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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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-natural peanut butter (268 grams)
- 1/3 cup honey (116 grams; see notes for swaps)
- 1 large egg (50 grams; or flax egg)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (3 grams)
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (3 grams)
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (75 grams; optional)
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.
- Use a tablespoon to scoop the dough onto the lined baking sheet, leaving at least 1 inch of space between each cookie.
- Use a fork to flatten the cookie dough, making a criss cross pattern. (These cookies won't flatten on their own.)
- 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.
- 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!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite type of cookie?
Decadent flavor but easy to make! My type of recipe. I added a splash of liquid smoke to move it out of the comfort zone. It’s the Texas way.
These were chewy and delicious at about 7 or 8 minutes.12 minutes might be too long unless you like dryer cookies. I take them out of the oven when they are just set and still soft, then let cool.
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!