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Keto peanut butter cookies are where it’s at! And while this recipe is ridiculously simple, there’s amazing depth of flavor that will have you coming back for more!
Growing up, my grandma always made us the super simple 1:1:1 peanut butter cookies. You know the ones– 1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg?
I remember once a friend of mine was over and we wanted to make peanut butter cookies. She looked at that recipe and couldn’t believe you could make cookies out of those three ingredients. “There’s no flour!”
We ended up finding a different recipe. But it wasn’t as good.
Then as an adult, I found the Smitten Kitchen recipe for Salted Peanut Butter Cookies. Same basic premise, but with slightly different ratios and brown sugar instead of white. Add a little vanilla and finish with salt, and you have a totally elevated version of my grandma’s basic cookie.
Since discovering the amazing combination of peanut butter and brown sugar, it’s become one of my favorites. It’s why I use a brown sugar alternative in my single serve peanut butter cookie dough. And why I knew I wanted to create a keto peanut butter cookie with the same depth as my beloved high-carb version.
Keto Peanut Butter Cookies
The required difference in ingredients to make this recipe low carb means that we have to change the ratios even further.
Natural, no sugar peanut butter behaves a bit differently than the processed kind. As does a brown sugar sweetener alternative.
For this recipe, I chose Swerve Brown sweetener
. Of all the brown sugar alternatives I’ve tried, it’s the most like a nice dark brown sugar. It packs well and has a robust flavor that complements peanut butter nicely.
The peanut butter I use here is Target’s Good & Gather brand organic creamy natural peanut butter. Compared to other natural peanut butters, it’s on the less oily side. Bear in mind that different peanut butters might yield a slightly different result.
Because of the way the natural peanut butter and brown sugar alternative behave, we actually use a 2:1 ratio of peanut butter to sweetener. Because of this, these are a lightly sweet cookie, not at all cloying.
To this we add two eggs and two teaspoons of vanilla. You’ll also need a flaky sea salt like Maldon Salt
to finish the tops of the cookies.
The salt on top is completely optional, but I think it really adds to the flavor in a lovely way.
I mix this up in my Kitchenaid, but you can also mix by hand or with a handheld mixer.
The dough is a bit on the stiff and crumbly side at this point. Don’t be concerned. It will still bake up nicely.
Baking
I use a medium cookie scoop to scoop the dough into round domes. Then sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
Alternatively, you can go the classic route and use a fork to press a criss-cross shape into the tops of your cookies.
I prefer the domes myself, but my son likes the criss-cross better. They bake the same, so I often do some of each.
These bake at 325°F for anywhere from 8 to 12 minutes, depending on your oven. I find that the bottoms can burn easily in my oven, so I bake one tray at a time in the upper portion of my oven. Bake them until the outside is just starting to turn beautifully golden.
As you can see, these cookies do not spread or flatten much. While this might make them look like they’d be on the dry side, I promise they’re not at all!
The outside of these keto peanut butter cookies gets lightly crisp, while the inside stays soft and velvety.
And they’re absolutely perfect with milk. While regular milk is pretty high in carbs, I enjoy mixing some almond milk with a little heavy cream for my cookie dunking.
How do you like your peanut butter cookies?
Keto Peanut Butter Cookies
Super simple, intensely peanut buttery cookies!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Combine peanut butter, Swerve, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl and beat until thoroughly combined.
- Scoop with a cookie scoop into rounds onto prepared baking sheets. If desired, press a criss-cross pattern with a fork, or leave as dome shapes. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
- Bake for 8-12 minutes, rotating pans halfway through, until just golden brown.
- Allow to cool on pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
In my oven, I've noticed the bottoms can brown quickly. So I bake only one pan at a time in the upper part of my oven.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1 cookieAmount Per Serving: Calories: 103Total Fat: 8.7gSaturated Fat: 1.6gSodium: 216mgCarbohydrates: 2.8gNet Carbohydrates: 1.6gFiber: 1.2gSugar: 0.6gProtein: 4.5g
