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Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies are made with just 5 simple ingredients, and naturally sweetened with honey. I love how they have a soft, almost gooey texture when they are warm, and you can cool them down for a chewier result.

flourless peanut butter cookies on pan

Why You’ll Love Them

  • They have a rich, peanut butter flavor. When you make cookies without flour, the peanut butter flavor doesn’t get diluted. This means you’ll wind up with peanut butter cookies that have a rich, peanut butter taste.
  • They’re gluten-free. Perfect for those with special dietary needs.
  • They are SCD friendly. If you follow a protocol like the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, these cookies are sweetened with honey, which is one of the approved sweeteners.
  • They are flexible. If you don’t eat eggs, you can use a flax egg, instead. And if you prefer not to use honey, try swapping it for a 1/2 cup of coconut sugar instead.
  • Easy as possible. With just 5 ingredients, this recipe couldn’t be easier to make. No specialty flours or ingredients required!

Looking for more flourless cookie recipes? Try my Almond Butter Cookies or Cashew Butter Cookies, and for a fruit-sweetened cookie, try my Peanut Butter Date Cookies.

flourless cookie ingredients on marble

Ingredients You’ll Need

  • Peanut Butter. Use an all-natural one, with no added oil or sugar. The only ingredients on the label should be peanuts and salt.
  • Egg. This holds the cookies together, but you can use a flax egg instead. Just keep in mind that the egg-free cookie will be slightly more soft and gooey in texture. (Not a bad thing, if you ask me!)
  • Honey. I started sweetening things with honey after reading the book Breaking the Vicious Cycle, but if you prefer not to heat honey, you can try using maple syrup, or use a 1/2 cup of coconut sugar instead.
  • Baking soda. Helps the cookies rise! If you use a flax egg, be sure to add 1 teaspoon of vinegar to this recipe to help react with the baking soda.
  • Salt. Necessary in any sweet recipe to make the flavor pop. (I use Real Salt brand.)

You can stir in chocolate chips, or drizzle these cookies with melted dark chocolate, but that’s totally optional. If you don’t have peanut butter on hand, you can make homemade peanut butter in just 5 minutes, too!

peanut butter cookies drizzled with dark chocolate on baking sheet

 

How to Make Them

1. Mix. Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Add the peanut butter, honey, egg, baking soda, and salt to a large bowl and mix everything together.

peanut butter cookie ingredients mixed together

2. Scoop. Use a tablespoon or 1-ounce cookie scoop to scoop the dough and drop it onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

peanut butter cookie dough dropped on pan

3. Flatten & Bake. Use a fork to create a classic peanut butter cookie criss-cross pattern. Bake at 350ºF for 12 minutes, or until the cookies look lightly golden around the edges.

cookie dough flattened with fork in criss cross pattern

4. Cool. Flourless peanut butter cookies are very soft, gooey, and fragile when you first remove them from the oven. Let them cool on the pan completely to help them firm up, then enjoy! For a chewier cookie, place them in the fridge to chill, or in the freezer for a crispier cookie.

baked peanut butter cookies on pan and on plate

5. Decorate. This is optional, but you can drizzle some melted dark chocolate and a little flaky sea salt on top for an extra-impressive dessert.

peanut butter chocolate cookies stacked

Note: If you want a sturdier cookie, use coconut sugar as the sweetener, like my 4-ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies.

Variations

  • Make it nut-free. Use Sunflower Seed Butter or tahini instead of the peanut butter.
  • Make it vegan. Use a flax egg + 1 teaspoon of vinegar to react with the baking soda, and replace the honey with 1/2 cup of coconut sugar.

flourless peanut butter cookies on black plate

flourless peanut butter cookies on pan

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

4.83 from 88 votes
These Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies are naturally gluten-free and sweetened with honey. All you need is 5 ingredients to make them!
prep10 mins cook10 mins total20 mins
Servings:18

Ingredients
 
 

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 350ºF and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, mix together the peanut butter, honey, egg, baking soda, and salt.
    peanut butter cookie ingredients mixed together
  • Use a tablespoon to scoop the dough onto the lined baking sheet, leaving at least 1 inch of space between each cookie.
    peanut butter cookie dough dropped on pan
  • Use a fork to flatten the cookie dough, making a criss cross pattern. (These cookies won't flatten on their own.)
    cookie dough flattened with fork in criss cross pattern
  • Bake the cookies at 350ºF for 12 minutes, until the cookies have spread and look slightly crack on top. They will still be very soft to the touch while they are hot.
    baked peanut butter cookies on pan and on plate
  • Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet. For a firmer cookie, place them in the fridge or freezer and serve chilled. These cookies can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for 3 months. Decorate them with melted dark chocolate, if you like, for an extra impressive dessert!
    chocolate drizzled on cookies on baking sheet

Video

Notes

Nutrition information is for 1 of 18 cookies without the optional chocolate drizzle. This is automatically calculated, and is just an estimate, not a guarantee.
To replace the honey, you can use 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup coconut sugar instead. (Depending on how sweet you like them.) I haven’t tested this with maple syrup as a swap.
You can use a flax egg instead of a real egg, for a vegan version. The cookies will be soft and gooey in the middle, and very delicious.

Nutrition

Calories: 107kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 165mg | Potassium: 100mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 15IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: flourless peanut butter cookies

If you try these Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies, please leave a comment below and let me know how you like them! If you make any modifications, I’d love to hear about those, too. We can all benefit from your experience.

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Megan Gilmore leaning on her white countertop.

Megan Gilmore

Hi, I’m Megan. A former fast food junkie turned best-selling cookbook author. I create healthy recipes made with simple ingredients to make your life easier.

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Comments

  1. I really liked the cookies and I think next time I will use a little vanilla. I don’t Know why I didn’t think of it while mixing. I just am obsessed with vanilla. But I really enjoyed them and not having the extra calories from flour and butter. Thank you!