Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies

These almond flour peanut butter cookies are soft, thick and so chewy. With lots of chocolate chips, these healthier cookies are naturally gluten free and can easily be made vegan! Plus, they have 8 grams of protein per cookie!

My classic almond flour chocolate chip cookies are one of the most popular recipes on the blog, so I thought almond flour peanut butter cookies were a must!

They’re super thick and chewy, not at all dry and crumbly, and loaded with lots of chocolate chips. Naturally gluten free and can easily be dairy free and vegan. They’re made with really basic pantry staple ingredients too, so you probably already have all ingredients on hand.

If you love this recipe, be sure to leave a review and try my almond flour sugar cookies, flourless peanut butter cookies or roundup of the 12 best gluten free cookies or almond flour cookies next!

Tips before we get started…

• Don’t over bake! Almond flour burns more easily than other kinds of flour, so it’s really important you don’t keep the cookies in the oven for too long.
• Make sure you measure the flour properly. Don’t pack it into your measuring cup, simply spoon it into the measuring cup and then level it off.
• Almond flour can be a bit clumpy, if you notice this about yours, sift it before mixing.

How to make almond flour peanut butter cookies

Cream butter and sugar. Add the softened butter and both sugars to a mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer and cream together for 1 minute.

Add wet then dry ingredients. Add in the egg, peanut butter and vanilla and beat for 1 additional minute. Add in the dry ingredients, aside from the chocolate chips, and beat until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough. Add the batter to the fridge to chill for 30 minutes. During the final 10 minutes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Scoop. Once the dough has chilled, scoop using a 2 tablespoon scoop and place on the baking sheet, keeping enough space between each cookie.

Bake. Bake one sheet at a time for 13-16 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. They will continue to firm up as they cool, so don’t over bake!

Cool and serve. Remove from the oven and use a round cookie cutter to swivel around the edges to create a perfect circle. Once cool, serve and enjoy!

Key ingredients & substitutions

Peanut butter. You need a generous amount of peanut butter for the best flavor. I used a natural peanut butter where the only ingredients are roasted peanuts, but you can use a more traditional peanut butter, often called a peanut butter ‘spread’.

Almond Flour. You can’t directly use almond flour in place of all purpose flour in cookies, so it’s best to follow a recipe that already uses almond flour.

Sugar. We’ll use a mix of white sugar and brown sugar. You can sub both for coconut sugar for a refined sugar free option, but keep in mind the color will be much darker. I do not recommend a liquid sweetener like maple syrup or honey.

Butter. I used regular butter, but dairy free butter also works! I usually opt for unsalted, but if you only have salted, you can omit the added salt.

Egg. You need just one egg in this recipe. Since that’s all we need, you can safely sub with a vegan egg replacer like 1/4 cup of apple sauce, a flax egg or a store bought egg replacer.

Chocolate chips. I love using semi-sweet chocolate chips, but anything goes! You can also leave them out and make plain almond flour peanut butter cookies instead.

Why do my cookies fall apart?

Almond flour cookies can more easily fall apart for a few reasons. One, they don’t have a proper binder. In this recipe, we’ll use both an egg and a bit of cornstarch to bind everything together which will help prevent an overly crumbly cookie.

Second, you didn’t let the cookies cool or set for long enough. Once you take them out of the oven, let them cool completely before serving to ensure they hold their shape.

How to store and freeze

Once baked, these almond flour peanut butter cookies will keep at room temperature for about 3 days. I like to reheat them in the microwave for 5-10 seconds so they’re good as new! You can also freeze these either before or after baking.

To freeze before baking, chill the dough as directed, then scoop and add to a freezer safe bag for up to 2 months. Bake at 325 Fahrenheit for a couple extra minutes to account for the frozen dough.

To freeze after baking, simply let cool, then transfer to a freezer safe bag for up to 2 months. Reheat in the oven at 300 until warm through the center.

Frequently asked questions

Do almond flour cookies taste different?

The actual flavor of a cookie made with almond flour isn’t different than a classic cookie, but the texture can be. They tend to be chewier and there is also a slight graininess with the texture, but I promise it isn’t unpleasant in the final cookie.

Are these cookies healthy?

These cookies do call for butter and some refined sugar, but they do have 8 grams of protein per cookie which is much more than a regular recipe.

Why didn’t my cookies spread?

One of the most common reasons why cookies don’t spread in the oven is because you added too much flour – usually by accident. You need the perfect ratio of butter to flour in order to spread just the right amount when baked, so measuring the flour properly (spoon and level) is essential!

More almond flour recipes you’ll love!

• Almond Flour Banana Muffins
• Paleo Chocolate Cake
• Almond Flour Blueberry Muffins
• Almond Flour Chocolate Cupcakes
• Peanut Butter Brownies

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