Easy Keto Peanut Butter Cookies
Back when I was in my high school home economics class, we learned a simple 3 ingredient peanut butter cookie recipe that I made pretty regularly from then on out: a cup of peanut butter, a cup of sugar, and 1 egg. Thankfully, that recipe was pretty easy to “keto-fy” by just swapping the sugar for another sweetener, so I still had a way to make a low carb version as needed.
But keto or not, the results from that low carb 3 ingredient peanut butter cookie recipe always felt a little lacking. They often turned out crumbly, and the flavor was missing a little depth. For this recipe, I added a handful of additional ingredients to round out the taste and texture of these peanut butter cookies.
The result is a keto peanut butter cookie that is slightly crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and with a richer flavor. Best of all, the ingredient list is still relatively short and the cookies are still pretty easy to make. Usually, the hardest part for me is waiting a few minutes for them to cool before digging in.
The one thing I will note is that you may have to tweak the amount of sweetener depending on how sweet you like your peanut butter cookies to be, the type of sweetener you prefer to use, and the base sweetness of your peanut butter.
Easy Keto Peanut Butter Cookies
Any good peanut butter cookie recipe puts the peanut butter flavor front and center, and this keto-friendly version is no different! Per cookie: 128kcal, 11g fat, 4g protein, 3.5g total carbs – 1.3g fiber = 2.2g net carbs
- Prep Time: 5m
- Cook Time: 20m
- Total Time: 25m
- Yield: 15 cookies
Ingredients
- 250 grams (about 1 cup) natural peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 ounce cream cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 7 tablespoons (1/4C + 3T) granulated sweetener (I used Lakanto), more or less to taste
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare a baking sheet by covering with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In a mixing bowl, combine peanut butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and butter.
- Add about half of the sweetener and mix to combine.
- Add remaining sweetener, coconut flour, egg, baking powder, and salt. Mix until dough is well combined.
- Divide dough into ~15 equally sized balls and arrange on your baking sheet about 1-2 inches apart. Flatten the balls using a fork to form a crosshatch pattern.
- Bake cookies for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow them to cool for ~5 minutes before serving.
Notes:
- Want some added crunch in your keto peanut butter cookies? Use crunchy peanut butter instead of creamy. You can also add a handful of low carb chocolate chips for some added richness.
- Make sure your butter is softened rather than melted, or the dough won’t turn out quite right!
- It’s a little annoying, but letting these cookies cool for a few minutes is important to let the texture set up and prevent crumbling.
- If using plain erythritol rather than a sugar-equivalent sweetener (like Swerve or Lakanto), I usually start with an extra tablespoon and then adjust the sweetness from there.
- These will keep fine for a few days in a sealed container at room temperature, but any longer than that and I would recommend refrigeration.
I tried these tonight & the dough turned out like a batter. I think because I subbed in some powered peanut butter with the real stuff. So I put it in a cake pan, topped with some chocolate chips & baked for 25 mins. This is the best tasting keto, low carb treat I’ve made yet! Thank you for this great recipe!
I made these cookies this evening, and they were delicious. My peanut butter and butter were salted, and so the added salt made them saltier than most cookies, but who doesn’t like salted peanuts?
A dark chocolate drizzle might complement the extra salt too 🙂
Can you use almond flour instead of coconut flour?
They don’t generally substitute for each other, but I think it could work here. You may need to double the amount, though.
I subbed almond flour and it went well
Awesome! Thanks for sharing.
I just made these and threw in a few dark chocolate chips. They are wonderful!
When I can spare the carbs, I use chunky peanut butter for extra crunch and add low carb chocolate chips as well. So yummy!
These were great!! I’ve made my fair share of failed keto cookies, including peanut butter, so I admit I was skeptical-but these were so good! The texture was great, after letting them cool they held together nicely and even had a good crispness to them. It was the first peanut butter cookie recipe I’ve tried that had cream cheese–I wonder if that made the big difference? So yummy, thanks for the recipe!
Sharayah
Yes, the addition of the cream cheese is meant to help them hold together! I’m glad you enjoyed them!