Sometimes a Friday night rolls around and you decide you absolutely must have a batch of sweet + salty home-baked cookies. Nothing else will quite satisfy your craving, but you're not interested in making anything that takes an enormous amount of effort. The good news is, these Almond Peanut Butter Cookies are comprised of staples you likely already have in your pantry, they mix up in a single bowl in a matter of minutes, and they have a short bake time of about 12 minutes.
Basically, they're the best possible answer to "gosh, I could really go for some cookies right now" that you or your significant other inevitably exclaim late at night. It happens, friends - like clockwork.
What type of nut butter should I use?
This Almond Peanut Butter Cookies recipe is flexible as far as what type of nut butter you choose to use. Often I will swap the peanut butter out of these cookies in favor of almond butter or other Paleo-friendly nuts. What I've found most important is the consistency of the nut butter itself, because it greatly affects the stability of the dough when you portion it out into cookies.
What works best?
Thick nut butter. Freshly ground nut butter from the bulk section works brilliantly because it is often quite thick. Generally, these "grind-your-own" machines offer simple ingredients lists, with many just containing the nut with no other oils or emulsifiers. Thick and spreadable commercial nut butters also performed well in my tests, though much of the time these contain extra emulsifiers or sugary additives in order to stay thick and spreadable.
What should I steer clear of?
Thin and runny nut butter that does not blend well or is on the goopy side. Basically, if you can pour your peanut butter straight out of the jar, you're probably going to need to make some adjustments to the dough.
If this is all you have on hand, you can still make it work. Some things that will help the consistency of your dough when you're working with thin nut butter are:
- Add additional almond flour
- Add one large egg to help bind
- Allow to firm up in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before scooping the dough
Want to mix it up?
Though these Almond Peanut Butter Cookies are super tasty on their own, this recipe also makes a great base to add chocolate chips, coconut flakes, or chopped nuts. I also never skip a sprinkle of coarse sea salt or finishing salt on top.
What tools do I need to make this recipe?
- a mixing bowl
- measuring cups and measuring spoons
- a wooden spoon or spatula
- a baking sheet
- parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet liner
- a fork
Are you looking to upgrade to your cooking tools or replenish your pantry? Check out my kitchen tools shop page and pantry staples shop page to find my must-have kitchen tools, pantry items, and other Whip & Wander favorites.
How long do these cookies keep?
These cookies should keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the refrigerator for around a week.
A note for special diets
Made as directed, these Almond Peanut Butter Cookies are grain-free, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, egg-free, dairy-free, and friendly for some SIBO diets.
If you would like to make these cookies friendly for Paleo diets, the peanut butter can be swapped out for almond butter or another Paleo-friendly nut butter.
A keto-friendly swap
If you are following a strict Keto diet and would like to adapt these Almond Peanut Butter Cookies to lower the carb count, I have had success swapping the honey for an equal measure of Stevia in the Raw (granulated baker's bag) plus 1 large egg to help bind. I find that this adaptation is less sweet than their honey counterparts, but certainly sweet enough to satisfy my cookie craving.
The nutrition facts for this Keto swap per 1 cookie (1/30 of the batch): Cal: 86, Fat: 7g, Chol: 6mg, Sod: 50mg, Carb 3g, Fiber: 1g, Sug: 1g, Prot: 3g
Remember: Nutritional information on Whip & Wander is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Description
These sweet + salty Almond Peanut Butter Cookies are a gluten-free, refined sugar-free, egg-free, and dairy-free treat that can be made in less than 20 minutes.
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup honey (see notes in post above for a Keto-friendly stevia swap)
- ⅓ cup thick peanut butter (may sub for almond or other nut butter)
- 5 tbsp coconut oil, softened
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp sea salt, plus more to top if desired
- 2 cups almond flour
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F (176 C)
- Cream raw honey, peanut butter, and coconut oil together in a mixing bowl with a wooden spoon or spatula. Then add vanilla, baking soda, and salt and mix.
- Add almond flour and mix until a thick dough forms.
- Portion dough into 1 tablespoon spoonfuls and roll into balls. Place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking liner.
- Press down on each ball of dough with a fork crosswise, to form the traditional peanut butter cookie indentations.
- Sprinkle each cookie with a small pinch of fine sea salt if desired.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cookies should be golden brown around the edges.
- The cookies will be fragile when warm, so I like to let them cool slightly for approx 10 minutes before transferring them to an airtight container.
Notes
If made in the 1 tablespoon size, as recommended, this recipe produces small roughly a two-bite cookies.
Nutritional information on Whip & Wander is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 94
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 46 mg
- Fat: 6 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 6 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
Karen @ Seasonal Cravings says
I love how easy these are - I could whip them up after school in no time. They look so delicious!
Madi says
What an awesome dessert idea! Using almond flour in cookies is such a great idea!
Beth says
I can't believe these are gluten free! The texture looks so nice! Not heavy like many GF baked goods! I have to make these for my Mom! She would think she'd died and gone to heaven! She hasn't had a cookie in years!!
Tanvi Rastogi says
I am more of a brownie person but these look SO good.
❥ tanvii.com
Emily says
These look delicious! I'm always looking for good gluten free cookie recipes. I'll have to try these next time I'm in the mood to bake something.
Jere Cassidy says
What a great recipe using these ingredients. Love peanut butter cookies and can't wait to give this recipe a try.
candy says
Can't go wrong with 2 bite almond peanut butter cookie. Now all I need is a tall cold glass of milk.
Paige says
Wow! I am SO making these...what a great idea and I love that they are low sugar too...very nice job
Alicia Pope says
Love that they are refiend sugar free! so much better for us! aka i can eat a whole bunch more haha
Raina says
I love the simple ingredient list and the mini size! Making these for sure!
Sanna says
Just give me a warm glass of milk and these peanut butter cookies, I am one happy girl!
EA The Spicy RD says
I think I may need to make these later today~they look SO good! I'm pretty sure my 15 year old son could eat these in ONE bite though 🙂
Catherine says
I love the combination of honey, almonds and peanut butter...these cookies look perfect! I wish I could reach into my screen and grab a couple 😉
Elaine @ Dishes Delish says
One of the things I love about these two bite almond peanut butter cookies are since they are only two bites, I can have at least three and not feel guilty. 🙂 They look delicious and perfect!!
Demeter says
Oh yeah, I'm always ready for some peanut butter cookies! 🙂
Ashley @ Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen says
How adorable are these cookies?? These would be so great for a treat to go in my son's lunchbox. Love that bit of sea salt on top - sweet and salty is always a hit!
Chrissy says
I'm getting overly excited because I realized I have everything I need to make these in my kitchen right now! Can't wait for a little baking date with my kiddo this afternoon 🙂
Sam | Away She Went says
Those look delicious! I love the idea of adding sugar-free chocolate chips too! We're doing keto right now,so I'd have to substitute the honey, but everything else would work. Thanks for sharing!
Whip & Wander says
They're actually only 3g of sugar each - even with the honey. I hope you love them!
Sam | Away She Went says
I love how low in sugar these are! Honey generally has too many carbs to be keto-friendly though. That's the only reason I think it would have to be substituted.
Alyssa Dawson says
These look delicious. I remember when my mom would make these, I always wanted to put those indents in them.
Megan Rowsey says
Oh these look so good and I'm glad you included the substitutions for those of us with peanut allergy kids. Can't wait to give these a shot!