Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies

These almond flour peanut butter cookies are packed 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 eat gluten free or not, these 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 often added to cakes, such as this Meyer lemon almond cake or this almond cake with apples. Almond flour is the main ingredient in the frangipane layer of this pink hued rhubarb frangipane tart. And it's a key component in this rich marzipan cake with dark chocolate buttercream.

In these cookies, almond flour has the added benefit of replacing all other flours, which makes these peanut butter almond flour 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 often think of almond flour based recipes as being somewhat fragile and crumbly, but these cookies are neither. The peanut butter and egg provide them with a good sturdy structure. They survived intact a trip to school in a highly 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...

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• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Recipe Tips
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Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you'll need to make these peanut butter cookies with almond flour.

• 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. Additionally, sift your almond flour to remove any larger pieces.
• Baking soda and baking powder, for leavening and to help the cookies spread.
• 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. With salted butter, brands use different amounts of salt, so you're never sure where you're starting with salt quantity. 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 certainly try this recipe with a more natural style of peanut butter with the oil on top, but I anticipate that it will be more difficult to achieve the texture that you see here. I find that natural peanut butter has a coarser grind than I prefer. I don't eat enough peanut butter to concern myself with the small amount of hydrogenated (not partially hydrogenated) oil that it includes.
• Granulated sugar - Granulated sugar provides sweetness and helps the cookies to crisp.
• Brown sugar - Brown sugar adds a caramel flavor and provides moisture and chew.
• Egg - An egg serves as a binder and provides additional fat. 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 and cover with warm water for 5 minutes.
• Vanilla extract - for additional flavor.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

The process photos below will walk you through the steps of how to make these almond flour peanut butter cookies.

Step 1: 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.

Step 2: 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, around 60 seconds.

Step 3: Add the egg and vanilla. Mix until fully incorporated, scraping down the bowl as needed.

Step 4: Add the dry ingredients.

Step 5: Mix until dry ingredients are fully incorporated.

Step 6: Using a medium cookie scoop (1.5 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.

Step 7: Bake on the middle rack at 350 F for 8-9 minutes, until just golden brown and beginning to firm up on the edges. Remove the pan from the oven and bang it on a countertop or the top of the oven two or three times to flatten the cookies a bit. Working quickly, use a round cookie cutter that's slightly larger than the cookie to push each cookie back into a circular shape.

Step 8: Let cookies cool for 10 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.

Hint: 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- Sprinkle the scooped cookie dough with sesame seeds and then granulated sugar prior to baking for a sesame peanut twist.

Equipment

I use this medium cookie scoop (affiliate link) which measures out 1 ½ Tablespoons - it's a size 40 - to portion out these cookies. I love using a cookie scoop for drop cookies. It keeps them uniform in size, which also helps them to bake evenly.

Another tip for uniform cookies is to use a round cookie cutter or the rim of an upside down glass to push the cookies back into a round shape as soon as they are removed from the oven and still hot and pliable. Place the cutter or glass over the top of the cookie and carefully scoot it in gentle circles so the cookie edges become round again. I've had this set of round cookie cutters (affiliate link) for years, and I use it all the time.

Storage

These cookies are best the first few days after they are baked. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week, or freeze for up to 3 months. You can also freeze the cookie dough scoops prior to baking. I recommend bringing the dough back to room temperature on a cookie sheet before baking.

Recipe Tips

I think these cookies taste 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!

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