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.
Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
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?
Yah! Thank you for sharing this recipe. Anytime I see a “healthy” cookie, I translate it to: “must bake these because their ‘health food'”
You are such a talented chef and baker!
Aw, thanks. I think you “must” make them, too! 😉
Is it possible to show calories per cookie?
Please see my FAQ regarding nutrition information: https://detoxinista.com/frequently-asked-questions/
Thanks, and the cookies were so tasteee…used almond butter instead ….
Mmm these are giving me serious cookie cravings! My fave is oatmeal raisin, and the middle has GOT to be chewy! 😉
I can’t believe I haven’t made a healthier Oatmeal Raisin Cookie yet–> they’re one of my favorites, too!! Adding that to my list. 😀
I made your chocolate chip cookie recipe (the one with almond flour and maple syrup), reduced the almond flour by about 1/2 cup and added 1 cup (OK, maybe more, I NEVER measure!) rolled oats, plus cinnamon, allspice and raisins for the chocolate chips. It made an oatmeal raisin cookie every bit as good as the one on the top of the box, but so much better for you! I think that is the best cookie base recipe ever!
You really are a genius! I practically gave up on cookies for life. But these look so yummy. How about like tahini or almond butter with raisins for oatmeal raisin with like vanilla or something?? This could be dinner with a salad..yay!!!:)
I would definitely use almond butter– tahini can be bitter, and would need a LOT of sweetener to cover up! I have a feeling I’ll be making these tonight or tomorrow, since our cookie “stash” is depleted. 🙂
I feel I can’t rate the recipe since I modified it, but mine turned out great! Here’s what I did: used 1/2 cup Nutso Butter (Costco), 1/2 cup tahini, 1/4 cup honey and 1 tsp erythritol/stevia blend. (I made the blend by mixing erythritol and stevia powder in my dedicated spice grinder) The kids loved them and the texture was perfect. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I will try an almond butter version, since the last time I tried to give them PB cookies, they didn’t like them (go figure – their fav sandwich is PB & honey).
yum!
I made some flourless PB cookies recently, but with xylitol and Sucanat; I must try your version with honey and stevia!
I tried Xylitol once, but have been terrified to keep it in our house, since it’s so poisonous for doggies. 🙁 With my luck, an earthquake would knock it off my shelf!
Honey is “Yasha friendly,” so it’s my go-to sweetener lately. Love how I have to keep my dog in mind while baking… ha ha.
Yasha friendly? What is that?
Yasha was the name of my dog! 🙂
☺️ aww
Yum! Since I’m highly allergic to peanuts, I’m not able to take advantage of all your delicious recipes containing peanut butter 🙁 But I will definitely be looking out for the almond butter variation!
If Austin wasn’t OBSESSED with Peanut Butter, there wouldn’t be this many peanut butter recipes to begin with! LOL 😉
Almond butter cookies are up next– probably tonight!
Yay for flour less cookies..I love peanut butter and honey..actually any nut butter and honey! 🙂 I forgot to tell you, we started watching The Downton Abbey series..love it!!! 🙂
Yay for Downton Abbey!! Austin and I finished Season 2 this week… SO GOOD. I’ve seriously already watched the Christmas Special (again) three times!
I finally got around to trying your Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies last night….yum!!! They really were so good! I’m going to make the cookie version next. It felt great to make a grain free, (white) sugar free dessert that we still loved. ….Now do you have any tips on how to stop me from eating 1/2 the pan at one time? Oops…seriously, if you have tips I’d love to hear them. 🙂
Glad you’re enjoying them, Erin!
Usually I make peanut butter treats for Austin because they don’t appeal as much to me… natural portion control. 😉 However, I made a Cinnamon Raisin cookie using almond butter this week, and I can’t. stop. eating. them. Seriously!! I wish I knew how to stop, too. LOL
I just found yr website tonight by googling how to make almond butter. I just got through making some that is really creamy. I added coconut oil and a little granulated stevia. It turned out very good. I am excited about trying your flourless peanut butter chocolate cookie recipe and many others. I am a Type 1 diabetic and have been for over 20 yrs. Thank you for such a great website that I plan on using everyday.
Sincerely, Lacy
Megan, another successful recipe! I haven’t had cookies for 2 years at least and these were amazing. I don’t like sweet, so I made them all without any honey or stevia (neither I had chocolate chips), but sprinkled some of them with a bit of sugar for my fiancé. He absolutely loved his cookies and I loved mine without anything. When they came out of the oven, they smelt so delicious!!! Really lovely to have a cup of tea or with a morning coffee.
Once again, thank you. I really like that you recipes are very easy to follow. I try to eat healthy and when I normally red blogs of most healthy eaters, they tend to me either complicated or stuffed with complicated ingredients that are difficult to find here in the UK. Your recipes are always very easy to make.
Thanks, I’m so glad you and your fiancé enjoyed the cookies! I try to keep my recipes simple, because I know I won’t make them myself if they’re too complicated, either!
I tried the bar version first with choc chips, they were great! Then to cut the chocolate/sugar out I used chopped pecans in it the 2nd time, they were wonderful! I am going to try it next with some dried fruit, raisins or chopped dates!
Glad you’re enjoying them! I’m addicted to a cinnamon-raisin version right now– they’re so good!! Really, the variations are endless. 🙂
Megan,
Wow! I found your blog about a month ago and have been trying out some of your recipes. I made these cookies last night and I ate 2 while my boyfriend ate 3! Also, I appreciate how clearly you write out recipes — some ingredients are hard for me to find (I’m in China), but our local fruit/vegetable market normally pulls through for the veggies. Thanks for sharing. I’m really enjoying reading your blog.
Thanks for the sweet comment, Kate. I’m so glad you both enjoyed the cookies! They’re a favorite in our house, too. 😉
I just made these and they are so good! Thanks for sharing. I am trying to go off grain too and these are the perfect dessert…I didn’t miss the flour at all!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! They’re pretty much the #1 favorite in our house right now. 😀
I made these for my very skeptical husband and son, and they loved them!!! They asked me to make them again soon! I’m sold, and so glad I checked out your site! Made the cauliflower pizza crust also, and liked it so much, I ate half of it plain!
Thank you for your inspiring recipes!
I’m so glad to hear it! We’re hooked on the cookies and pizza crust over here, too. 😉
I just made these and they didn’t set at all – they were a mushy mess! I followed the recipe exactly as written and have no idea what happened.
I’m sorry to hear that! I’ve never experienced that, but maybe one of these tips would help?
1. Make sure that you’re using fresh baking soda (it can go bad after a few months, and become inactive).
2. Let your dough chill in the fridge before scooping and baking, if you find that it’s too runny.
3. Various natural peanut butters can be oilier/runnier than others, so that may affect your results, as well. I’ve had success with Trader Joe’s organic natural peanut butter, as well as Whole Food’s 360 brand. If your peanut butter looks runny, drain the excess oil off the top, or mix well to make sure it’s uniformly incorporated back into the butter.
4. Use fresh eggs, as they may affect the results as well.
Okay, I hope that helps! These are the only cookies I make anymore, so I hope you can enjoy them soon, too!
I just stumbled on your blog (extra points for Pinterest!) and am so thankful! I have one family member that has become gluten intolerant, the other needs to be on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. They both are missing desserts and a large amount of your recipes work for both. I just made these and both family members nearly cried when they had a dessert that they LIKED! Thank you!
Oh, I’m so glad they enjoyed them! I’ll do my best to keep the recipes coming. 🙂
Best peanut butter chocolate chip cookies ever! Thank you! I am happy with my indulgences 🙂
Okay – so I’m not vegan, or even vegetarian for that matter – and these cookies are the best peanut butter cookies I’ve ever had. SERIOUSLY!!! I’m amazed. I like switching out to raw dishes for my family once or twice a week. And I always bake raw treats for my kids. Thank you for making it easy to eat well. I’ve really been enjoying your recipes.
I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed them! I agree– they are the BEST peanut butter cookie I’ve ever had, healthy or otherwise!
And I used the “flax” egg. Amazing. I’ll be substituting with them for lots now!
Thanks again!
I can’t believe how well the flax eggs work! Glad you enjoyed them! 🙂
These are officially my favorite cookies in the world. I was craving them today and decided to do a quick single serving vegan version. I used peanut butter, a little bit of coconut flour and Thai coconut milk some raw honey and a little baking soda and power. Microwave for 30 seconds and you have a treat!!
They’re a favorite in my house, too– I have to make a batch every week now!! Good to know there’s an even a quicker way to enjoy them, too. 😉
Me again Megan, I have a question. I’m making smoothies every morning. Full of fruit and veggies & almond milk. Im from Canada and stevia wasn’t approved for so long. It is now. I’m using it every day in the smoothies. Because they’re so healthy I give them to my 3 year old. Do you use stevia for your kids? I wasn’t sure if that was okay?
Please help! Thanks!
Maybe there is another area for questions on your site! Sorry!
Hi Michelle!
I don’t have kids, so I’m not sure exactly what my stance is on the stevia issue yet. My initial thought is that I’d prefer my kids not have stevia, so they will learn to enjoy the natural flavor of the fruit & veggie smoothies, without added sweeteners tricking their taste buds. As far as I know, though, it’s considered safe. It’s just up to your discretion as a parent if you want to feed it to your child.
Hope that helps! 🙂
Michelle,
A good sweetener alternative might be dates. That is what I put in my kids’ smoothies. It does add some natural sugar, so I usually only use it in tart smoothies like an all berry smoothie.
Have you ever tried to make a version using peanut flour instead of peanut butter? It has way less fat, so it should be healthier, but I haven’t perfected a recipe…
No, I haven’t tried that! I don’t think less fat is necessarily healthier, so I usually stick to the whole nuts when working with nut flours.
Not as good as i expected them to be. That may have been because of my awful sense of cooking. They tasted burned and they kept falling apart. Were they supposed to taste and/or have the same consistency as regular cookies? Didn’t like this recipe but i am looking forward to trying your other recipes.
I’m sorry to hear your first batch didn’t turn out well. I highly recommend using a Silpat for baking any nut-butter based cookie– it prevents the bottoms from burning!! Different brands of peanut butter will also produce different results. I usually use Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods organic natural peanut butters.
Hope you enjoy the other recipes! 🙂
Hi, love the look of your recipes, stummbled them them while looking for flourless recipes for my sweet tooth. I am on a no carb diet and live in the U.K. can you tell me how much sweetner I would use instead of honey as even natural sugar is a no no for me?. I love cookies and really miss them with my coffee but the no carb thing is working so I dont want to ruin it by giving in to my sweet tooth. I have made a flourless sugar free chocolate cake and now need a cookie solution. Would love to see the almond version too. Many thanks, Sam x
Since alternative sweeteners vary, even by brand, you’ll have to add them to taste when replacing the honey. When baking with stevia, I recommend adding a bit MORE sweetness to the raw batter, as you will lose some of the sweetness after baking.
And you can sub the almond butter for peanut butter easily! You may need less sweetener with the almond butter, as it’s already naturally sweeter.
I’ve made these a few times now, and they are so yummy! Sometimes I make them with almond butter to vary it up, and sometimes I’ll use raw cacao nibs if I have them on hand (which definitely don’t melt and get as delicious as regular dark chocolate, but it’s ok!), and i’ve even sprinkled in chia seeds a few times for a little added healthy crunch. No matter what I do these come out delicious, without fail… so obviously it’s a fabulous recipe! I stumbled onto your blog a few months ago and have been a huge fan ever since. (and my boyfriend loves that we now usually have PB cookies in the freezer for a quick afternoon treat.)
forgot to mention that since I’m vegan I just swap out honey for maple syrup and that i’ve never had a problem with it. (also i always use the flax egg v. a regular egg…and i’ve forgotten to add the egg before and even then they held up ok. they were a little dry that time, but not inedible.)
Can you dehydrate these cookies instead of baking them?
If you use flax eggs, yes, I think you could dehydrate them. You could even omit the baking soda, in that case.
Let us know if you have any success!
Hi! Just made these yummy cookies! I did use the lower amount of honey and the stevia, they were great! I also used dark chocolate chips. Thanks for the recipe!!
Glad you enjoyed them! 🙂
Okay, I just made these and the grain-free raspberry choc chip muffins and both are amazing. You have serious skillz. Just had to comment. I mainly made these cookies as I thought they surely wouldn’t turn out with a cookie texture with no flour. Still amazed by this! They are just like a cakey-cookie. How does that even work!? They are awesome. Thanks.
I’m allergic to peanuts, so I made these with Sunbutter. They are so delicious!! A funny thing happened, though. After they cooled, they turned GREEN! Needless to say, I was puzzled, but discovered through a google search that it is a reaction between the Sunbutter and baking soda. It’s safe, so I went right ahead and ate my delicious green cookies. I will eat them in a box, I will eat them with a fox…
Ha ha! I’ve heard of that happening with Sunflower seed butter, but haven’t experienced it myself yet. Crazy!
Glad the color didn’t turn you off, though. 😉
Perfect for next St Patrick’s day! I’m about to try a half batch of these, since I only have one cookie sheet. I’m going pretty much as written otherwise, though I might cut the honey a bit. We’ll see.
Oh my gosh!!! That’s so crazy! I made my first batch of these cookies last night ( they are so yummy, btw… can’t believe flourless cookies exist!!! ) and the insides are green today! Came back here to ask this exact question as I was worried it was mold! So glad I can finish the rest of my delicious cookies!! 🙂
Hi Megan. Thank you for sharing all your amazing recipes. Your blog is being followed read in Denmark as well 🙂 I just tried this recipe but they turned out all wrong. When mixing honey and peanut butter the consistency became really weird – like solid. And they did not “melt” in the oven. They taste all right though. I can’t figure out what I did wrong. Other than using crunchy peanut butter – could that be it?
Hi Christina! I’m sorry to hear the cookies didn’t turn out well. Results can vary depending on how oily your natural peanut butter is. If your peanut butter is really thick, or you’re not using the type of peanut butter where the oil separates and you have to stir it back in, I would recommend using a little less next time. My natural peanut butter is very oily, which creates a soft, almost gooey batter. Perhaps try using 3/4 cup peanut butter next time, and gradually add more to the batter if it’s too thin.
Hope that helps!
Christina,
I spent a year abroad in the UK and I can tell you that European peanut butter and American peanut butter are very different! The PB I experienced all over Europe seemed to be a much more natural and healthy type of PB (even compared to American organic PB). I tried baking with it a few times using my favorite recipes from back home and it just didn’t work!! :/
Delightfully scrumptious.
these are awesome…thank you for sharing..my first pan looked a little odd, but the second pan turned out better, i actually patted them down a bit and moothed the dough out and they looked like reg. Cookies….i also only got 18 not 24 so my cookie scoop must be bigger, but thats a-ok with me….peanut butter cookies make me happy!
Awesome recipe. Thanks for fabulous grain free peanut butter cookies!
Tried this recipe, easy and really yummy! I tried to make it again yesterday and added unsweetened cocoa powder, and my chocolate monsters loved it! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I just discovered your blog a few days a go.I immediately went to make these cookies & I must say they are delicious!
Love these cookies!! I used almond butter instead of peanut butter and they were still fabulous!! Thank you!!
I just made these and they turned out okay. Mine didn’t flatten out like yours did. They stayed in more of a ball shape. Next time I make them I want to try honey to see if I like the taste better. I had to no honey in the house so I used agave nectar. I didn’t like the sea salt either. Too coarse. Even though I used fine sea salt. I could feel and crunch into the little grains in the finished cookie. Look forward to trying them again though!
I tried it with agave. The cookies did not rise! Terrible idea.
Hi! I’ve tried them and they’re absolutely delightful! I’m on a low-carb diet, so I replaced the honey for 13C of unsweetened apple sauce and about 14C xylitol. Sooooo good!
I just asked that question about applesauce and waiting for a reply and then saw your comment. What would the 13C be equivalent to in our measurements? Thank you.
Maybe because my honey was crystalized, and it’s winter, but…my dough turned out the same texture as regular cookies.
Megan these are absolutely HEAVENLY! My daughter and I made these together and they are a HUGE HIT! At first I was hesitant that Honey would bake or taste good! OH was I wrong!
I didn’t have Baking soda so we made them without it and they were still very good… Soft… Thank you for Sharing your recipes! Keep them coming! PLEASE! 🙂
These are amazing …. instead of chocolate chips I put about 1.5 tsp of unsweetned cocoa powder (I was on a no sugar challenge). Super yummy and i keep them in the freezer for a nice sweet treat when I need one!
Oh and I used natural chunky peanut butter for a little crunch.
Oh my, these really did change my life! I went gluten free this summer, but was shocked and overwhelmed to learn that I needed to cut pretty much all grains, egg yolks, dairy, and more than 20 other foods out of my diet. I love to bake, and I was so excited to find this recipe. It works for me without any changes or substitutions. THANK YOU!
the flour-less cookies are just wonderful, I make them often people are amazed how good they taste, quick easy yummy homemade goodness
I’m making these tonight. Been craving a sweet treat that’s not totally unhealthy. thanks!
We made these tonight and they turned out great! I used Adams 100% Natural Crunchy Peanut Butter. My cookie scoop yielded 16 cookies.
The Silpat definitely made a difference for me! I had a little bit of batter left so I made the last few cookies on stoneware. They still turned out but took twice as long to cool/set and the bottoms aren’t as brown.
Thanks for the great recipe! We’ll definitely make them again. The kids loved them 🙂
These cookies are AMAZING! I made them for a party last night, and people couldn’t stop raving about them. They had no idea that there was no flour or refined sugar in these cookies. I know for my taste buds I could reduce the honey next time, but they were perfect for my friends. Thanks for a great recipe!
Made these with peanut butter and a (home made) flax egg; also made them with (home made) almond butter with the flax egg. Both excellent, as are the originals with chicken eggs.
Thanks for such a simple, healthful recipe!!
just made these amazing treats! trying not to eat the whole batch! they’re so good!! thanks for the amazing recipes. 😀
I used fresh ground PB from Whole Foods and raw clover honey to make these wonderful treats. My batch made 21 but I also used regular spoons instead of a cookie scoop (and I admit, I licked a little of the batter!). Thanks for posting this awesome recipe… I see this as something I’ll definitely make again. Next time, though, I think I will only use 1/4 cup honey (I used 1/3 this time) and no stevia since they seemed a little on the sweet side, but that’s just personal preference. Thanks again!
I just made these and I could KISS YOU!! I always thought PB cookies needed more PB, but these were just right! And without and egg, the batter is safe to munch on. I didn’t even add the chips and they were still amazing. Fantastic recipe!