Make these cookies with just 7 simple ingredients. These paleo peanut butter cookies are crunchy, yummy, flavorful, and great as a snack, dessert, or breakfast.
Paleo-friendly, gluten-free, dairy-free and vegetarian.
Fruits are great for snacks on a Paleo diet. But sometimes, you just want a good old-fashioned cookie – like a peanut butter cookie.
For many of us, peanut butter cookies bring back fond memories. And they bring us back to a time when we didn’t have to worry about bills and what to make for dinner.
But traditional peanut butter cookies tend to be full of sugar and flour. And these are big No-Nos on a Paleo diet.
These Paleo Peanut Butter Cookies are sure to satisfy your sweet tooth – without sacrificing your diet.
They’re full of yummy peanut butter flavor. And they have a lovely texture – they’ll melt right in your mouth.
You’ll want to snack on these every day.
Good thing these cookies are healthy for you too. In fact, one cookie contains only 117 calories.
So, they make a great low-calorie snack.
They’re also packed with plant-based protein, as well as heart-healthy fats. So, they make for a nutritious breakfast too.
You can also have them as a post-workout snack. Who said you can’t have your cake, ahem cookie -and eat it too?
Besides being Paleo-friendly, these cookies are gluten-free too. Now that’s a winning cookie.
Ingredients You’ll Need
These cookies are full of wholesome, healthy ingredients. These are:
Almond flour – Almond flour is a healthy alternative to refined wheat flour. Besides being Paleo-friendly and gluten-free, almond flour is packed with nutrients.
It is also rich in heart-healthy monounsaturated fat. And it contains prebiotic fibers, which are good for your digestive system.
In terms of flavor, almond flour has a slightly sweeter taste than regular flour. This means you can use less natural sweetener in your cookie dough batter.
Cinnamon – The cinnamon adds festive spicy notes to your cookies. Cinnamon is also good for you.
Nutmeg – This is another spice you won’t want to skip. When you’re baking with it, the aroma is so enticing.
It also enhances the flavor of these cookies.
Salt – Now, this isn’t a typo. You want to add salt to your cookies.
Peanut butter – Peanut butter adds lots of nuttiness to your cookies. It also makes the cookies nice and soft with a delicate melt-in-your-mouth texture.
For this recipe, I use creamy peanut butter. This gives the cookies a smoother consistency.
But you can also use crunchy peanut butter. This will give you some bits of peanuts throughout your cookie.
To ensure your cookies are Paleo, make sure you use peanut butter like this. It contains only peanuts without added sugars.
Coconut sugar – This is a natural sugar produced from coconut palm sap. So, it’s basically a naturally occurring sugar that is Paleo-friendly.
Egg – The eggs are the primary source of protein and moisture for your cookie dough. So make sure you use the recommended quantity.
The liquid in the eggs binds with the protein and starch in the almond flour. This helps give the cookies structure.
Meanwhile, the protein in the eggs makes the cookies nice and chewy.
How to Make Paleo Peanut Butter Cookies
Making these cookies is very easy. In fact, it would be a fun activity to do with your kids.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
You’ll be making 18 cookies. So, it’s best to use a large baking sheet like this.
To a bowl, add almond flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. To a separate bowl, add peanut butter, coconut sugar and the egg.
Mix until the coconut sugar starts melting.
Then add your almond flour mixture to your wet ingredients slowly. To do this, add your almond flour mixture 2 tablespoons at a time, mixing well.
Once your dough is ready, use your hands to roll the dough into 18 small balls. Make sure your balls are all of equal size.
Place your balls on your baking sheet, spacing evenly. Use a fork to flatten your cookie balls.
Place in the oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes until they are golden brown.
Once your cookies are done, bring them out of the oven. Your cookies will be pretty soft right out of the oven.
So, you’ll want to cool them down, so they don’t fall apart. Once cooled, serve with coffee or tea.
Watch: Paleo Peanut Butter Cookies
For all the visual learners out there, check out the full step-by-step process to make these cookies on video.
Why Do Peanut Butter Cookies Have Fork Marks?
That’s a great question! There are a few reasons why peanut butter cookies have fork marks.
The first reason is for baking reasons. Peanut butter cookie dough is very dense compared to other kinds of cookie dough.
So, it’s easier to run into problems when baking it. For instance, your cookies could bake unevenly.
You could end up having some half-baked cookies. And the rest would be burnt. Yuck!
To prevent this from happening, you just need to flatten the dough with a fork. Flattening the cookie dough helps the peanut butter cookie bake evenly.
Genius!
The other reason peanut butter cookies have fork marks is to act as a warning. Many people have allergies to nuts, peanut butter in particular.
By placing fork marks on peanut butter cookies, serves as a warning. That’s because, in general, peanut butter cookies are the only cookies that have fork marks on them.
How to Store and Freeze Peanut Butter Cookies
To keep your peanut butter cookies fresh longer, store them in an airtight container like this.
Your cookies should last about 5 days before they start getting dry.
If you want your cookies to last longer, place your cookies in an airtight container. Then place in the freezer.
They should last around 3 months in the freezer.
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Paleo Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- A pinch of salt
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and place parchment paper on a baking sheet.
- In a bowl, combine almond flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
- In a separate, larger bowl, mix peanut butter, coconut sugar and egg.
- Add almond flour mixture to the wet ingredients slowly, mixing it until the dough is thick.
- Roll the dough into 18 small balls and place them on a prepared baking sheet.
- Using a fork, flatten the cookie balls.
- Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until the cookies are golden brown.
- Let them cool down before serving.