Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies are made with Only 6 natural ingredients. So easy to make they are dangerous. . . So dangerously good that is.
(Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegan Friendly)
I am going to give you a total and absolute disclaimer regarding these skinny and gluten free peanut butter cookies. They are dangerous. . . So dangerously good that is.
Give yourself a plan, either eat some and give away the rest. Or just say fudge it I’m eating the entire batch. Your choice.
I chose the latter.
All the reasons these are the best Healthy Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies ever:
- Only 4-Ingredients!
- Totally packed with protein.
- Totally packed with protein means it’s also healthy for you!
- Good-for-you-Cookie + 6-ingredients = Amazing Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies.
It took me two batches to get these just perfectly right. I took my good ole’ original Skinny Peanut Butter Cookie recipe and made it gluten free!
Tips to Making these Perfect Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
- Cool it down. Make sure that you allow these cookies to fully cool on the baking sheet before removing. If you try to remove them before cooling they will fall apart on you. Just be patient.
- Gently pat down the peanut butter dough down with your fingers before pressing into it for the criss-cross pattern. It’ll help with getting symmetrical cookies with perfect edges. See our video above for the example.
- Have a small glass of cold water. When you are creating the iconic criss-cross pattern dip your fork in the cold water before pressing into the peanut butter cookies. It’ll help the fork from getting stuck in the dough.
- Parchment Paper will be your best friend. You are more than welcome to baking on a well greased baking sheet. However, parchment paper I’ve found really helps with clean-up and makes removing the delicate cookies from the pan without breaking.
No worries gluten intolerant friends (and me) we have a solution! Almond flour.
Well, it’s the same answer on why I don’t make cookies very often. I eat them all.
That’s my life folks. I wake up at 6 or 7am on a Sunday morning and I bake cookies. What is wrong with me? Meh, a lot. My weird obsessive baking mornings come to your advantage.
While you sleep in on the weekend (like normal people) I’m perfecting a peanut butter cookie recipe for you to make! At normal hours that is.
R’s favorite: Cookie Dough, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Cinnamon Roll.
Now go make these cookies. Stat!
Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies with Almond Flour Recipe
Dessert
Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Low-Carb, Low-Sugar
American
Yield: 12
Prep Time:15 min
Cook Time:10 min
Total Time:25 min
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/3 cup almond flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 cup honey (or cane sugar will work)
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 egg (or egg white)
Directions:
- 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- 2. Mix all ingredients together in a medium sized mixing bowl.
- 3. Form cookie balls with hands, about 1 inch in size each. Place onto a cookie sheet prepared with parchment paper.
- 4. Flatten each cookie to about 2 inches in diameter and 1/4 inch thick.
- 5. With a fork, indent the tops of cookies with crisscross pattern.
- 6. Bake 7-9 minutes.
- 7. Let for 5-10 minutes on cookie sheet before removing.
Author: Linnie
Recipe Video:
Nutrition Information:
Calories: 94
Other nutrition information: Total Fat 7g Saturated Fat: 1g, Unsaturated fat: 0g, Trans Fat: 0g, Carbohydrates: 6g, Sugar: 4g, Sodium 51mg, Fiber 1g, Protein 4g
How much did you love this recipe?
Click a star to let me know:
(689 votes, average: 3.59 out of 5)
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mm, these look delicious! I will definitely be sharing these with my celiac/gluten intolerant clients!
Aww thank you Heather!! They are yummy for everyone all diets too 🙂 They’ve become my absolute fav!
I love these cookies too, I used coconut flour, added some cocoa and a handful of chopped nuts. Instead of sugar I used liquid sucryl with excellent results.
I don’t think you can review and rate a recipe if you didn’t follow it.
Yeah, I’d eat these ALL too. Dangerous and delicious :).
But I don’t think they’re paleo.
Dangerous and delicious is right Sarah 😉
Your correct though they are not STRICT paleo. More lenient Paleo lol I stick to natural and clean ingredients for desserts. 🙂
Can I try using 1/2 cup of PB2 and add water to the mix instead of regular peanut butter? I have like 6 jars sitting there!
Hi Alan!
I haven’t tried it that way before but don’t see why not. If you do use PB2, add a little extra water than normal to make sure it’s not a thick peanut butter paste, you want it to be a creamy texture.
Let me know how it turns out! Happy Baking 🙂
Can I use 1/3 cup of my gluten free flour mixture instead of the almond flour?
Yes! You most definitely can.
Let me know how they turn out. 🙂
Can I use Almond Butter instead of Peanut Butter?
Hi Mona! I found my freshly ground almond butter from my local store was not creamy enough to hold the cookies together. I have made these with other butters like sunflower butter also, that worked great.. I could see if you have the store-bought almond butter thats generally more creamy in nature, should work out! Let me know how they turn out 🙂
Hi Lindsay,
I just made these with the almond butter and they came out wonderful!! I will definitely be making them again 🙂 I used the almond butter from Costco.
~Mona
Oh fabulous Mona! So glad it works with that variation. Thanks for coming back and letting us know. 🙂
Hi Mona, I have the same almond butter mmm can’t wait to try it.
I doubled the recipe and the mix is too creamy to form into balls. So I added a pinch more of flour and am sticking it in the freezer to try and make it harder. We will see how this goes.
Hope that did the trick! The batter definitely should not be too creamy to form into balls.. why type of peanut butter did you use??
Yes. I found the same issue with the small amount of flour.
yes, I too had that problem, I added 5 more tbsp almond flour and 2 tbsp coconut flour and it’s still very runny, definitely not dough. Tastes okay, though.
I’d like to make them vegan. Any idea on how to replace the egg white? And do you think it will turn out alright if I use oat flour? Thanks
Hi Lou! So I’ve not attempted this before but I can see if you make a flax egg substitute this MIGHT work. I’ve added flax eggs to other dishes but have not tried it with these cookies.
If you aren’t familiar with flax eggs they are 1 Tablespoon ground flax seed + 3 Tablespoons water. Mix together and let it sit for 15 minutes in the fridge before using.
Onto the oat flour. If you use oat flour the consistency will be different BUT combined with the flax egg I could see this being beneficial to help them stick together easier.
Hope this helps you into the right direction. Would love for you to report back and let us know how they turned out with these substitutions for other readers. Thanks 🙂
Thanks a lot! I had thought of flax/chia egg but I’ve always used it to replace a whole egg, not just the whites.
I’ll let you know how it works when I make them 🙂
Since it’s a little different egg variation, we’ll take all the ‘egg’ binding action we can get. Thats why I think it would be better to use the whole flax egg. Thats just my thinking. Hope it works! 🙂
Highly recommend trying a banana in place of the egg
I baked these today and they turned out pretty tasty! However, I did not use almond flour and instead used Trader Joe’s all purpose GF flour mix. The cookies ended up being pretty dry, and a bit too crumbly. I do not see others having this issue so I suspect it must be the TJs flour. Next time I will try almond flour! All in all, it turned out well for a GF cookie with just a few ingredients.
Hi Emilie! Thanks for coming back and sharing! Yes, GF flour works very differently then almond flour.
Many times you’ll think the batter is not the right consistency before baking, but that is ideal with GF flour as it dries out mega times while baking. I haven’t made this recipe in a while (maybe I should though because I want some cookies!), but I’d suspect if you brought the GF content down to 1/4-1/2 cup it could help.
My only thinking is the cookie dough pre-cooking might be slightly harder to work with. Hope this helps maybe for some future baking days. 🙂
Oh! And it is also very important to make sure you are measuring out the GF flour right as I explained how-to and why in a recent post.
How many cookies does this recipe make? Skinny PB
Sorry about that Karen! We’ve been working on transitioning our recipes onto another platform and have experiences some difficulties. This recipe makes almost 1 dozen small cookies, or about 8 large cookies. Enjoy! 🙂
Can i use almond meal instead of almond flour?
I would take your almond meal and whirl it in your food processor/blender to pulse it to a finer meal before using. Hope this helps! 🙂
Could I use coconut flour as a substitute for the almond flour?
Yes most definitely! I’d recommend using less though, probably 1/4-1/2 cup of coconut flour since coconut flour is so much more absorbent . I’d love if you come back and let us know how it turns out with this swap for other readers to know for the future. Happy Baking! 🙂
I was wondering if this dough would work in the Pampered chef Cookie Press?
Honestly I’m not really sure, I’ve never used that before. Is your concern the cookies sticking?
Have you ever tried a lower carb sweetener than honey? I was wondering about substuting the honey.
I’ve tried these with agave nectar before and they have turned out great. Any other sweeteners I have not tried, whatever you end up trying just make sure it has a decent amount of ‘stick’ to help keep the cookies together and moist. Hope this helps!
Is it ok to make this without the egg? Thank you!
I’d use a egg replacer, it really does need the egg to help bind the ingredients together.
Could I just use all purpose flour because I don’t have almond flour
Yes! Most definitely. 🙂
I’d like to add chocolate powder to this recipe any suggestions?
Hi Lindsay! I am going to try baking these for my mother in law who is gluten intolerant. Would it be okay to use regular granulated sugar instead of the honey? If so, how much? Thank you!
Hi Maddie!
You know surprisingly I’ve never tried this with granulated sugar! I would think you’d perhaps need to double the amount of sugar, but I’m a little unsure how they will hold together this way. It’s definitely worth a try though!
Thank you for the response! Ill experiment with it a bit, but knowing my mother in law she will love it just the same with honey if the granulated sugar doesnt work out.
Love how these sound. I’m looking forward to trying them. Now I’m going to be incredibly picky. I get it that we love recipes with just a few ingredients and frequently don’t even want to look at one that has a dozen but to say it has 4 “natural” ingredients seems just a wee bit untrue. Yes, two of the ingredients are non-natural but I’d have been far more impressed with seeing it has 6 ingredients. Since no one else has mentioned it, I’m guessing I’m being cranky but still wanted to mention it.
Thank you for your feedback Cynthia. Honestly, when I first had this recipe go live 2 years ago yes, I didn’t count the salt and vanilla as ingredients since they to me are basic-always-there-kitchen-items. Since having the recipe go live over 2 years now and I look back on it I agree with you. Regardless, It still is a awesome healthier peanut butter cookie recipe and has been the one we’ve been making for years when we have cookie cravings! Hope you enjoy it as well. 🙂
Lindsay, I want to make these tomorrow, but have a ?
I use natural/no sugar organic PB and I’m wondering if that’s creamy enough. It’s definitely not the same consistency as like the Jif PBs out there.
Thanks!
Tracey
Hi Tracey! I’ve found natural peanut butters don’t hold the cookies together very well and end up being crumbly. My only thought is to add extra 1/4 cup-1/2 cup honey to the recipe to help hold the cookies together and that might help. I’ve personally never tried this though so can’t say for sure it’ll work. Hope this helps! 🙂
My husband likes his peanut butter cookies crunchy. I usually over cook them to get that crunch. How do you think these cookies will respond to over cooking? (Sorry if that is an offensive question). Also, I’m interested in clean recipes, but skinny is not necessary. What do you think about adding the whole egg? Do you think that would help binde the cookie especially using natural creamy PB?
Adding the whole egg isn’t a problem. However using natural creamy PB i’ve found definitely has issues with binding the cookies enough. They tend to become brittle cookies. These cookies are rather softer cookies to begin with and I’m afraid overcooking them won’t actually help make them crunchy and will unfortunately just dry them out more. BUT i do think if you upped the honey in these it is verrrrry possible you could use that and the cookies jusssst might get a little more crunch to them that way. Hope this helps! 🙂
My cookies turned out a little brittle. Is it because of the peanut butter? Mines a little oily.
If there is too much oil (natural peanut butter especially) they will definitely turn out brittle. I always recommend to use a decent amount of honey to even it out and that should hopefully help.
Hi there! I made these last night and they turned out great but I’m not sure if they’re undercooked. I’ve never used almond flour but I followed the direction carefully with granulated sugar. I baked them for 8 minute at 350. What texture should I expect?
They will seem undercooked coming out of the oven. Allow them to fully cool and they should be good. 🙂
The recipe listed is not the same as the video. Which is correct????
The only difference between the two is the egg and egg white. I’ve found the recipe turns out fine with both. 🙂
I used stevia instead of honey to make them low carb. Um omg yum!!! Thanks for sharing ❤️💗
Can you make it with chunky peanut butter?
I personally have not had the greatest luck with them turning out with chunky peanut butter.
I highly advise against using your hands to form the cookies! Spray pam on a ice cream scooper and use that. I also suggest adding a pinch of truvia brown sugar and sprinkling Himalayan salt on top o fthe cookies.
This looks so good! Are they very crumbly?
They will be crumbly coming right out of the oven but as long as you wait for them to cool they’ll be the perfect cookie.
Mine were super sticky. I couldn’t roll the dough into balls so they are just blobs on the cookie sheet. Will see how they turn out.
Huh – sounds like there might of been a measuring error. Generally they are a little sticky but definitely able to roll into balls and then flatten with a your hands. To me it sounds like either the almond flour was measured incorrectly OR the almond flour you are using might be a little more course and therefore unable to absorb the moisture. Hope this helps and if anything hope they turned out alright!
Same issue here, this looks more like cake batter than cookie dough. Not sure what to do, I measured exactly as the recipe stated….maybe add more almond flour?
I love your site, but please consider changing your font, at least for the comment section. The font is so light and small and very difficult to read.
Thank you for your feedback Cindy! It’s actually something I’ve been wondering about changing myself. We’ll take it to our developers and see what changes we can make. <3
Hi, I tried this reciepe and along the way was taste testing (which tastes great) however after baking my cookies seem to have a rubbery consistency (Almost pancake like) I’ve never attempted gluten free or baking with almond flour so I’m not sure what to expect.
Mmm rubber/pancake consistency is definitely not would I would of referenced it too so I’m not quite sure what it could of been to turn this result.
The cookies DEFINITELY will not be like you are use too and it is best to allow the cookies to fully cool before removing from the baking sheet after baking because they are rather delicate until cooled. Once cooled though, they are hardened like a normal peanut butter cookie….
Any suggestions on the ideal storage for these? Countertop, fridge, or freezer? I used homemade almond butter and pure cane sugar, and they turned out great!
Definitely the countertop is perfectly fine if you are going to consume in a couple days. Anything more than 5 days I’d store in the fridge. Hope this helps! 🙂
I doubled the recipe used 1/2 coconut flour and 1/2 almond flour ( had to double flour measurement) also used 1/2 almond butter and 1/2 regular peanut butter. 350 for 7 min. Let them cool for 5 min. They are fantastic. My boys love them .
These cookies I couldn’t even form into a ball in my hand they were way to gooey and creamy. I feel like it’s missing something. I used the exact ingredients. I will end up throwing this in the trash.
Mmm it sounds like your peanut butter has quite a bit of oil in them. Was it natural or more natural-ish peanut butter by any chance?
I don’t have almond flour can I substitute all purpose flour? If so do l
Need to change the amount?
Thank you
I have not tried this recipe without almond flour so I really can’t advise. Perhaps check out this peanut butter recipe that uses gluten free ap flour
Love love love ❤️ l❤️❤️❤️These are the best ever!!! I made this and my husband is soooo picky with “healthy “ things he ate half the batch lol
I substituted maple syrup for honey but my dough is too running to make into balls: Any way to save this dough?
would refrigerating the dough or perhaps adding more flour help???
Maple syrup is really not a good alternative for this. I don’t think you will be able to salvage it. We recommend honey or agave nectar for this recipe for that reason.
Thanks for sharing! Do they keep long?
Your video shows two you saw but yet the recipe doesn’t have a salt ingredient how much salt do you put in? Corina
Just a pinch for taste.
Quick, easy, and delicious! Yes, they are hard to resist. One spoonful spreads into a nice large-sized cookie. They have a slightly crunchy edge with a spongy texture inside. They are not crumbly and they are not sweet like a regular PB cookie. Just what I like! I did have to freeze the dough for 10 minutes before putting them on the cookie sheet. They are not greasy enough to roll into balls before or after freezing, which is fine because all that grease is unhealthy.
I did use a fork dipped in ice water to make the crisscross pattern. I was worried that the extra water on top of the cookie would affect how well they bake, but they came out delicious! I will make these again and again.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
I just finished making a batch of your recipe…
The taste test is done, but before I give my opinion, I’d like to share my tweaking…using Jif low-sugar/low-salt peanut butter…whole egg…1/8 cup raw sugar and light brown sugar…
I baked them on a silpat for even browning…I cross-hatched the tops, obviously lol I let them cool…they were beautifully browned especially the bottoms, and their relatively small size makes them adorable as a baked good.
The taste…
It was peanutty and light with a decent crisp and a light chew…perfect! There was something missing…the cookie was lightly sweet which I love, but something was missing; then, I thought about salt…I sprinkled just a small amount of kosher salt on top…AMAZING FINISH…
These cookies are on my “go-to” short list of cookies…the cleanup…the prep…the outcome…first-rate…
Thanks!
Best comment of the day Jeff. Glad you enjoyed 🙂
I made these with almond flour, Costco almond butter and added walnuts. I used Lakanto Classic Monkfruit sweetener from Costco. Batter was very sticky to work with, but otherwise the cookies turned out super yummy. So awesome for those of us on special diets that crave a sweet treat!
In the video it shows salt, but in the ingredient list it shows baking soda, which one of these is correct? Thank you!
Hi Kristen! You’ll want to follow the ingredient list. You’ve got to add baking soda to these cookies and it is added in the video. The salt isn’t necessary though – I find I add it when we buy this specific brand of pb that has no salt added to it so then I add a dash of salt to the recipe itself.
I have these in the oven at the moment but I couldn’t roll the dough. Too sticky?. So I just but spooned them onto parchment paper. Hope they turn out!
Instructions aren’t to roll out the dough, because yes it is definitely too stick otherwise. You want to spoon onto parchment paper and then press down with a fork.
The video showed salt and not baking soda? I used baking soda. Was that a sample video. I made the recipe posted. The dough taste good.
Are you talking about blanched almond flour or just regular almond flour? Not sure if it makes a difference, but I wanted to check first. I couldn’t read through all the comments since there were so many, so I apologize if anyone else has asked this. Thank you!
I made these today. Added a little protein powder and used yacon syrup for sweetner. Healthy and yummy
This looks so good! I love that the ingredient list is so simple!
Thanks for sharing! Do they freeze well?
Do you have a substitute for baking soda? We have a corn allergy in our family so baking soda is a no. 🙂
The first time they were so runny they came out flat – but tasty – like little crepes.
The second time I reversed the amount of flour [1/2 cup] and peanut butter [1/3 cup], added a bit of chia and chocolate nibs. put them in paper mini muffin cups and were delicious!