Healthier Peanut Butter Cookies

Published March 17, 2023 by Dr. Stephanie Gray, DC

This post may contain affiliate links.

I love a good cookie recipe. Who doesn’t?  But what I don’t love is the sugar and the refined flours that usually come with cookies. Today, I am making really yummy, Healthier Peanut Butter Cookies.  Made with natural peanut butter,  tapioca flour, coconut oil and chocolate chips, these are the best gluten free cookies you will ever have. There is less than 1 tsp of sugar in each cookie. But they taste good I promise! I tested these cookies at least 10 x to get the recipe just right and didn’t gain any weight lol.

Cookies should be made in your kitchen, not a factory so you can control the ingredients. Store bought  cookies are almost always  made with refined flours, white sugar and usually other questionable ingredients (like canola or soybean oil, among others).  There is nothing healthy about a store bought cookie. If you find a healthy one, let me know.

For example, a chocolate chip cookie from Tim Hortons has 32 grams of refined carbohydrates (8 tsp of sugar). Even store bought gluten free cookies are loaded with sugar. Never buy a gluten free cookie or a cookie that claims it’s low fat. These are just marketing ploys to make their product look healthier. They’re not.

The WHO recommends that people limit sugar intake to 50 grams of sugar per day (11.25 tsp).  Twenty-five grams of sugar for “added health benefits.” One chocolate chip cookie from Tim Hortons, for example will put you near the top limit of recommended sugar for your day.

This is just one example of the hidden sugars out there. If you care about your health at all, one must be mindful and read labels.

My Healthier Peanut Butter Cookies have less than 4 grams of sugar which is equivalent to less than 1 tsp of sugar.

These cookies are not only gluten free, they are grain free, dairy free, low carb, but full of taste!

For other great snacks, check out these other recipes:

Paleo Sweet Potato Muffins

1 Bowl Zucchini Trail Mix Cookies

GF Pumpkin Muffins

No Bake Coconut Energy Balls

GF Lemon Chia Loaf

Why you will LOVE these Peanut Butter Cookies

• Each cookie has less than 1 tsp of sugar

• No hydrogenated seed oils or refined sugars 

• A ONE BOWL recipe, making less mess

•  A healthier version of a favourite treat!

• Gluten free, grain free, dairy free 

• They freeze nicely so you can eat them on demand

• No wheat, no sugar, less INFLAMMATION

What equipment do you need? 

• oven
• large baking sheet
• large mixing bowl
• measuring cups/spoons
• wooden spoon
• cookie scoop

What ingredients do you need?

• 1 cup natural peanut butter (refrigerated)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (NOT melted)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup monk fruit sweetener
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips

* I added pecan pieces and unsweetened coconut flakes to this batch

How do I make these Healthier Peanut Butter Cookies?

It’s Super EASY!

Step 1:

Step 2:

In a large mixing bowl, add all your dry ingredients except the chocolate chips. Stir with wooden spoon.

Step 3:

Create a well in the middle and add your wet ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon.

Step 4:

Once all your ingredients are nicely mixed together, add the chocolate chips and stir.

Step 5:

Use a cookie scooper to scoop 12 cookies onto the baking sheet. Use a clean hand to flatten cookies a bit. Bake for 15-17 minutes.

Let the cookies cool! This is the key step to making cookies with natural peanut butter. It’s hard, I know, but if you eat them too soon they will fall apart.

Key Ingredients & Substitutions:

• Natural Peanut Butter –I use Kirkland brand peanut butter. Keep peanut butter in the fridge for this recipe. Refrigerated almond butter or other nut butter are good substitutes. 

• Tapioca flour– Tapioca flour is a naturally gluten free, low net carb “flour” that helps ingredients bind together. It is key to helping bakers achieve a fluffy and light  texture. Coconut flour, gluten free oat flour or almond flour would be a good substitutes.

• Monk fruit sweetener -Monk fruit sweetener is a no calorie sweetener that is popular in  low carb baking. It is suitable for diabetics and anyone looking to reduce sugar. It is believed to be non-harmful on gut bacteria (comparted to Splenda) and non-toxic to the brain (unlike aspartame). Coconut sugar or Swerve would be good substitutes. Maple syrup did not work well for this recipe unfortunately.

• Coconut oil– I used a solid coconut oil stored at room temperature for this recipe. Most recipes want you to melt the oil but I find the cookies come out less oily if coconut oil is used in it’s solid state. Solid butter would be a good substitute, though it doesn’t work quite as good as coconut oil. Don’t use margarine as a substitute. 

• Chocolate chips-Use dairy free chocolate chips to make these cookies dairy free. Use sugar free chocolate chips to make these cookies completely sugar free.

• Add ins– Pecan pieces and unsweetened coconut are excellent add ins for this cookie if you like nuts and coconut.

How to Store these Peanut Butter Cookies?

Store peanut butter cookies in an airtight glass container. They are ok on the counter for a couple days but after that they should be refrigerated.  Must be eaten within 5 days.

These cookies freeze well.

Tried this recipe? Mention @drstephanieskitchen or #drstephanieskitchen on social media