The Ultimate Healthy Soft & Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
Yields: 24 cookies
 
These easy and healthy cookies taste just as indulgent as traditional recipes for classic peanut butter cookies! They’ll stay soft and chewy for an entire week if stored in an airtight container—if they last that long!
  • 2 cups (240g) white whole wheat or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
  • 1 ½ tsp (4g) baking powder
  • ¼ tsp (2g) salt
  • 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
  • 2 large egg whites, room temperature
  • 2 tsp (10mL) vanilla extract
  • 9 tbsp (144g) homemade creamy peanut butter
  • 1 cup (192g) coconut sugar or brown sugar
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, and vanilla. Stir in the peanut butter until completely incorporated. Stir in the sugar. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated.
  3. Roll the dough into 24 balls, and place onto the prepared baking sheets. Flatten to the desired thickness and width. Bake at 350°F for 9-11 minutes. Cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
Notes: For the gluten-free flour, I recommend the following: ½ cup (60g) millet flour, ½ cup (60g) tapioca flour, 6 tablespoons (42g) coconut flour, and 1 ½ teaspoons (5g) xanthan gum Let the cookie dough rest for 10 minutes after Step 2 to allow the coconut flour to absorb the moisture in the cookie dough. Most store-bought gluten-free flour blends will also work, if measured like this.

Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, and all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.

I highly recommend using my easy homemade creamy peanut butter recipe. (It only takes 5 minutes to make!) This recipe works best with natural-style peanut butter made with just peanuts and salt. It will also work with Skippy Natural creamy peanut butter. Do not use crunchy peanut butter; the cookies won't turn out.

Coconut sugar is clean eating friendly, while brown sugar is not.

The cookies barely spread at all during baking, so flatten them to the desired thickness and width before placing the baking sheets in the oven.

The cookie dough should look crumbly when you first mix it up, but as long as you can roll it into balls without the balls falling apart, it's the right consistency! If your cookie dough is too dry to roll into balls, add milk one tablespoon at a time until the cookie dough holds together.

{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat}
Recipe by Amy's Healthy Baking at https://amyshealthybaking.com/blog/2015/02/24/the-ultimate-healthy-soft-chewy-peanut-butter-cookies/