Peanut Butter Blossoms have been keto-fied! Soft low carb peanut butter cookies with a “kiss” of sugar free chocolate in the center. These easy Keto Christmas cookies will help you make it through the holidays.
My low carb peanut butter blossom cookies get a shiny new update with a brand new video! They were first published back in December 2013, but since then I have found ways to make them easier, softer, and even more delicious.
You have no idea how much it pains me to say this but I might be getting a little tired of low carb Christmas cookies.
And if you know ANYTHING about me, you know that this is akin to heresy in my books. Every year, I look forward to the Christmas baking season with all the eagerness of a child awaiting the arrival of St. Nick. I start writing down ideas for all the goodies I will make months in advance, envisioning the pretty boxes of homemade baked goods for friends and family.
I always have to hold myself back from starting too early, lest this very thing should occur…that I should get sick of Christmas cookies before Christmas is actually here.
Fret not, dear readers. I shall recover. By the time Christmas actually rolls around, I will be back in top form, enjoying all the keto Christmas cookies I have made and frozen in advance.
I have tackled a lot of the classic holiday cookies that everybody loves and misses when on a low carb or gluten-free diet. The cookies of our childhoods, the ones we made with our parents and that bring out that nostalgia for Christmas Past.
Of course, we don’t all share the same past and we all have different ideas of what constitutes a classic Christmas cookie. But I have tried to hit the ones that everyone knows. To that end, I created low carb, gluten-free versions of Gingerbread Men, Spritz Cookies, Snowballs and Shortbread.
And one of my all time favourites, which was a huge coup for me, low carb Mincemeat Tarts. That one fell a little flat with my American audience, since mincemeat isn’t as common here as it is in other realms. But I hardly care, I’ve got 20 little tartlets in my freezer waiting to be devoured on Christmas Eve.
Looking for the best low carb holiday cookie recipes?
How To Make Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
Peanut Butter Blossoms were not something I grew up making and eating at Christmas. But once I moved to the US, they seemed to be on everyone’s holiday cooke tray. And seriously, what’s not to love about a big soft peanut butter cookie with a chocolate kiss in the center?
But for a keto version, both the cookie and the kiss needed a little work. Or rather a lot of work.
A combination of low carb flours: For the keto peanut butter cookies, I originally had a recipe that was made mostly with peanut flour. I loved the flavor but the cookies were a bit on the dry side and were stiffer than I’d like.
So I re-worked them last year and found that less peanut flour and more almond flour produced a more tender cookie but still with plenty of peanut flavor. Yes, this recipe takes THREE different flours but it works best. If you want to skip the coconut flour, that’s fine but you need to make it up with a bit more peanut flour.
Low carb sweetener options: I always use granular Swerve Sweetener. But the new Swerve Brown would make for some delectable peanut butter blossoms, and you could try Bocha Sweet as well (although I worry it would make the cookies a bit too soft).
Use your hands: You want to roll these into balls and then press down with the heel of your hand. Or use a glass coved in plastic wrap to press them down. Then use your thumb to create an indentation in the center of the cookie. As they bake, the cookies will puff up a bit so you need indent them again when they come out of the oven. They will be very soft at that point.
If you want to get that same “rolled in sugar” look, I suggest sprinkling the cookies with a little granulated sweetener when they are hot out of the oven.
Easy sugar free chocolate kisses: Once the cookies are cool, you simply make a thick chocolate ganache to put in the center. All you have to do is melt some sugar free dark chocolate, such as Lily’s, with some butter. I do this in a pan over low heat but you could also do it in the microwave. Let it cool for a bit so it thickens before you add it to the cookies. It makes a better chocolate kiss that way.
Big batch baking: Let me just say that this recipe make a LOT of cookies. About 60 of them. It is designed for sharing and gift giving, but feel free to cut it in half if that works best for you.
And the result? These low carb Peanut Butter Blossoms are absolutely delicious and worthy of your keto holiday dessert tray
Although the process is very different than the conventional version, the flavour is spot on. And dare I say that using good sugar free chocolate instead of a Hershey’s kiss results in even better flavor?
Peanut Blossoms - Low Carb and Gluten-Free
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 1 ½ cups peanut flour
- 1 cup almond flour
- 3 tbsp coconut flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 3/4 cup butter softened
- 1 cup Swerve Sweetener
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup Swerve or granulated erythritol or xylitol for sprinkling optional.
Chocolate "Kisses":
- 6 oz sugar free dark chocolate
- 2 tbsp butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F and line several large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together peanut flour, almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl, beat together the peanut butter and butter until creamy. Beat in sweetener, and then beat in eggs and vanilla until well combined.
- Beat in peanut flour mixture until dough comes together.
- Form dough into 1 inch balls and place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Wrap the bottom of a glass in plastic wrap and press each ball into a flat round, about 1/3 inch thick.
- Use your thumb to press an indentation into the center of each cookie.
- Bake about 15 minutes, until puffed and just barely beginning to brown (if you put more than one cookie sheet in the oven at a time, keep an eye on the one on the lower rack to make sure it doesn't brown too quickly).
- Remove from oven. If needed, re-form the well in the center by gently pressing with the end of a wooden spoon. Sprinkle with granulated erythritol or xylitol of desired.
- Let cool on pan 5 to 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.
- For the chocolate kisses, melt butter and chocolate together in a small saucepan over low heat. Let cool until thickened enough to "dollop" into the well in each cookie.
- Let set 1 hour.
Nutrition
