Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies
Almond flour peanut butter cookies are so easy to make with simple ingredients and incredibly soft on the inside and crunchy around the edges. Ready in about 20 minutes, these healthy almond flour peanut butter cookies use just 4 ingredients and are made without eggs or dairy and are naturally gluten free and vegan friendly!
If you love peanut butter cookies, you have to try these protein peanut butter cookies too for a simple post workout snack!
Why you will love this recipe
- So easy to make – all you need is a single bowl and a spoon to stir up the ingredients. This recipe is great for beginner bakers or even to make cookies with your kids!
- Perfect for the holidays – because these cookies are gluten free, dairy free, egg free and vegan friendly, they are great to serve at the holidays if you have guests that have dietary preferences. You can even make them peanut free (and school safe) by using sunbutter, almond butter or tahini n place of the peanut butter.
- Simple ingredients – you likely have everything you need to make these almond flour peanut butter cookies in your pantry right now.
- Perfectly sweetened – these peanut butter almond flour cookies are not too sweet so they pair perfectly with coffee or tea in the morning but are sweet enough to serve at parties or to satisfy a peanut butter cookie craving any time of the day!
Ingredients
- Maple syrup – maple syrup naturally sweetens the cookies and provides just enough sweetness. The maple syrup also imparts a very unique flavor making these cookies extra delicious. Note you want to use pure maple syrup (only ingredient should be maple syrup) not the imitation maple syrup.
- Peanut butter – peanut butter gives these peanut butter almond flour cookies that classic iconic peanut butter flavor. Be sure to use a natural peanut butter that you have to stir when you get the jar. The only ingredients should be peanuts (or peanuts and salt if it’s salted).
- Almond flour – almond flour provides the base for the cookies and helps to create a perfectly soft cookie with a crispy, crunchy edge that is just so delicious. Almond flour is lower in carbs than traditional flour and also packed with magnesium, Vitamin E, fiber and protein.
- Baking powder – baking powder helps the cookies rise slightly when baking. Be sure to use a fresh baking powder (opened in the last 6 months) for the best result.
- Salt (optional) – salt helps to make all the flavors in the cookie pop. Note that if you are using a salted peanut butter, omit the salt in the recipe.
- Vanilla extract (optional) – vanilla extract takes cookies to the next level. It adds a unique flavor and sweetness to the dough. You can use vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.
How to make almond flour peanut butter cookies
Start by preheating the oven to 350F.
Measure out the maple syrup, peanut butter and vanilla into a medium bowl and stir well. Tip: if you measure out the maple syrup first then use it to measure the peanut butter, the peanut butter is less likely to stick to the measuring cup.
Add the almond flour, baking powder and salt to the bowl with the peanut butter mixture. Stir well until well incorporated.
Scoop out the cookie dough onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop.
Press down the almond flour peanut butter cookie dough using your hands or a fork, making a cross-hatch pattern. (Note: if you notice the fork is getting stuck in the dough, wet the fork first).
Bake at 350F for 10 minutes. Take out of the oven and allow to cool at least 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Top tips
- Be sure to stir the peanut butter before measuring it out (to ensure the best consistency).
- The cookies don’t spread much on their own, so you have to press them down either with your fingers or using a fork (to make the cross-hatch pattern).
- Easy to double or triple the recipe to make more cookies. Note that if you triple the recipe, you may want to use a stand mixer to make sure you can get all the ingredients well incorporated.
- Allow the cookies to rest 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack or eating. The cookies are very fragile right out of the oven (because there are no eggs) and will fall apart if you pick them up too early after baking.
- Use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop or a tablespoon to measure out the dough to ensure the cookies are even sized.
- If you notice your fork is sticking to the dough as you press down the cookies, you can wet the fork first before pressing it down.
Mix in or add on ingredients
- Chocolate chips
- Sprinkles
- Peanut butter cup (to make peanut butter blossoms)
- M&M’s
- Raisins or craisins
- Freeze dried raspberries, strawberries or bananas
- Coconut flakes
- Chopped nuts: Chopped peanuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans
- Cinnamon
- Coarse salt sprinkled at the end
- Dip the cookies in melted chocolate or coat the bottom of the cookies with chocolate (let cool in the fridge to set the chocolate after dipping).
Common questions
What is almond flour?
Almond flour is made by processing blanched almonds (blanching removes the skins) into a flour like consistency. Because the almonds are blanched, the flour is very fine and is great for baking.
What’s the difference between almond flour and almond meal
Almond meal is made by grinding up whole almonds. The almonds are not blanched first so they have the skins on them which makes the almond meal slightly coarser than almond flour.
Can you use almond meal to make these gluten free peanut butter cookies?
Both almond flour and almond meal can be used in this recipe, however almond flour will give you a better consistency.
What is the best kind of peanut butter to use?
I recommend using a natural peanut butter (the only ingredients should be peanuts or peanuts and salt). I do not recommend no-stir peanut butter. Usually, I bake with the Organic Smooth Peanut Butter from Trader Joe’s.
Note: I have tested this recipe with salted peanut butter and no salt added and prefer the no salt added but both are good. Omit the pinch of salt if you are using a salted peanut butter.
You can use smooth or chunky peanut butter. Note that chunky peanut butter will lead to chunky cookies.
Need to make these almond flour cookies peanut free?
You can use almond butter, sunbutter or even tahini in place of the peanut butter. Note that the flavor of the cookies will change based on what you substitute the peanut butter with.
Need to make these peanut butter cookies tree nut free?
If you need a peanut butter cookie that is made with something other than almond flour, you can try my 4 ingredient sunflower cookies and use peanut butter instead of sunbutter.
You can also replace the almond flour in this recipe with sunflower seed meal (which you can buy online or make yourself by processing sunflower seeds in a food processor until it resembles flour).
How to make these peanut butter almond flour cookies lower in carbs
Use a monk fruit style sweetener instead of maple syrup. Note that monk fruit sweeteners are typically higher in fiber, so you may need to add avocado oil or melted coconut oil (1-2 teaspoons at a time until it reaches the desired consistency) to ensure your cookies aren’t dry.
Can you eat the cookie vegan peanut butter cookie dough raw?
Since this almond flour peanut butter cookie recipe is made without eggs and uses almond butter, you can eat the cookie dough raw!
Storing leftovers
It’s important to allow the cookies to cool completely before storing them in an airtight container. If the cookies are still warm, they will create condensation and become mushy.
- Countertop – store cookies on the counter for up to 24 hours in an airtight container.
- Fridge – store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
- Freezer – freeze leftover cookies for up to 6 months in a freezer safe bag or container. You can eat them right out of the freezer or allow them to defrost on the counter for 10-15 minutes.
Substitutions
- Maple syrup – I really love the flavor maple syrup gives to the cookies. If you don’ have maple syrup on hand, you can use honey, agave syrup, date syrup or a monk fruit sweetener. Note that both the date syrup and monk fruit syrup are higher in fiber and may require a tablespoon or two of added oil – (avocado or melted coconut oil work great).
- Peanut butter – you can use any nut butter here, almond butter, cashew butter, sunbutter, tahini all work well. Be sure to use a natural version of these (no added oils, they should not read “no stir”).
- Almond flour – you can easily swap out the almond flour for almond meal. If you want to make these cookies with something like oat flour or gluten free flour, I suggest making these Sunbutter Cookies and just using peanut butter in place of the sunbutter.
If you love this recipe, you should try
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Peanut Butter Chickpea Cookies
Air Fryer Peanut Butter Cookies
Almond Flour Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1.25 cups almond flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- pinch salt (optional)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- In a medium bowl, combine the maple syrup and peanut butter. Mix well until fully combined. Note: if you measure out the maple syrup first, you can use that to measure out the peanut butter and the peanut butter won't stick).
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl with the peanut butter mixture. Stir well until everything is well incorporated.
- Scoop out the dough using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop. Place cookies on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
- Press the cookies using your hand or a fork (to make the cross hatch pattern).
- Bake in 350F oven for 10 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool at least 10 minutes before transferring them to the cooling rack.
Notes
- Be sure to stir your peanut butter before measuring it out (to ensure the best consistency).
- The cookies don’t spread much on their own, so you have to press them down either with your fingers or using a fork (to make the cross-hatch pattern).
- Easy to double or triple the recipe to make more cookies. Note that if you triple the recipe, you may want to use a stand mixer to make sure you can get all the ingredients well incorporated.
- Allow the cookies to rest 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack or eating. The cookies are very fragile right out of the oven (because there are no eggs) and will fall apart if you pick them up too early after baking.
- Use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop or a tablespoon to measure out the dough to ensure the cookies are even sized.
- If you notice your fork is sticking to the dough as you press down the cookies, you can wet the fork first before pressing it down.
- Chocolate chips
- Sprinkles
- Peanut butter cup (to make peanut butter blossoms)
- M&M’s
- Raisins or crasins
- Freeze dried raspberries, strawberries or bananas
- Coconut flakes
- Chopped nuts: Chopped peanuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans
- Cinnamon
- Dip the cookies in melted chocolate or coat the bottom of the cookies with chocolate (let cool in the fridge to set the chocolate after dipping).
- Sprinkle with coarse sea salt
- Countertop – store cookies on the counter for up to 24 hours in an airtight container.
- Fridge – store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
- Freezer – freeze leftover cookies for up to 6 months in a freezer safe bag or container. You can eat them right out of the freezer or allow them to defrost on the counter for 10-15 minutes.
