Chewy, nutty almond flour peanut butter cookies that’ll really satisfy your sweet tooth. This basic recipe is naturally gluten and dairy free. We love to drizzle chocolate on top!
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A batch of these healthy cookies takes 20 minutes start to finish. You're left with intense peanut butter flavor and the best chewy texture.
Ingredient Notes
- Creamy natural peanut butter: grab a peanut butter where the only ingredients are peanuts and salt. You want a no-stir peanut butter, where you don't have all the oil sitting on top at first.
- Refined coconut oil: this type of coconut oil has a very mild coconut flavor that you'll barely even notice.
- Coconut sugar: you could also use packed brown sugar.
- Egg: an egg brings the dough together and adds structure to the cookies.
- Vanilla extract: grab a quality, pure vanilla extract.
- Baking soda: baking soda reacts with the acid in the sugar to help the cookies rise.
- Blanched almond flour: blanched means the almonds have been peeled prior to grinding into a flour.
- Sea salt: to balance out the sweetness!
- Chocolate chips: these are optional for drizzling. We like to use an allergy friendly semi-sweet chocolate chip or a dark chocolate. Lily's and Hu Kitchen are great brands.
How to Make Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies
Make the dough
- In a large mixing bowl with your hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the almond butter , coconut oil and coconut sugar together on high speed until smooth creamy, 2-3 minutes. It may look lumpy at first but keep beating because it will come together.
- Add the egg, vanilla, and mix until combined, 1-2 minutes then add the almond flour, baking soda and salt and mix until full incorporated, 1-2 minutes.
Scoop and bake
- Use a medium cookie scoop or heaping tablespoon to drop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, being careful not to over bake.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for ten minutes to set. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Drizzle chocolate
- This step is optional, but highly recommended. Melt the chocolate chips in 30 second increments in the microwave until it's smooth.
- Use a piping bag or a spoon to drizzle the melted chocolate onto the cookies. Allow the cookies to rest for an hour or so to let the chocolate set or place them in the freezer for a few minutes to harden quickly.
Substitutions and Modifications
- Paleo: swap the peanut butter for a creamy, no-drop almond or cashew butter.
- Keto: use 1/4 cup powdered erythritol or a powdered monk fruit erythritol
- Vegan: swap the egg for a flax egg or 3 tablespoons of Just Egg.
- Coconut oil: if you don't like coconut or you're allergic, try using melted butter or vegan butter.
- Coconut sugar: you may not care about the refined sugar, so if not, go ahead and use light brown sugar.
FAQs
What kind of peanut butter to use?
The peanut butter should be natural and creamy, but not the kind with the layer of oil on top that you have to stir before using. Make sure it's a no-stir creamy peanut butter.
Almond meal or almond flour?
Almond meal is made from unblanched (unpeeled) almonds so the texture is more course and the color is darker. Almond flour uses peeled almonds to create a finer, lighter flour.
Can I use almond flour instead of regular flour?
You can't swap almond flour as a 1:1 ratio with all-purpose flour. Almond flour has a very different structure. It's a high-fat flour and therefore has more moisture. I recommend using a recipe that calls for it specifically.
Why do my almond flour cookies fall apart?
Cookies made with almond flour are often more moist than traditional cookies. If you try to pick them up while they're too warm they will fall apart. Make sure they're cooled completely before eating or packaging.
Expert Tips
- Use a cookie scoop: this helps get all of the cookies the same size so they bake evenly.
- Drizzle them with chocolate and even add some sea salt on top!
- Use parchment paper or a silpat mat to help keep them from sticking.
- Double check you have the right kind of peanut butter (see below!).
Storage and Freezer Instructions
- Room temperature: close them in an airtight container and leave at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Refrigerator: store them for up to 5 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
- Freezer: store the baked cookies in an air tight container for up to 3 months. You can also freezer the cookie dough balls for 3 months prior to baking. Bake them straight from frozen, just add a few extra minutes to the bake time.
More gluten free cookie recipes
- Flourless almond butter cookies
- Gluten free almond biscotti
- Hot cocoa cookies
- Gluten free cutout sugar cookies
- Double chocolate peppermint cookies (paleo)
Recipe
Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies
Chewy, nutty almond flour peanut butter cookies that’ll really satisfy your sweet tooth. This basic recipe is naturally gluten and dairy free, but we're sharing keto and no egg options!
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Servings: 24 cookies
Calories: 186kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup natural creamy no-stir peanut butter
- 6 tablespoons refined coconut oil melted and slightly cooled
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar or brown sugar see notes for keto
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour packed
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips melted for drizzling optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with your hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the almond butter , coconut oil and coconut sugar together on high speed until smooth creamy, 2-3 minutes. It may look lumpy at first but keep beating because it will come together.
- Add the egg, vanilla, and mix until combined, 1-2 minutes then add the almond flour, baking soda and salt and mix until full incorporated, 1-2 minutes.
- Use a large cookie scoop or heaping tablespoon to drop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, being careful not to over bake.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for ten minutes to set. Transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Keto: use 1/4 cup powdered erythritol or a powdered monk fruit erythritol and use a sugar free chocolate like Lily's. The keto version has 5 net carbs.
Vegan: swap the egg for a flax egg or 3 tablespoons of Just Egg.
Freezer instructions: store the baked cookies in an air tight container for up to 3 months. You can also freezer the cookie dough balls for 3 months prior to baking. Bake them straight from frozen, just add a few extra minutes to the bake time.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 186kcal | Carbohydrates: 12.7g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 11.7g | Cholesterol: 7.8mg | Sodium: 154mg | Fiber: 1.1g | Sugar: 10.1g
Did you make this recipe?Mention @What_MollyMade or tag #whatmollymade!
Taylor says
I followed the recipe but am not sure what happened. They’re extremely crumbly, and dry! Taste good though haha