Your favorite childhood treat just got a make-over with a new twist. Always a classic, these Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies are made almost the same way as regular cookies, but with high-protein almond flour! Great for gluten-free cookie lovers, and anyone who is a true peanut butter lover!
I make these cookies for a several reasons. One, I love baking with almond flour because it brings a chewiness to a cookie that just can't be done with regular flour. This is why my gluten free chocolate chocolate chip cookies are so incredibly chewy and crave-worthy. Two, I like sneaking in higher protein flours for my kids after school snack plates. My kids love these almond flour peanut butter cookies in their snack bags! Three, my husband dabbles in gluten-free baking, and almond flour is such an easy swap.
This almond flour peanut butter cookies recipe makes just 1 dozen cookies, but it can easily be doubled or tripled because the instructions include weight measurements. Don't miss my 2 ingredient peanut butter cookies, too! If you have to have chocolate, my Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies are here for you.
How to Make Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies
This recipe is made the same way a regular peanut butter cookie is made, but we're using almond flour in place of regular all-purpose flour. I love that this recipe contains a whole egg, as most of my recipes for cookies use just an egg yolk or egg white. This recipe uses an entire egg because almond flour absorbs more moisture than regular flour.
We learned this in our almond flour chocolate chip cookies recipe, didn't we?
That said, you can't really just substitute almond flour for regular all-purpose wheat flour in any recipe. Whenever you're baking with alternative flours, be sure that the recipe is specifically developed for that type of flour. You will have the best results in your kitchen if you do this.
We're using blanched almond flour, which means it should not contain brown flecks, which are almond skins. The flour should be cream in color and fluffy. Here is a way to make homemade almond flour.
Ingredients
- Butter. This recipe for almond flour peanut butter cookies only needs ½ a stick of butter (or 4 tablespoons/ 2 ounces) because the rest of the fat for the dough comes from the peanut butter.
- Peanut Butter. When it comes to baking with peanut butter, I always recommend a no-stir peanut butter that does contain some sugar. Natural style peanut butters that require lots of stirring and lack sugar tend to be thicker than standard peanut butter. We want light and fluffy cookies, so I reach for Jif or even Skippy.
- Sugar. We need plain white granulated sugar.
- Egg. One whole large egg. This recipe can be doubled by weight to use two eggs.
- Vanilla Extract. One teaspoon of vanilla extract seems like a lot for just 12 small cookies, but it brings so much sweet flavor here.
- Almond Flour. We need 1 ¼ cup or 156 grams of blanched almond flour. The flour should be cream in color and not contain any flecks of brown, which are the almond skins.
- Baking Powder. This helps the cookies rise and spread in the oven as they bake.
Instructions
In a mixing bowl, combine the softened butter and peanut butter. Use an electric mixer to beat together until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
Then, while beating, slowly stream in the granulated sugar and beat until it's homogenous.
Add the whole egg and vanilla, and beat just to combine again.
Finally, evenly sprinkle the almond flour, baking powder and salt over the surface of the dough. Beat to combine, and then place in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350-degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions using a cookie scoop.
Bake the almond flour peanut butter cookies for 10 minutes, and remove them from the oven when they're puffy and starting to turn golden brown around the edges. As the cookies cool, they will deflate and become crackly and chewy!
The actual taste of a cookie made with almond flour isn't different, but the texture is. Cookies made with almond flour are super chewy and delicious! There also is a slight graininess to the dough, but it isn't unpleasant in the final product.
Yes, thanks to the almond flour, these almond flour peanut butter cookies are delightfully chewy. They are crisp around the edges and chewy in the centers, like every great cookie should be.
You can look in the recipe card for the full nutritional breakdown of this exact almond flour peanut butter cookies recipe. If you make 12 cookies out of the dough below, each cookie will have 138 calories and 3 grams of protein.
Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies
Almond flour peanut butter cookies are chewy, sweet and a classic treat made gluten free.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
- ⅓ cup (80 grams) peanut butter
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (175 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon (5mL) vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup (156 grams) almond flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the softened butter and peanut butter, and beat until creamy using an electric mixer on medium speed.
- Add the sugar slowly while beating, and mix until combined.
- Add the egg and vanilla, and beat to combine.
- Next, evenly sprinkle the almond flour, baking powder and salt on top. Beat to combine.
- Chill the dough for 30 minutes in the fridge.
- Preheat oven to 350, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a cookie scoop, portion out 12 dough balls onto the baking sheet. Bake for 10-11 minutes, until golden brown on the edges. These cookies puff up, but then deflate and crackle as they cool
Notes
Peanut Butter: I always recommend a no-stir peanut butter that does contain some sugar. Natural style peanut butters that require lots of stirring and lack sugar tend to be thicker than standard peanut butter. We want light and fluffy cookies, so I reach for Jif or even Skippy.
Egg: One whole large egg. This recipe can be doubled by weight to use two eggs.
Almond Flour: We need 1 ¼ cup or 156 grams of blanched almond flour. The flour should be cream in color and not contain any flecks of brown, which are the almond skins.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 138Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 189mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 3g
Sue Williams-O’Brien says
OMG! I just made is cookies for my daughter. I am surprised just how good they are. I think next time I add just a little bit more peanut butter. You never an have enough.
BigSister says
Can you substitute the butter for vegan butter? If so how much would you use instead of regular butter?
Trish Townsend says
Can you double check your almond flour quantity 1 1/4c vs the weight (156g). Those don’t match. Per the King Arthur weight conversion chart, 1 cup of almond flour is 96g, so your 1 1/4c should be 120g. I made the cookies (which were delicious), but started by using the 156g. That came out to over 1 1/2 cups of almond flour. I think I ended up using somewhere in the middle. More than your 1 1/4c, but not the full 156g. Which number/quantity is correct?
Thanks