cool. They came out perfect. Used Kirkland peanut butter and almond flour. Easy and delicious. Would definitely recommend.
Woo!! So glad these turned out well for you, Kat. Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it. 🙂
Saw the recipe and wanted to try them out. Worst idea ever. Already on the third batch this week and I’m running out of peanut butter! Very good and if you love peanut butter you will LOVE these❤️
haha I’m so glad these cookies have been a hit!! Thanks for making my recipe and for coming back to leave a review. I really appreciate it!
Had some trouble rating and commenting on the desktop, so trying now via cellphone as I really wanted to leave a review for these!
Made them twice now, and the taste is absolutely lovely, particularly considering the very limited and healthy ingredients.
I switched the vanilla flavour for almond flavour (liquid) as I didn’t have vanilla at home – tasted amazing. I also reduced the maple syrup to 1/3 and then to 1/4 cup the next time, as I like the sweetness in these to be more subtle. I had trouble with the stickiness the first time I made these, but bought an ice cream scoop and that made it sooo much easier (and used a plastic fork for the pattern, as recommended by another commenter). The only “challenge” I had the first time I made these was that the bottom turned too dark, way before the top darkened. I now took them out earlier and let them completely cool down to make sure they don’t fall apart. I think this recipe has some potential “pitfalls” in terms of the texture, as this can vary depending on the peanut butter brand used, plus the oven that people have. For me, the taste of them, the simplicity and the clean ingredients make them 100% worth it, even if you have to keep an eye on them in the oven and maybe do a little trial and error 😉 5 starts from me 🙂
Wow, thank you so much for taking the time to share all of this—I’m so glad you made it work (and made them twice… yay!). Love the almond flavor swap and the tip about using an ice cream scoop + plastic fork—such great hacks!
You’re totally right about the texture possibly varying depending on the peanut butter and oven—these simple ingredient recipes can be a little finicky, but sounds like you totally nailed it. So glad you found the sweet spot with baking time and sweetness level. And seriously, thank you for troubleshooting and still coming back with 5 stars. That means a lot! 💛
I haven’t tried to make them yet, but I’m planning on making them for my toddler. I appreciate that these are already vegan and that there are so few ingredients in the recipe. So until I make them, my rating is for those factors.
my son keeps asking for a “doggy treat” after seeing Elmo give his dog Tango a “doggie treat”. so I thought these could be used with bone shaped cookie cutters since they’re somewhat flat.
could I use a bananna for sweetness and flavor and omitted the maple syrup since we don’t give our son any type of sweetener?
We have “Crazy Richard’s” peanut butter and its very liquidy, but would I need to also add some apple sauce or something for moisture?
Thank you!
Hi Lindsay, I love your idea! I haven’t tested it this way, but 1 mashed banana could likely work instead of the maple syrup for a no-added-sugar version. It’ll change the flavor and might make the cookies a bit softer, but they should still hold together with the almond flour and peanut butter.
Since your peanut butter is on the runny side, you might not need extra moisture, but a little applesauce could help if the dough feels dry. Let me know how they turn out if you give it a try!
Thank you very much for your insight Brittney.
I will give them a try and let you know how they turn out 🙂
Sorry, my cousin spells it ‘ney’, so it was just a habit.
*Brittany*
You are delusional. These receipes are FREE! She’s not here to listen to your negative Nancy feedback. Keep searching the internet for a free recipe or figure it out yourself and stop wasting your time and everyone else’s time leaving rubbish feedback like this selfish
simply amazing.my daughter just loved it. quick and easy to make.
Yay! That makes me so happy to hear. I’m glad these cookies were a hit. Thanks for coming back to leave a review, I appreciate it!
I doubled the recipe and used Teddy’s peanut butter (16oz jar). Since I doubled it, instead of using a whole cup of honey I used a half a cup and a half of cup allulose (not a fan of any sweeteners that have an after taste). Teddy’s is a little runnier so the moisture isn’t a factor. They are cooling and hubby already stole 3 of them lol.
Love hearing this, Ana! It’s always a good sign when someone can’t resist grabbing a few fresh cookies. Thanks so much for trying the recipe and for your review!
These are fabulous!!! Do you think almond butter can be used instead of PB?
So glad you loved these cookies, Galina! Yes, almond butter will work just as well.
These cookies are so satisfying! I used Kirkland brand creamy peanut butter and a little less maple syrup. They turned out perfectly. I really indulged and crumbled some over chocolate ice cream…delicious.
Ohh I bet these were delicious served with ice cream-yum! So glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
Fantastic recipe. I used the bottom of a jar of very dry peanut butter, and almond meal instead of flour.
Baked for 20 minutes and came out beautifully. Chewy and extremely delicious. Thank you!
So glad you loved the cookies, Julie! Happy to hear they turned out great with almond meal. Thanks for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
I use Jiff Natural Creamy PB. The first batch with Reese’s PB chips was good but very crumbly. A cookie would break in half just picking it up. I was slow getting it out of the oven so cook time was closer to 13 minutes. The next batch, I added 1 egg, Toll House dark chocolate chips and a cook time of 12 minutes. Very good cookie but still a little too crumbly for me. The interior of the cookie is moist but it still falls apart easily. Would switching to Smuckers Natural hold things together better? That stuff is almost soup compared to the no stir Jiff.
Oh no! So sorry to hear that these cookies were turning out too crumbly for you. I have a feeling it’s the brand of peanut butter that’s causing the issues. If Smuckers is runnier than Jiff I would think that would be a better option? Let me know if you try it and how the cookies turn out for you.
I made these mainly for my toddler, as we don’t give her cane sugar yet. Not only does my kid love these, the whole family does! Personally, i even think they are a little too sweet. So next time, I won’t use as much maple syrup. But wanted to ask of i can also add an egg for moisture? And use AP flour since we aren’t gluten free and usually have AP flour on hand at all times. Do you think they would turn out using AP Flour and an added egg? Otherwise the recipe as is is great!
Hi, Peggy. So glad your whole family is enjoying these! I haven’t tested this recipe with all-purpose flour and an egg, but since AP flour is more absorbent than almond flour, adding an egg should help maintain moisture. I’d start with ¾ cup AP flour and see if the dough looks right before adding more. Let me know if you try it!
WOW! These are one of the best peanut butter cookies I’ve eaten. So soft and perfectly sweet. Love with chocolate chips. You couldn’t tell they’re made with a few simple ingredients. Bonus- It took me just a few minutes to make.
Woo!! That makes me so happy to hear, Emma. Thanks for coming back to leave a review. It means the world to me.