Peanut butter cookies are one of those treats you can’t get enough of, and today you’ll learn how to bake the best keto version ever.
Sweet and coating, but not overwhelming, crumbly and soft but with a great bite. These one-biters are the very definition of balance—texture, and flavor in harmony for a delicious batch of cookies.
When I was younger, I had a special relationship with peanut butter. Pb&J sandwiches were my favorite lunch. I don’t know why, but as I grew up, I drifted away from the buttery spread until I didn’t even have a jar at home.
Luckily, thanks to my baking craze, and all the kitchen projects I undertake, peanut butter and I found each other again. Now, our greatest hit is the keto peanut butter cookies I’ll show you how to make in this post.
I’ve changed, yes, but peanut butter has changed as well. It is very different than the one I remember. Now there’s a wide range of organic, 100% kinds of butter, small-batch, artisan products, and that’s so cool! I’ll tell you something, no more Jif for me.
Peanut butter cookies ingredients
This recipe calls for some of my favorite ingredients. Of course, all-natural, organic peanut butter, but also regular butter, coconut flour, flaxseed meal, a pinch of baking powder, and just a dash of vanilla extract.
Despite the name, the peanut butter flavor is not dominant but complementary. It’s the vanilla that carries the flavor forward, but it’s the texture that will make you bake these once and again. Imagine the softest, crumbliest cookies ever, and then some.
To add some sweetness to the cookies without adding extra carbs, I found the perfect ingredient; xylitol. This sugar alcohol doesn’t actually contain sugar alcohols, but it is excellent for baking projects. Erythritol, a similar sweetener, will work just as well.
The equipment you'll need
Now that we’ve covered the most important ingredients let’s talk about what you’ll need. Have in hand a large mixing bowl for the dry ingredients, a second one for the wet ingredients, a small or medium saucepan to melt the butter, and enough space to roll the dough.
You’ll also need a baking pan lined with parchment paper and a cooling rack, but we’ll get there. That’s about it! Cookies are just so easy to bake once you get the hang of it.
How to make keto peanut butter cookies
Here’s what you want to do. In your large mixing bowl, add the coconut flour, the flaxseed meal, and the baking powder. Mix them well. These are the dry ingredients that will give structure to our cookies.
It’s time to move on to the stove. Place your medium saucepan over medium heat and add your butter, the peanut butter, and your sweetener, in this case, the xylitol. Slowly but surely, your mixture will melt. Swirl it constantly to incorporate the ingredients well.
Once your mixture is silky, remove it from the saucepan and into a new mixing bowl. You might want to wait five to ten minutes for everything to cool down before adding the egg (or else your egg will cook!).
Whisk everything together and slowly add the dry ingredients until everything is perfectly combined.
Now you want your dough to cool down to room temp. Then refrigerate it for thirty minutes to an hour. This is a good time to preheat your oven. You want it at 350º F/ 180º C. Make sure you adjust the oven rack in the middle position. You also want to line your baking tin with parchment paper.
Bring out the dough, which will now be nice and malleable, and create walnut-sized balls. You can simply roll them with your hands over the counter.
I like pressing the cookies with a fork to create a crisscross pattern, which ends up looking lovely in the final cookies but feel free to create your own patterns. Get that creativity flowing!
Now, to the oven. Around ten minutes is enough for you to start seeing those cookie edges turn golden brown. That’s when you want to take them out and place them in your cooling rack.
There you have it. A delicious batch of peanut butter cookies to share with your friends and family.
How to store
The cookies will keep for three to four days if you store them in an airtight container, but in my experience, they never last that long — you might have to have them all in one sitting!
When to prepare these cookies?
For me, they’re perfect for the holiday season, but they’re all-rounders; you can make them any time.
They do have a celebratory feel, though, so grown-up birthday parties, housewarming parties, or ‘welcome home’ kind of events tend to match these peanut butter cookies’ personality.
Peanut butter cookies make for excellent gifts, so wrap them nicely or fill a jar with them, and you’ve got yourself a nice, easy, and inexpensive gift everyone will adore.
Let me tell you a little secret. Instead of buying energy bars for the gym, I pack a few of these cookies in a Ziplock bag. It’s my special protein stash. They can do it all, really!
Drink pairing
If you want to pair your cookies with a special drink, a flat white, a cappuccino, or even a pumpkin spice latte will get along nicely.
To be honest, I just have these cookies as late-night crave-quenchers with a glass of ice-cold milk, as simple as that.
But enough about me. Let’s make some peanut butter cookies. This is an easy recipe, but the results will surprise you.
Keto Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter
- ⅓ cup peanut butter - 100% peanuts, preferably organic
- ⅓ cup sweetener - preferably xylitol
- ⅓ cup coconut flour - approx. 1.5 oz / 40g
- 2 tbsp flax seed meal - approx. 0.5 oz / 15g
- 1 large egg
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a bowl combine coconut flour, flaxseed meal, and baking powder. Mix well and set aside.
- In a small saucepan combine butter, peanut butter, vanilla extract and xylitol. Stir over medium heat until the xylitol and the butter are melted.
- Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and wait 5-10 minutes to cool down.
- Add the egg and whisk for 30 seconds, until smooth. Gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing with a wooden spoon until combined.
- Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350º F/ 180º C. Line a large baking tin with parchment paper. Adjust the oven rack one slot above the middle position.
- Roll walnut-size balls with your hands and arrange them on top of the tin. Using a fork press each ball to create a crisscross pattern.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until only the edges of the cookies start becoming golden brown (watch them carefully).
- Let them cool on a wire rack or on top of the sheet.
- Serve the whole batch or store in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Notes
Nutrition
MORE KETO COOKIES RECIPES TO TRY!
If you love this low-carb keto cookies recipe, I recommend you also try my other cookies:
Can’t wait to give this recipe a try! Minus the xylitol, of course. I have cats and everyone I know has cats or dogs or both. Would never ever want to poison a furbaby. Just wish everyone would stop baking with xylitol.
Hi, Robyn! I hear you, I'm sorry the xylitol comes crossing your way continuously. I bet you have a good alternative to it. I should definitely post a warning to each of the quite few recipes that call for xylitol. Admittedly, I have a batch at home that needs to get used up, and no furry friends (love them very much, though), and it just slips my mind ...
The recipe instructions call for adding egg, but I don’t see egg in the ingredients list. Is it one egg?
That's right, It's one egg! I apologize, my bad ... Thank you for pointing it out, Tiffany! Hope you enjoy the recipe!