These Keto Peanut Butter Cookies have all the taste and texture of the classic, without the sugar. Thanks to a secret ingredient, they are tender, chewy, and packed with peanut butter goodness. And ready in under 30 minutes!
The wonderful thing about keto peanut butter cookies is that there are about a million different ways to make them. You can turn them into thumbprints and fill them with chocolate, like my Keto Peanut Butter Blossoms, or turn them into sandwich cookies like Keto Do-si-dos. You can even bake them in an air fryer!
There really is no wrong answer here. Each of these recipes is delicious in its own special way. But if you’re looking for a classic cookie that rivals the ones your mom used to make, then this right here is your recipe!
★★★★★
Oreta says: “This recipe is the best peanut butter cookie I have ever tasted! My husband and I prefer this cookie over a regular non-keto cookie. He’s a baker and said the texture is prefect!“
Why You Need My Keto Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe
Secret ingredient: This recipe calls for cream cheese rather than butter, and it does wonders for the taste and texture. These cookies are softer, puffier, and slightly chewier than their butter-based counterparts. They also have just a hint of tanginess that other cookies lack.
Quick and easy: With a handful of basic ingredients, you can whip them up in less than half an hour. Perfect for any time you need an easy keto dessert.
Customizable: Add chocolate chips or chopped peanuts, or dip the finished cookies in chocolate. You can make these cookies to suit your tastes!
Low carb and gluten-free: With no sugars or grains, and only 2.2 grams net carbs per cookie, they are the ideal treat for low carb and keto diets.
Ingredient Notes
- Creamy natural peanut butter: I recommend a brand that is thick and rich, without too much oil at the top. I am a huge fan of Santa Cruz organic peanut butter.
- Softened cream cheese: For dairy-free, you can try a cream cheese alternative. I can’t guarantee how well they will work.
- Sweetener: I like to use my homemade brown sugar replacement for deeper flavor. Other granular sweeteners will work but allulose may affect your results. See the Sweetener Options for more information.
- Almond flour: Finely ground almond flour will give you the best results. You can try replacing it with sunflower seed flour, for a nut-free version. You will need to add a tablespoon of lemon juice to offset the green reaction.
- Kitchen staples: Vanilla extract, egg, baking soda, and salt.
How to Make Keto Peanut Butter Cookies
- Combine the wet ingredients: Beat the peanut butter and cream cheese together until smooth, then beat in the sweetener, then add the egg and vanilla extract.
- Add the dry ingredients: Add the almond flour, baking soda, and salt and beat until the dough comes together.
- Form the cookies: Roll into balls and place on a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Flatten with the palm of your hand and use a fork to make a cross hatch pattern.
- Bake: Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Let cool completely.
- Melt the chocolate (optional): Melt the chocolate and cocoa butter together until smooth.
- Dip (optional): Dip one end of each cookie in the chocolate. prinkle with flaked sea salt, if desired. Refrigerate until set.
Carolyn’s Tips for Success
Make sure to soften the cream cheese properly so that it creams well into the peanut butter. You should be able to gently stick a finger into it and leave an indent.
Always let cookies cool fully before trying to lift them from the pan, as they can be fragile when warm. These keto peanut butter cookies will be quite soft when you remove them from the oven, but will firm up as they cool.
Dipping the cookies in chocolate adds to the carb and calorie count. So while the serving size for the plain version is 2 cookies, the chocolate dipped version is 1 cookie.
If you can’t find cocoa butter for the chocolate dip, try using a teaspoon of coconut oil. They will be slightly more melty at room temperature.
Sweetener Options
You can use any sweetener you like best, including pure stevia or monk fruit. How much you need of these concentrated sweeteners depends on the brand, so check the label or the website.
However, allulose will likely cause the cookies to darken quite a bit more during baking, so keep your eye on them in the oven. They will also be a lot softer and more fragile after cooling.
More Keto Cookie Recipes to Love
Keto Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (193.5 g) peanut butter
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup (150 g) brown sugar replacement
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (112 g) almond flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
Optional Chocolate Dip
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) sugar-free dark chocolate, chopped
- 1/4 ounce (7.09 g) cocoa butter
- Flaked sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a large baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, beat the peanut butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Beat in the sweetener, then add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until well combined.
- All at once, add the almond flour, baking soda, and salt and beat until the dough is cohesive.
- Roll the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, and press down with the palm of your hand to about 1/2 inch thick. Use a fork to make a cross hatch pattern across the top.
- Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Remove and let cool completely on the pan. They will still be very soft when they come out of the oven.
Optional Chocolate Dip
- In a heatproof bowl set over a bowl of barely simmering water, melt the chocolate and cocoa butter together until smooth.
- Dip one end of each cookie in the chocolate. Make sure the cookies have cooled completely before you do this or they may crumble!
- Set the dipped cookies on a waxed paper lined tray. Sprinkle with flaked sea salt, if desired. Refrigerate until set.
Notes
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
Try to choose an all-natural peanut butter without any added sugars. As long as it’s made with just peanuts and salt, and possibly oil, it’s a decent choice. My favorites include Santa Cruz Peanut Butter and Wild Friends Peanut Butter.
This keto peanut butter cookie recipe has 6.1g of carbs and 1.8g of fiber per serving. That comes to 4.3g net carbs for 2 cookies.
I typically store cookies on the counter in a covered container, as I prefer them room temperature. They will last up to 5 days like this. In the refrigerator, they should last at least a week. They can also be frozen for for two to three months. I recommend freezing them before you dip them in chocolate, if you plan to go that route.
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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I can’t wait to try this!
These cookies are so good
Everything I make on this page is amazing these peanut butter cookies are absolutely one of my favorites.
The ease of making these cookies and the taste is amazing
My cookies are in the oven. I can hardly wait to try them! I did something different to these. A while back we were out of town for our granddaughter’s graduation from college. On our way home we stopped to get gas, and I saw a peanut butter and JAM cookie. I was very weak, and I got it. It was so good! It dawned on me I could do the same thing with keto peanut butter cookies. So, that’s what I did. I made some Strawberry jam with berries from my garden. There weren’t very many, so I added a few frozen blueberries. There wasn’t much flavor for some reason, so I added some cherry extract and some powdered sweetener. Turned out great! I added some of this jam to my cookie dough. It made it very soft, so I just piled it up and swirled the dough. I made 12 large cookies. They look wonderful. They are still cooling, so I haven’t tasted them yet. But the dough was scrumptious!!!
Texture, texture, texture!!! YES – these have cookie texture. I’ve tried a bunch of different keto PB cookie recipes, and this one is the best. I only had regular swerve, so they weren’t quite sweet enough. But – the added cream cheese, almond flour, and baking soda really takes this cookie way beyond standard keto pb cookies. This doesn’t fall apart like the rest either. Let them cool and they are perfect for my family. Thank you so much, saving this recipe.
I made these today and they are amazingly good! My husband and I are really grateful. A few of the “goodies” that I’ve made were so awful that I put them in the trash. The taste, texture and sweetness of these cookies is just right 🙂
So glad you liked them!
Made these cookies today.
The dough was so sticky that I thought they’d need more almond flour or perhaps a tablespoon of coconut flour. But…….no. I always make a test pan of 3-4 cookies so that I don’t ruin an entire pan. They turned out perfect-no extra flour needed..I did have to dip the fork in water to keep it from sticking to the cookies when I made the traditional criss cross marks.
Both husband and I are enjoying these.
That’s a very smart idea, the little test batch. I approve!
Great idea doing a test batch of 3 or 4 cookies. Actually, it’s brilliant!
Really delicious but when I made them they spread out and didn’t hold their shape like the photo. Any idea why thats happening? Could it be my peanut butter is too oily?
Made these a few minutes ago and the last batch is in the oven… I’m NOT a baker but these were easy, tasty and I can’t recommend them enough. Thanks.
So glad you like them!
Great recipe. I substituted cottage cheese which I pureed instead of cream cheese. Turned out lovely. Kids loved them.
I love “chocolate and peanut butter” and these cookies, with the added sea salt, did not disappoint!
Love this peanut butter, cream cheese cookie recipe! Even my diabetic husband likes them!! And that’s saying a lot!!
Glad you like them!
The best peanut butter cookie that i have had in a long time.
Thank you!
Hi, Theses are amazing. Where I live in Canada, Truvia brown Sugar is most like real brown sugar in texture & flavour. I have used swerve icing sugar & its give a cold taste in the mouth that my Hubby hated so stuck to what i usually use. 1 prob I had was that I could not rill them into balls as they were too sticky, used good quality peanut butter but i dipped my table spoon into almond flour and then used knife to extract them from the tablespoon then indented with fork. I will make them again and oh my. with the choc. dipped can hardly keep my hands off them. Thanks
Glad it worked out!
Turned out great! Kids loved them, yummy!