These flourless keto peanut butter cookies are so easy to make! They require only 4 ingredients and you simply stir them together with a fork. Perfect for any low carb or keto diet. Gluten free and sugar free!
Table of contents
I regularly make these cookies and they always disappear in a flash. My whole family goes crazy for them, even my teenage carb lovers.
There are a number of reasons why you've got to try these keto friendly cookies ASAP - beyond the fact that they are only 1.6g net carbs per cookie.
Why you'll love these cookies
1. NO SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
To make this keto peanut butter cookie recipe, you need NO SPECIAL EQUIPMENT. In fact, you can mix the dough in a bowl with a fork. And then lick it (the fork). See? No labour-intensive cleaning of blenders/food processors and more fun!
2. QUICK ASSEMBLY
5 minutes prep time and 15 minutes total time from start to finish! All ingredients go in as-is, and in any order you like. The only thing I would recommend that you keep your ingredients at room temperature.
3. SUPER SATISFYING TASTE
The cookies are chewy, crunchy and taste of peanut butter. They are filling and so satisfying.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you need to make these keto cookies:
PEANUT BUTTER. Always check the label! Often, brands add palm oil and sugar. Here in the UK there are several brands that sell natural peanut butter that contain only one ingredient - peanuts. Try the Meridian brand in the UK or Whole Earth in the US.
If you have a food processor, you could even make your own peanut butter. Simply blend the peanuts for a few minutes on high speed until the peanuts release their natural oils and you have a smooth butter. Add in some crushed peanuts for crunchy peanut butter.
Sugar-free SWEETENER. I used Sukrin Gold, which is a brown sugar substitute blend made from erythritol and stevia. But really, any sweetener will work. You could choose a monk fruit sweetener such as Lakanto, xylitol, allulose or Swerve.
EGG. Use a large, room temperature egg.
SEA SALT and CINNAMON. Both are optional, but if the peanut butter does not contain salt, I recommend to sprinkle sea salt on top or mix it into the cookies.
How to make the best keto peanut butter cookies
In a mixing bowl, stir together all ingredients with a fork.
Form small dough balls with your hands and place them on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet or on a silicone baking mat. Alternatively, use a cookie scoop and simply scoop the dough on the baking sheet.
Now comes the ONLY ever-so-slightly challenging part of this recipe: the creation of the pretty criss-cross pattern on top of the cookie. Wet a fork and press it onto the balls to create a cookie. Clean/wet again as you work your way through the batch. This prevents the cookie dough from sticking to the fork.
Bake and enjoy! The cookies will be soft when freshly out of the oven. Patience! They firm up as they cool down.
Soft versus crunchy cookies
BAKER'S TOP TIP: If you want a cookie that's soft in the centre, bake for around 8 minutes. If you prefer a crunchy one, leave it in the oven for 10 minutes.
Recipe variations
Here are ideas for recipe variations:
- Add sugar free chocolate chips to the batter
- Dip one half of the cookie in melted dark chocolate (I recommend a minimum of 85% cocoa solids)
- Use smooth peanut butter instead of crunchy
- Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- Use ½ teaspoon baking powder for a fluffier cookie
- Tiger cookies: Separate the dough into two mixing bowls. Add 1 tablespoon cocoa powder to one bowl and incorporate. Then, roughly blend the two doughs together and proceed as per recipe.
Can I use different nut butters?
Yes. This recipe works with almond butter, cashew butter or any other nut or seed butter. In fact, I used it to create my 3 Ingredient Keto Almond Butter Cookies!
Storage
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. If stored in the fridge the cookies will keep fresh for 3-4 weeks.
You can also store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. It's best to freeze them on a parchment paper lined baking tray and then transfer them into a ziplock bag. Defrost overnight.
More peanut butter keto cookies
Sugar Free Coconut Flour Peanut Butter Cookies. Adding coconut flour or almond flour to the dough makes the cookies soft and fluffy.
Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies. This is another popular recipe. Almond flour adds another layer of flavor.
Keto No Bake Peanut Butter Cookies. If you leave out the egg it's possible to create the most delicious no bake cookies.
P.S.: If you love peanut butter as much as I do, you should definitely also check out this chocolate peanut butter freezer fudge or these yummy Low Carb Peanut Butter Protein Bars. Equally simple and equally delicious.
More popular Keto cookie recipes:
- Italian Walnut Kisses
- Low Carb Coconut Shortbread Cookies
- Keto Almond Butter Brownie Cookies
- Low Carb Sugar Free Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
Fun fact - did you know a peanut is not a nut but a legume? True story, but really. In my book, peanuts are welcome to live alongside almonds, pecans and the like. Let a nut be a nut.
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Low Carb Keto Peanut Butter Cookies
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary. ***As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
- 1 cup crunchy peanut butter (100% peanuts) (250g)
- ½ cup granulated sweetener (100g)
- 1 egg large
- pinch of sea salt
- optional: ½ tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit.
- Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix with a fork.
- Roll small balls of dough (ca 15g each) with your hands (or use a small cookie scoop) and flatten them on a baking sheet.
- Wet a fork and press on cookies to create a criss cross pattern.
- Bake 8 -10 minutes, until the edges are firm. (8 minutes = soft centre, 10 minutes = overall crunchy)
- Let cool completely before eating. They are very soft when just out of the oven, but will become crunchy once cooled.
- Store in an airtight container.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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First published in January 2018. Republished with new recipe details in May 2022.
Debbie says
Mine tasted great but were so crumbly they were hard to eat. Is there a way to make them less crumbly?d
Katrin says
Maybe you could try reducing the baking time? If they retain more moisture they should be less crumbly.
Carmen Chan says
Hi, would this work with Lakanto monkfruit sweetener? It’s got monkfruit and erythritol
Katrin says
Hi Carmen, of course it would. It's not that common in Europe, that's why I have not tried it yet. I hear it tastes great though.
Stephanie says
I am new to this low carb thing & with my sweet tooth it has been so hard to stay committed. I followed this cookie recipe using creamy peanut butter then added a touch more cinnamon. Not only did it satisfy my craving but I couldnt believe how filling it was! Love this & will recommend it to everyone I know!!
Katrin says
Hello Stephanie, glad you enjoyed the cookies. One of the best things about a low carb diet is that the foods are so filling and thereby rather satisfying.
Marijane says
I noticed that you have many positive comments on this recipe, and probably don't need one more, But I just have to add my 2 cents worth. I have made these twice now, both with my own homemade peanut butter ( just peanuts and a bit of sea salt). The first batch I did with just the peanut butter as I made it, as in mostly smooth in texture. They were pretty impressive if you ask me. The second batch I added some chopped peanuts to it. The cookies were harder to get to hold together in the balls, but the peanut taste really pops. Making your own peanut butter is so easy, I don't know why I never thought of doing it before. Of course, before Keto, buying a jar of Jif was just a given!
Katrin says
Hi Marijane, thanks for your comment! I love hearing how well my recipes work for others and how people customise them. You've just inspired me to make a batch of nut butter...yum.
NOREEN says
YUM, THE SECOND TIME I MADE THEM I PUT SOME BAKING SODA MADE THEM LIGHTER VERY GOOD NEXT TIME A DOUBLE BATCH
Gladys Frank says
How many cookies is a serving and how many calories in a serving?
Katrin says
I calculated the nutrition for 1 cookie - it's 78 calories. If you want to eat 1 or 2 or... up to you 🙂 They are quite filling!
Danni says
Can you substitute the sweetener for honey or dates?
Katrin says
I'm sure you can! If you use honey, you might want to opt for a variety that's not totally runny. You could also use coconut sugar.
Amy says
Maybe I moved them to the cooling rack too soon or cooked them too long. I was afraid they were not done because they were so mushy soft so I left them in a few more minutes. I ‘ll try another batch.
Thanks for responding.
Katrin says
Sure! Just leave them to cool completely and it should be fine!
Amy says
I made these with smooth all natural peanut butter because it’s what I had on hand. The cookies fell apart after baking. Has this ever happened when you bake them? Wondered if I needed some coconut oil or something. They just crumbled apart.
Katrin says
Hi Amy, the cookies are really crumbly and soft when they are hot. I always wait until they cool down. When cold, mine were nice and firm. Were yours still crumbly when they were cold? I don't think your cookies need more fat - peanut butter is mainly fat on its own, and the egg helps to bind it.
Joyce says
I made these today. Didn’t have enough peanut butter, so I added almond butter. I used half the amount of sweetener too. I used Pyure stevia and erythritol blend and added the cinnamon. I only got 15 so I made mine a little too large, but they were awesome! I will definitely make these again!!
Katrin says
I've been meaning to try them with different types of nut butter. Mixing peanut and almond sounds great!
selina prager says
Love the video! Brilliant!
Vicki says
I do so love your recipes. Posted about the crepes, the seafood pancakes were great by the way. Made a couple of other recipes from your website which were also amazing. However, these biscuits are just so easy I had to comment. I only had peanut butter that also contained sunflower, pumpkin and flax seeds, still only 4.6g net carbs per 100g. Still came out yummy. Thanks Katrin
Satwinder says
Dear Katrin,
nice recipe, could you please advise for egg substitute
Katrin says
That's an interesting question. I think adding a spoonful of flaxseed (ground) could work, it is used as a binder in vegan cuisine. Or a tsp of xanthan gum. There is another way to make peanut butter cookies -
If you get yourself the Sukrin Fibre Syrup, you just use that as the sweetener. You just have to stir the syrup and the peanut butter for a while, it comes together as a dough after a couple of minutes!
Paula says
These were super easy to make and are so good! I added a little vanilla and and a little sea salt on top
Katrin says
MMMMh, adding vanilla sounds like a great idea!
Cheri says
Have tou tried freezing these? How welldo they hold up?
Katrin says
I have not tried freezing them, but peanut butter is freezable so you should have no problem 🙂
Rose says
Crunchy, nutty, delicious. Love how easy they were to make!
Katrin says
Don't we all love easy (I do, for sure! :))
Gemma says
Could you use normal granulated sugar?
Katrin says
Sure, you can use normal sugar in all recipes where I use the granulated erythritol or xylitol
Sheila says
Made these tonight. Added a teaspoon of dark chocolate and they were fabulous! Thank you.
Katrin says
You're welcome! Nice idea to use some dark chocolate in it. Peanuts and chocolate go so well together 🙂
gjeanieg says
Fabulous recipe! Thank you! 🙂
Jim Cos says
I'm kinda new to this whole carb counting thing so please forgive my ignorance. I am neither a chef nor a mathematician so could somebody explain to me where my carb calculations are off?
1 cup P.B. = 8 (2 TBSP) servings. then (6-2) = 4 carbs / servings, so the P.B comes to 32 carbs / BATCH.
1/2 cup sweetener = 8 TBSP = 24 TSP. with 4 carbs / TSP.(*) so I count 96 carbs there.
So with the PB and sugar, I count 128 carbs in the batch, split to 20 servings I get 6.4 carbs/cookie.
What am I doing wrong?
(*From the labels of all three erythritol granulated sweeteners I found. Stevia, Truvia and even the Sukrin linked above)
Katrin says
I do not count the carbs from the polyols in erythritol. We cannot digest erythritol, as we do not have an enzyme for it, so it passes through the body without sugar’s harmful effects. Most of it is passed out virtually unchanged through our urine, making it effectively 0 net carbs.
Jim Cos says
Well this newbie appreciates your feedback. I knew to subtract fiber, but hadn't indoctrinated myself as to the sugar alcohols. That makes about 100 carbs/batch difference in your recipe. Back to the kitchen with me then!
Again, sincere thanks.
Casey says
Would Splenda be a good sugar substitute?
Katrin says
Splenda would be absolutely fine 🙂
Jaime says
Can I use coconut sugar for this recipe
Katrin says
Yes, that would work too 🙂
Sandy says
Came out great. Only used half the he sugar still tasted great
Katrin says
That's good to know! Thanks for sharing
Jian mercant8 i says
I am going. To reduce the sweetener to a couple of tbsp. Then taste the raw dough. I cut sweetener to the bone.
Susan says
Any idea what the carb count would be if you used Kraft peanut butter?
Katrin says
I use this website to calculate nutrition info: https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp - it's free and you can input any ingredient you like. I don't know what's in Kraft peanut butter. If it's only peanuts, it should be the same as my calculation. If it has other ingredients, just add the relevant percentage to get a ballpark figure
Amanda S says
Do you think I can make this with stevia too?
Katrin says
I think it could work with stevia powder. I'm not sure how crunchy you would get these if you used stevia drops.
Beth says
I've got all ingredients at home. Making them now!
Katrin says
Awesome! Enjoy!
Rose says
Love the huge cookie stack! I wish I could eat it right off my screen....
Katrin says
I know the feeling.... the good thing is these cookies are so simple they basically make themselves 🙂
Lara says
I don't like peanuts. Do you think I can try this recipe using almond butter instead?
Katrin says
I thank almond butter would work just as well as peanut butter.
Nanabella says
Any nut or seed butter works...
Magda says
Can't wait to try these. I'm the biggest peanut butter fan ever 🙂
Katrin says
Haha, I thought that was me 🙂 Let me know how you get on!
Catherine J says
I made a batch yesterday using smooth peanut butter. So good.
Katrin says
So glad you liked the cookies Catherine!