At only 1.9g net carbs Keto Peanut Butter Cookies are the perfect treat for peanut butter lovers! They're even dairy-free!
These cookies are a great treat to keep on hand when you want a small sweet snack. Keep ready to learn our best tips for making these low carb cookies.
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What are peanut butter cookies?
If you love natural peanut butter you will love this cookie recipe. It is an easy sweet snack recipe that you can quickly toss together when you are looking for a low-carb sugar-free treat.
To make the dough, mix together some peanut butter, almond flour, egg, sweetener, vanilla, and baking powder in a bowl. Then form into cookies and bake. You can enjoy these cookies in under 20 minutes!
Is peanut butter keto?
Yes, natural peanut butter is ok to eat on Keto. Peanut butter is low carb and can be low in sugar as well. BUT you need to watch how much you eat. All nut butters are so delicious, no-one stops at just 1 or 2 tablespoons. The carbs in peanut butter can soon add up.
How do I choose the best peanut butter?
You will want to be a label-reading ninja when purchasing peanut butter because not all peanut butter is created equal. Look for peanut butter that is all-natural with no sugar added. You want peanut butter with just peanuts, oil, and salt.
What other nut butter can I use?
You can use almond butter but depending on the brand you by, it may have more or less added oil and salt so you may need to add more or less sweetener and almond flour.
You can use tahini which is a seed butter, but it will be very oily so a lot more almond flour will be required.
I would not use cashew butter. Cashews are a high carb nut.
What ingredients are in low carb peanut butter cookies?
You only need 6 simple ingredients. they can all be found in your local grocery store. Simple, easy and affordable.
- Peanut butter
- Almond flour
- Egg
- Sweetener
- Vanilla
- Baking powder
All quantities, ingredients, and instructions are in the recipe card below.
Can I omit the egg from the cookies?
These cookies really do need the egg to bind them together. when you no longer use regular flour that contains gluten, you need the protein from the egg to make it a true cookie.
Many readers are egg-free (or vegan) and want to use flaxseed, chia or psyllium "egg". I haven't tried this yet, so if you do, please let me know in the comments.
What type of flour should I use make low carb peanut butter cookies?
I prefer to use almond flour to make peanut butter cookies because the almonds increase the flavor of the peanut butter. While you can have peanut butter on Keto, you still want to limit the amount you use. Moderation is key.
The almond flour with the help of a little baking powder also helps you obtain that wonderful crumbly and soft texture you find in really great peanut butter cookies.
Add ingredients to bowl. Mix into dough. Roll dough into 12 balls.
How much low carb sweetener should I use?
TOP TIP: As with ALL recipes here, ALWAYS taste your batter BEFORE cooking to ensure you have added enough sweetener to suit YOUR tastebuds. Read the Ultimate Guide To Low-Carb Sweeteners.
If this is day 1 of sugar-free living for you, you may require twice the amount of sweetener as someone who has been living sugar-free for years. So don't be afraid to add more sweeteners. The longer you live sugar-free, the less sweetener in time you will require.
Why do I press down keto cookies?
It is important to press down and flatten your peanut butter cookies to ensure they cook evenly. Your cookies will spread a little while baking but not enough allow the cookies to bake evenly.
I like to use a fork to press down the cookies so that it leave behind a beautiful crisscross pattern on the top.
How do I stop the fork from sticking to my cookies?
The key is to not press down too hard with the fork. You want to press just enough for the cookie to flatten, but you don't want to dough pushing through and sticking out of the fork.
If the fork starts sticking anyway try wiping the oil from the cookies off of the fork with a towel. Chilling the dough in the refrigerator also helps to firm the dough and make it less sticky. If your cookie dough is at a warm room temperature, this makes them a little too sticky to press down.
Should cookie dough be refrigerated before baking?
Chilling the dough can be helpful if you are having trouble with the dough being too sticky, but it is not necessary. Typically, the dough is chilled so that the cookies do not spread as much while they bake.
Since this recipe calls for almond flour and not wheat flour spreading isn't much of an issue with this recipe. However, if you want to make the dough in advance you will need to chill the dough until you are ready to bake it to keep the dough from spoiling.
More Low-Carb Sweet Treat Recipes ...
Should I use parchment paper on the baking sheet?
I have found that lining the cookie sheet with parchment paper helps the peanut butter cookie cook more evenly and keep the bottom of the cookies from burning.
It also keeps the cookies from sticking to the pan so I recommend using it when baking.
How can I tell if keto peanut butter cookies are cooked?
You will know your cookies are done baking when the edges start browning. This usually 10-12 minutes in the oven at 165C/325F degrees in the oven.
When your cookies are done baking remove the from the oven and let them cool on the counter. Your cookies should be soft on the inside, but also crumbly.
Can I make the cookies crispy?
Yes. You need to flatten the cookies AND cook for a little longer. Once the cookies are cooked and brown, flip them over and cook for a further 2 minutes to ensure the nutty cookies are crispy in all sides.
What substitutions can I make?
The yummy cookies can have these substitutions from the basic cookie recipe. But please only make one replacement otherwise they will become a completely different recipe and so I can't guarantee they'll turn out as pictured.
Many of these substitutions haven't been tested so please leave a comment below if you use these suggestions.
Remember to recalculate the net carbs if you make any substitutions. These keto peanut butter cookies are 1.9g net carbs as per the recipe card below.
- Peanut butter - almond butter, tahini, sunflower butter, macadamia nut butter
- Almond flour - almond meal or sunflower meal
- Egg - you may try to use a chia, psyllium or flaxseed egg. Otherwise, it can be omitted if everything else is as per the recipe (the cookies will be a little crumblier). You could even try adding xanthan gum to make them chewy.
- Sweetener - erythritol, brown sweetener or monk fruit
- Baking powder - can be omitted if everything else is as per the recipe (the cookies will be a little denser)
- Vanilla - vanilla paste, cinnamon or ginger
- Cookie mix - mix finely chopped peanuts, chocolate chips or cacao nibs.
- Decoration - dip or drizzle the peanut cookies in sugar-free chocolate. You can even sprinkle the cookies with granulated sweetener once the cookies are cooked and cooled.
How do I store keto nut butter cookies?
If your cookies make it past the day they should be stored in an air-tight container or zipped bag on the counter for up to 3-4 days.
Alternatively, you can freeze them in an airtight container or ziplock bag in the freezer for 2 months. To defrost, remove 1 or 2 and place them on the kitchen bench for 20 minutes.
Make sure the cookies are completely cooled before storing. Once the cookies are stored any heat left in the cookies will be trapped and condensation will build in the container. Enjoy!
More recipes you may like:
Choc chip cookies (coconut flour recipe) 
Keto Shortbread Cookies
📖 Recipe
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Keto Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe
Recipe Video
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Ingredients
- ⅓ cup peanut butter no sugar added
- ¾ cup almond meal/flour
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoon granulated sweetener of choice or more to taste
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 165°C/325°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl to form the dough. Separate the dough into 12 sections and roll each one into a ball. Place each ball on the cookie sheet.
- Use a fork to press a criss-cross design into each cookie. Bake the cookies in the oven for 10-12 minutes. When the cookies are done baking remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the cookie cool. Enjoy!
5-INGREDIENTS COOKBOOK
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Approximate nutrition information is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. For the most accurate nutritional data, use the actual ingredients and brands you used in your preferred nutrition calculator.
Claire
Hi Libby, my question is, Do you ever use coconut flour instead of Almond flour? I’d love to see these recipes in coconut flour, as it has the anti-inflammatory omega 3 instead of the INflammatory Omega 6 that is in Almond flour. Diabetics need the Omega 3 as the Omega 6 exacerbates inflammation, (and people suffering with arthritis need the Omega 3 as well)? I understand there is a complicated conversion for recipes requiring almond flour to coconut flour. Thanks!
Libby Jenkinson
Hey there Claire, yes, I do make a LOT of recipes with coconut flour, or recipes that have an adaptation in the recipe notes to make using coconut flour. You can see my coconut flour recipe category and I have written a whole post on almond flour vs coconut flour. I discuss why coconut flour is such a brilliant and healthy flour to use because of a better omega 3:6 profile, higher in fibre, and lower in cost.
Roberta
Without any criticism at all, and always appreciating your effort to provide tasty, easy and healthy recipes, I'd find more helpful and above all more accurate to give the option to convert cups for grams, not only for those who lives in Countries with that kind of measuring food, but also for precision of the recipe considering that volume is not as "scientific" as grams, depending on much more variables that a simple food scale is able to avoid (scale+reading labels from start to finish and check macros= very little room for error 😉 ).
Appreciated your provided conversion F°/C°toe that clear since the beginning, thank you!
Libby Jenkinson, MPS
Hey Roberta, no offence or criticism taken 🙂 Most of my recipes do have metric and cups (weight and volume), I think you have found one of the very few that don't have both measurements. Whoopsey.