These almond flour peanut butter cookies are filled with peanut flavor. They're crispy and golden on the outside, with a soft and chewy interior.
They're easy to mix up and require no chilling time before you bake them. Whether you follow a gluten free diet or not, these flourless peanut butter cookies are a crowd pleaser!
I love baking with almond flour. It adds a nutty flavor and additional moisture to all kinds of baked goods. It's a key component in these salted caramel macarons.
In these cookies, almond flour has the added benefit of replacing all other flours, which makes these cookies completely gluten free. While I don't follow a gluten free diet, it's always nice to have reliable recipes on hand that work for friends and family with dietary restrictions. Plus, they're just plain delicious.
I sometimes think of almond flour based recipes as being fragile and crumbly, but these cookies are neither. The peanut butter and egg provide them with a good sturdy structure. They survived trips to school in a heavily agitated lunchbox, so they should weather most anything.
I'm already thinking about making them again, but smaller, and sandwiching something sweet between them, like I did with these chocolate coffee mascarpone sandwich cookies. Maybe some chocolate ganache...
You can explore the entire collection of cookies here, including these flourless chocolate hazelnut sandwich cookies from Italy, baci di Alassio, and these chocolate peanut butter cup cookies, which also have peanut butter in the dough.
Ingredients
* See recipe card for detailed list of ingredients and quantities.
Almond flour - I use finely ground almond flour, rather than almond meal or ground almonds.
If you only have coarsely ground almond meal on hand, you can process the almond flour in a food processor to create as fine a consistency as possible. Sift your almond flour to remove any larger pieces.
Kosher salt - for added flavor. Salt is a perfect match with peanut butter.
Unsalted butter Using unsalted butter allows you to control the total amount of salt in the recipe. Make sure your butter is at room temperature.
Peanut butter - In this recipe, I use creamy, conventional store-bought peanut butter with a silky smooth texture.
You can try this recipe with a more natural style of peanut butter with the oil on top, but I anticipate it will be harder to achieve the texture that you see here. I find that natural peanut butter has a coarser grind than I prefer.
Egg - Use a large egg that has been at room temperature. If you've forgotten to get it out of the fridge in advance, place it in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.
Instructions
These photos are for visual reference. Refer to the recipe card for detailed instructions.
Mix almond flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Beat unsalted butter and peanut butter together. Add sugars. Cream mixture on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
Add egg and vanilla. Mix until fully incorporated, scraping down bowl as needed.
Add dry ingredients.
Mix until dry ingredients are fully incorporated.
Using 1½ Tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop 8 balls of dough onto each cookie sheet. Space at least 2 inches apart. If desired, sprinkle tops of cookies with a pinch of granulated sugar.
Bake on the middle rack of oven at 350 F for 8-9 minutes, until just golden brown and beginning to firm up on the edges. Remove baking sheet from the oven and bang it on towel-covered countertop two or three times to flatten the cookies a bit.
Let cookies cool for 10 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.
If you like the textured surface on these cookies, use a cookie scoop (or ice cream scoop) to form the dough into balls. Rolling the dough between your hands will result in a smooth cookie without the wavy texture.
Variations
Once you've tried the base recipe, you might want to give these variations a try!
Chocolate chips - add ½ to ¾ cup chocolate chips or chopped bar chocolate (my favorite as it creates melty pools of chocolate).
Extra peanuts - use crunchy peanut butter for extra peanut bite and flavor. As mentioned in the ingredient notes, for the best texture I recommend sticking with conventional peanut butter rather than natural.
Alternatively, stick with creamy peanut butter and stir in ½ to ¾ cup chopped peanuts.
Sesame seeds - Sprinkle the scooped cookie dough with sesame seeds and then granulated sugar prior to baking for a sesame peanut twist.
Equipment
Cookie scoop - To bake these cookies, I used this medium cookie scoop which measures out 1½ Tablespoons of dough. It's a size 40.
I love using a cookie scoop for drop cookies. It keeps them uniform in size, which also helps them to bake evenly.
Baking pans - I bake my cookies on rimmed half sheet baking pans (18 x 13 inches).
Round cookie cutters - Use a round cookie cutter or the rim of an upside down glass to swirl these cookies back into a round shape after baking. Do this as soon as you remove them from the oven while they are still hot and pliable. I've had a set for years, and I use it all the time.
Recipe Tips
I like these cookies best when they are baked at the lower end of their range and are still somewhat soft in the middle. They have more moisture and are still faintly reminiscent of peanut butter cookie dough.
As they bake more, they become a bit flatter and are more crispy. Either way they are delicious, so bake them for the results that you like best!
Love this recipe? Please leave a comment and star rating. ★★★★★ Your feedback, suggestions, and adaptations are very helpful to other bakers!
📖 Recipe
Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies
INGREDIENTS
- 168 grams (1½ cups) almond flour, finely ground
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 113 grams (½ cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 256 grams (1 cup) peanut butter, creamy; conventional brand, not natural
- 100 grams (½ cups) granulated sugar
- 100 grams (½ cup) brown sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit (177° Celsius, Gas Mark 4). Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk to break up any lumps in the almond flour and mix dry ingredients together. Set aside.168 grams (1½ cups) almond flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the unsalted butter and peanut butter. Beat at medium speed until fully combined, around 60 seconds. Scrape down the bowl. Add the sugars. Cream mixture on medium high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.113 grams (½ cup) unsalted butter, 256 grams (1 cup) peanut butter, 100 grams (½ cups) granulated sugar, 100 grams (½ cup) brown sugar
- Add egg and vanilla. Mix until fully incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until fully blended.1 large egg, 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- Using a medium cookie scoop (1½ Tablespoons, size 40), scoop 8 balls of dough onto each cookie sheet (three rows of 3:2:3) Space them at least 2 inches apart. If desired, sprinkle the top of each cookie with a pinch of granulated sugar.
- Bake on the middle rack for 8-10 minutes, until just golden brown and beginning to firm up on the edges. Remove the pan from the oven and bang it on a towel-lined countertop two or three times to flatten the cookies a bit.
- Cool cookies for 10 minutes on the pan before transferring to a rack to cool completely.
EQUIPMENT
NOTES
- If you like the textured surface on these cookies, use a cookie scoop.
- Rolling the dough between your hands will result in a smooth cookie without the wavy texture.
- For uniformly round cookies: immediately after baking, use a round cookie cutter or the rim of an upside down drinking glass to swirl each cookie back into a circular shape.
- These cookies are best the first few days after they are baked.
- Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freeze baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
- To freeze unbaked cookie dough, place scooped dough on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze for an hour or two.
- Once frozen, transfer dough balls to a zippered freezer bag.
- Store frozen cookie dough for up to 3 months.
- I recommend defrosting the dough scoops at room temperature before baking.
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