This recipe hits so many amazing marks in my book. #1 – it has only 4 ingredients in it (yup, it’s that easy to make), #2 – it’s grain-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free, #3 – the recipe is versatile to suit your tastes or needs (sub creamy almond butter (or sunflower seed butter) for the peanut butter if you are paleo, not a peanut butter fan, or allergic), and #4 – it’s a super delicous cookie!
Need another reason? It might taste like you are cheating on your wholesome diet, but with the care in selecting the ingredients in this recipe, you will find that not only does it taste amazing, but this cookie will keep you satisfied for hours!
I use an certified organic, natural peanut butter …always, in fact, and not just for this recipe. This means no vegetable oils of any kind and no added sugars. The only thing you want to see on the ingredient list is: peanuts…maybe salt too. So, thumbs down to commercial, hydrogenated brands like Peter Pan, Skippy, Kraft, and Jif. Why certified organic? Peanuts are heavily sprayed with pesticide, so I always recommend you go organic on peanut butter.
When it comes to sugar in baking, I try to stick with the most natural sweeteners like raw honey, pure maple syrup, and coconut sugar. For this recipe, I used coconut sugar. Coconut sugar is made from the sap fo the flower bud stem of the coconut palm. It looks like brown sugar but doesn’t taste as sweet. Unlike brown sugar, coconut sugar has a low glycemic value (about 35) meaning it won’t spike your blood sugar the way regular white or brown sugar would. Besides the fat and protein from the peanut butter and egg in this recipe, a low glycemic sweetener like coconut sugar is another reason behind this cookie’s ability to keep you satisfied for a few hours.
There is only a small amount of coconut flour in this recipe (just enough to pull the batter together) – only 2 teaspoons. Unless you’re used to baking with coconut flour like I’ve become, keep in mind that it will take over your batter if you add too much [it absorbs moisture in the batter] so resist adding more! Coconut flour also adds a bit more blood-sugar-balancing good fat and fiber. Perfect.
Quality ingredients matter…always!
Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup organic natural peanut butter (you can sub almond butter or sunflower seed butter)
- 1 egg
- 1 cup coconut sugar if you prefer a lesser sweet cookie you can reduce to 1/2 cup
- 2 teaspoons coconut flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- In a bowl, whisk peanut butter, egg and coconut sugar.
- Add coconut sugar and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Using a teaspoon, scoop out batter and roll into balls. Place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Using a fork, make a criss cross design by pressing down on the ball so it flattens slightly one way and then the other way (see image above).
- Bake for about 12 minutes.
