These almond flour peanut butter cookies are a naturally gluten free, super satisfying treat with plenty of protein and healthy fats. Make them with chocolate disks or chips, or try another favorite mix-in, like chopped nuts or even candy pieces!
Why you'll love these almond flour peanut butter cookies
You have everything for these peanut butter cookies in your pantry
If you're just starting to bake gluten free, but you don't have one of my favorite all purpose gluten free flour blends in your pantry, maybe you have some finely ground almond flour and my favorite starch, tapioca starch (which is the same as tapioca flour).
The other ingredients are all the cookie ingredients you'd need for any sort of basic drop cookie, like our classic gluten free peanut butter cookies: butter, sugar, eggs, baking soda, vanilla—and of course, peanut butter since these are almond flour peanut butter cookies!
These almond flour peanut butter cookies are high-protein and relatively low carb
Almond flour is a higher-fat, low-carb alternative baking flour. The tapioca starch adds some carbs, but there's still fewer carbs than you'd find in a chocolate chip cookie recipe made with a gf all purpose flour.
The peanut butter adds plenty of protein, not to mention lots of flavor. And makes these cookies such a satisfying snack!
Only 20 minutes to yummy peanut butter almond flour cookies
This recipe is made in one mixing bowl, and makes drop cookies that don't need to chill before they go in the oven. Plus, the butter is melted rather than at room temperature, which makes it easier to bake these cookies when you're in the mood—even if you haven't planned ahead.
Let's talk about almond flour
What is blanched almond flour?
Blanched almond flour is a finely-ground flour made from whole raw almonds that have been blanched, or boiled briefly. Their skins are removed in the blanching process.
Almond flour vs. almond meal
Almond meal is coarsely ground almonds that haven't had their skins removed. The skins make the flour heavier, and you'll sense the coarse grind in any baked goods made with it.
Why use almond flour?
Almond flour is high in nutrients, high in healthy fats, and has a really robust, rich taste. It's also naturally gluten free.
When you combine almond flour with tapioca starch, the resulting mixture behaves similarly to an all purpose gluten free flour blend, but without the rice flour that some people prefer to avoid.
How to store almond flour
Almond flour, like all nut flours, can spoil or become rancid more quickly than other flours. For that reason, store it in the refrigerator or freezer.
Since it has quite a lot of fat, almond flour tends to clump when it's cold. Just let it come to room temperature and break up lumps before using it in this recipe.
How to bake with almond flour
You should only use almond flour as an ingredient in recipes like this, that are developed to use it. Almond flour cannot be substituted for an all purpose gluten free flour, or vice versa.
Almond flour has a tendency to burn in a too-hot oven. So be sure you're baking your cookies at no more than 325°F by using a freestanding analog oven thermometer rather than relying on your oven's calibration.
Most ovens, including mine, run hot. Even those that begin properly calibrated fall out of calibration before too long, so an inexpensive standalone oven thermometer that is replaced often is a must.
Crunchy or creamy peanut butter?
You can make this almond flour peanut butter cookies recipe with creamy or crunchy peanut butter. I prefer making it with creamy peanut butter because the cookie dough is easier to handle and bakes most evenly.
The most important thing is that you use thick peanut butter. That means you shouldn't use the drippy, natural sort of peanut butter that separates into oil and solids. If you do, your cookies will be greasy and may spread too much in the oven.
Tips for making the best almond flour peanut butter cookies
Weigh your ingredients for the perfect proportions
As with all baking recipes, you want your ingredients to be in the proper proportions. The only way to ensure that is to weigh your ingredients rather than using volume measurements whenever possible.
Volume measurements for dry ingredients and for things like butter and sugars are inherently unreliable. Human error is impossible to avoid, and the size of especially dry measuring cups is not standardized.
Use an ice cream scooper and parchment paper for less mess
To portion cookies, I use a “medium” ice cream scoop from OXO brand for almost every standard-sized cookie. And I line my baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper, which is easiest to press into the corners of the baking sheet.
Shape your almond flour peanut butter cookies BEFORE baking
These cookies will spread during baking, but not a ton. So after you scoop the dough using your ice cream scoop, press it down into a thick disk using the palm of your hand.
Let your peanut butter cookies with almond flour rest AFTER baking
You'll know the cookies are done baking when they don't appear wet and shiny, even in the very center of each cookie. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes to let them become stable before touching them.
Storing and freezing almond flour peanut butter cookies (and cookie dough!)
You can freeze this cookie raw, and bake with it later. It's easy to work with, and has enough fat from the almond flour that cookie dough won't freeze solid. Just let the cookie dough come to room temperature before handling or baking it.
The baked and cooled cookies also freeze really well, too. Just place them in a single layer on a lined baking sheet and let them freeze fully. Then, pile them into a zip-top freezer-safe bag and store them until you're ready to enjoy them.
Almond flour peanut butter cookies ingredients and substitutions
Peanut free almond flour cookies
You can make these almond flour peanut butter cookies peanut-free by making them into almond flour almond butter cookies. In place of thick peanut butter, use thick almond butter. Barney's brand is expensive, but it's the very best.
Dairy free peanut butter almond flour cookies
To make these cookies dairy free as well as gluten free, replace the melted butter with vegan butter. I like Melt and Miyoko's Kitchen brands best.
You can also make this recipe with melted virgin coconut oil or Spectrum nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening. Both are solid at cool room temperature, which is important even though you're melting them to use in the cookie dough.
Egg free peanut butter almond flour cookies
There are 3 eggs in this batch of 24 cookies. If you'd like to make this recipe without eggs, you can try replacing each egg with a “chia egg,” or your favorite egg replacer.
Almond flour peanut butter cookies with other mix-ins
I like to use semi-sweet chocolate disks in place of chocolate chips in these almond flour peanut butter cookies. But you can replace the chocolate pieces with raisins, nuts, seeds, or even candy-coated chocolate candies like M&Ms (which are gluten free in the United States).
FAQs
Is almond flour gluten free?
Yes! Almond flour is gluten free—as long as it's not contaminated with gluten-containing ingredients. Check your nutrition labels carefully.
Is peanut butter gluten free?
Yes! Peanut butter itself, made with nothing more than peanuts, oil, and salt, is naturally gluten free.
As always, though, read your nutrition labels to make sure that the brand you choose is safe for your diet. I like Skippy smooth peanut butter best.
Peanut Butter & Company only sells gluten free peanut butters, and they're the best. But they're also much more expensive.
Can I use almond meal instead of almond flour in this peanut butter cookie recipe?
No! You can't use almond meal in a recipe that calls for almond flour.
Almond meal is coarsely ground, so it doesn't combine fully with the other ingredients. Plus, it contains the almond skins, which makes it a much heavier baking flour.
Should I refrigerate the almond flour peanut butter cookies dough before baking?
No! This cookie dough spreads just the right amount during baking when the shaped cookie dough is at room temperature before baking.
If you chill the cookie dough, your cookies will be too thick. They'll also take longer to bake all the way through, and almond flour has a tendency to burn if it's baked for too long.
Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups (210 g) finely ground blanched almond flour
- 2 cups (240 g) tapioca starch/flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 tablespoons (125 g) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (164 g) packed light brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled
- ¾ cup (192 g) smooth, no-stir gluten free peanut butter
- 3 (150 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs at room temperature, beaten
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate disks or chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.
- In a large bowl, place the almond flour, tapioca starch/flour, baking soda, salt, and granulated sugar, and whisk to combine well.
- Add the brown sugar and break up the lumps in the brown sugar with the back of the mixing spoon. Mix to combine.
- Add the melted butter, peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla, and mix until a smooth, cohesive cookie dough forms. It will be soft but should fall away from the mixing spoon cleanly.
- Add the chocolate disks or chips, and mix until the chocolate pieces are evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Use a medium-size spring-loaded ice cream scoop or two spoons to scoop the dough into portions about 1 1/2 tablespoons in volume. Place the mounds of dough about 1 1/2 inches apart from one another on the prepared baking sheets.
- Using the palm of one hand, press each piece down a bit so that it’s a small disk about 3/4-inch thick. Use your fingers to pat down any especially rough edges lightly.
- Bake for 14 minutes or until lightly golden brown on the edges and set all the way to the center. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and repeat with any remaining cookie dough.
- Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups (210 g) finely ground blanched almond flour
- 2 cups (240 g) tapioca starch/flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 tablespoons (125 g) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (164 g) packed light brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled
- ¾ cup (192 g) smooth, no-stir gluten free peanut butter
- 3 (150 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs at room temperature, beaten
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate disks or chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.
- In a large bowl, place the almond flour, tapioca starch/flour, baking soda, salt, and granulated sugar, and whisk to combine well.
- Add the brown sugar and break up the lumps in the brown sugar with the back of the mixing spoon. Mix to combine.
- Add the melted butter, peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla, and mix until a smooth, cohesive cookie dough forms. It will be soft but should fall away from the mixing spoon cleanly.
- Add the chocolate disks or chips, and mix until the chocolate pieces are evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Use a medium-size spring-loaded ice cream scoop or two spoons to scoop the dough into portions about 1 1/2 tablespoons in volume. Place the mounds of dough about 1 1/2 inches apart from one another on the prepared baking sheets.
- Using the palm of one hand, press each piece down a bit so that it’s a small disk about 3/4-inch thick. Use your fingers to pat down any especially rough edges lightly.
- Bake for 14 minutes or until lightly golden brown on the edges and set all the way to the center. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and repeat with any remaining cookie dough.
- Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Yvonne Courtright says
Can granulated coconut sugar be substituted for brown sugar in the almond flour peanut butter cookie recipe?
Nicole Hunn says
I really don’t recommend that, Yvonne, as coconut sugar doesn’t dissolve nearly as well as refined sugars. It’s also heavier. You can try, but I can’t promise results! If it’s helpful, there’s really no benefit to using coconut palm sugar, as it’s all just sugar to your body.
Doc L says
Your recipe looks absolutely delicious! How about for those who are diabetic? I have made your Gluten-Free Fresh Peach Cobbler using sucralose instead of table sugar and a diabetic gluten-sensitive individual who tried it said it was absolutely delicious (hasn’t found many desert options to fit a gluten-free table-sugar-free category). So I am confident that the table sugar can be replaced with sucralose (1 cup volume weighs 35 g per the packaging info). Thoughts??
But what about the brown sugar? I have no clue of what to substitute for it in the recipe.
Thank you for all the fabulous info posted on your website. I have found it to be invaluable, although I did re-create a modified version of the Excel gluten-free flour options spreadsheet that now includes what the suggested uses for each flour mix from your discussion text (also added highlighting to make it easier for me to quickly follow).
Nicole Hunn says
I’m afraid I don’t recommend using sucralose in this recipe, and I don’t especially cater to sugar-free diets so I don’t have a lot of experience. Generally, I like Lankato brand monkfruit alternative granulated sweeteners for sugar alternatives (they make both granulated and brown sugar varieties). They do tend to be drying, though, so the texture won’t be the same. That’s really all the information I can provide!
Melinda says
Is it possible to use arrowroot flour rather than tapioca flour? Plus I live in Germany and use cassava flour which is made from whole dried tapioca so tapioca starch is different from tapioca flour. I’m wondering if I could substitute the tapioca starch with cassava flour? I think it might not work because cassava flour has the consistency of real flour.
Nicole Hunn says
Cassava flour is the whole root, as you mentioned, Melinda, so it can not ever be substituted for a starch, like tapioca (the terms tapioca starch and tapioca flour are used interchangeable and both refer to the starch). You can try using arrowroot, but tapioca starch is quite unique so I honestly don’t know if it would work. You’ll have to experiment!
Robin Groch says
Just made them, delicious as are all the recipes I’ve used from your site.
Nicole Hunn says
That’s great to hear. Thank you, Robin!
Chuck Gooding says
Is 100 grams for 3 eggs correct? That’s very small eggs.
Love your recipes with all the many substitutes as here in Costa Rica some gluten free items are not available or are so expensive that I just pass on those. I have several of your books (e-books) Keep up the good work.
Chuck
Nicole Hunn says
Good catch, Chuck! I apologize for my error. The weight, out of shell, for 3 eggs should be 150 grams. It’s fixed now, and I’m grateful that you pointed it out. And thank you for the kind words!