Looking for something sweet and crunchy that’s easy to make? These keto no-bake peanut butter cookies are the perfect low-carb treat. With no fuss and no muss, this quick and easy low-carb cookie recipe is sure to be spouse and kid-approved. Instead of babysitting the oven, you can get on with your day when you make this easy low carb cookie recipe.
Why Choose No-Bake Cookies?
Of course, everyone loves a freshly baked batch of cookies. But the downside is that you have to watch them carefully. The great thing about these keto peanut butter no-bake cookies is that you don’t have to worry about any of that! No bake cookies are basically any kind of cookie-shaped treat that doesn’t require cooking. There are dozens of varieties. The most popular type seems to include oats. Traditional oatmeal cookies are loaded with butter, sugar, peanut butter, and oats and are not keto-compliant. This gluten-free cookie recipe skips the old-fashioned oats and butter to make this a dairy-free dessert you can make ahead of time and store in the freezer for later.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Here’s a quick overview of what you will need for this recipe:
Peanut Butter: Make sure to choose peanut butter without added sugar. Any unsweetened natural peanut butter works in the recipe. Natural peanut butter works best, and ideally, you want a fresh jar because the oils from a fresh jar help to blend the cookies together. You can use crunchy peanut butter too and skip adding in the crushed peanuts.
Coconut Flour: I love using coconut flour because it is more absorbent, and you need less flour to make these cookies. Second, it is low-carb and a fantastic alternative to traditional cookie flours like oat and wheat. Just a little bit of coconut flour goes a long way. If you are allergic to coconut flour, you CAN use almond flour, but you’ll need to add an extra two tablespoons to compensate. Start with ⅓ cup or 40g of coconut flour and then add more if your dough is still too soft. I ended up using ½ cup or 60 grams of coconut flour. You should be able to press fork marks into the dough that do not flatten out by themselves and be able to roll balls that keep their shape.
Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers
Sweetener: A powdered sweetener blends in best for no bake peanut butter cookies. Powdered Sweetener - Most of the time I use my own blend of xylitol, erythritol, and stevia but there are some recipes that work better using a store-bought powdered sweetener. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. You can use any sugar-free syrup but check the ingredients. I used a golden erythritol monk fruit sweetener, which is a 1:1 sugar replacement. You can also use powdered erythritol, xylitol or allulose if you prefer a smoother result. Alternatively, use a sugar free syrup. As you're adding more liquid when using a syrup you may also need to increase the coconut flour to achieve the same dough consistency.
Coconut Oil: The coconut oil is used to get a firmer cookie when chilled. I do not suggest any substitutes.
Nuts and Seeds: Any seeds suitable for a keto diet can be used. My favorites are pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Nuts and seeds are a good source of fiber.
Optional Add-Ins: Low carb keto baking chips can be used. Chocolate chips are a great addition to these! Chopped dark chocolate or sugar-free white chocolate chips are yummy too. You could roll them in unsweetened cocoa powder or shredded coconut instead. You can use crunchy peanut butter too and skip adding in the crushed peanuts. Place peanuts into a zip top bag and use a rolling pin to crush.
Other Nut Butters: Yup! You can use almond butter, cashew butter, or even sunflower seed butter. Almond butter is delicious but almond hazelnut is a rich-tasting combination and loaded with healthy fats.
Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide
Extracts and Spices: Add a few drops of vanilla, almond, or hazelnut extract to your cookies. Alternatively, stir in ⅛ teaspoon of ground cinnamon or cardamom for added flavor. 1-2 teaspoon cinnamon will give the cookies a bit of autumn flavour.
Hemp Seeds: You will be surprised by how well coconut flakes and hemp seeds are a substitute for oats. If you don’t have hemp seeds, you can use an extra 2 tablespoons of coconut flakes.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here's how to make these easy keto no-bake cookies:
Make the dough: In a mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter, butter, sugar substitute, avocado oil, almond flour and vanilla. Mix well. In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the coconut oil and the peanut butter over medium-low heat. Stir until well combined as the mixture begins to melt. Stir in the sweetener and cinnamon. Increase heat to medium, stirring constantly, until the sweetener has melted completely. Your fudge mixture should be smooth with no visible granules.
Combine Ingredients: In a mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter, almond butter, and cream cheese. Add the butter, vanilla extract, cocoa powder. and erythritol.
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Add Coconut: Using a rubber spatula, fold in the coconut. Remove from heat and stir in the unsweetened coconut and hemp seeds. Set aside and allow mixture to cool slightly.
Shape the cookies: Remove from the refrigerator and use a scoop to take out and roll in individual balls. Roll balls in crushed peanuts and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment. Scoop a tablespoon of the batter at a time and drop onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Carefully spoon into silicone mini muffin tins until 3/4 full. Sprinkle with sea salt if desired. Freeze for 15 minutes until set.
Chill: Chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes. I recommend storing these in the freezer rather than the refrigerator.
Freeze until set: this takes 1 hour. Sweet and crunchy keto cookies that set up in the freezer. Because the batter of the cookie is made from peanut butter, they set in the freezer instead of the refrigerator.
Optional Chocolate Coating: Melt 90% dark chocolate or sugar free chocolate chips plus coconut oil in a water bath or in the microwave. Using 2 forks, dip the cookies into the chocolate. Sprinkle with a little more salt and place back in the freezer for 5 minutes to set.
Tips and Tricks
- Consistency is Key: Peanut butter can vary in consistency from runny to hard. Mine was somewhere in the middle.
- Choose Your Sweetener: By using granulated sweetener like I did you will be able to detect a slight graininess in the cookies. This did not bother me, but if you are after a smooth dough, do use powdered sweetener or even sugar free syrup.
- Add Some Crunch: Add 2-3 tbsp hemp hearts (hemp seeds) or coconut flakes into the cookie dough.
- Adjusting for a Thin Batter: If your cookie dough is thin or a little wet, I suggest adding an extra tablespoon or two of coconut flour. That should do the trick!
- Troubleshooting Crumbly Dough: This sounds like the dough is crumbly, which can happen (depending on the brand of coconut flour you use). To rectify this, add a tablespoon of water (or even milk) to loosen things up.
Serving and Storing
*These do best served chilled. No-bake peanut butter cookies are best served chilled. If you leave them out at room temperature for too long, they tend to lose their shape and become too soft.
These peanut butter easy cookies are best stored in the fridge until you’re ready to eat them. Place them in an airtight container and if possible, separate layers with parchment paper so that they don’t stick together. You can also freeze the cookies in a freezer-safe bag for a delicious treat later. Again, separate layers with parchment paper.
Why are my peanut butter cookies falling apart?
The longer the low-carb peanut butter cookies sit in the fridge the better. If you find your no-bake peanut butter cookies are falling apart, they need to chill longer so that the ingredients can set together.
Variations
- Nut-Free Option: If you need to make these no-bake keto cookies nut-free you can replace the peanut butter with sunflower seed butter and add in a different type of crunch in place of peanuts (like chopped sunflower seeds).
- Chocolate Lovers: Chocolate and peanut butter are made for each other! Add some texture! I’ve folded through some sugar-free chocolate chips, and also chopped nuts for something fun.
- Adding Flavor: Add a few drops of vanilla, almond, or hazelnut extract to your cookies. Alternatively, stir in ⅛ teaspoon of ground cinnamon or cardamom for added flavor.
Freezing Instructions
To overcome such situations, I always keep a batch of frozen, no-bake keto cookies in my freezer. They keep for at least 6 months.
Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Each no-bake cookie is just one net carb! At only 1.6g net carbs per cookie, do it like me and come back for seconds!