5-Ingredient Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies (Vegan)

Chewy healthy peanut butter cookies that are secretly vegan and gluten free with a flourless option! So healthy with only 5 simple ingredients and made without butter yet packed with nutritious flavor! You'll even want to eat all the dough before it gets to the oven! 

Holy-moly these cookies are AMAZING! No joke you are going to want to eat these beauties all day long… even before they make it to the oven! Really, since they are vegan you can even eat it before cooking like this edible cookie dough!

My husband just looked at these photos and told me, “Wow, these really are delicious!”

And they are! These healthy peanut butter cookies will blow your mind and can be turned into so many delicious cookies! There is no butter or eggs and they are made with only 5 simple healthy ingredients and the dough can be turned into thumbprint cookies (peanut butter and jelly cookies anyone?!) and healthy peanut blossoms – just add a center of jelly or chocolate (use dairy-free chocolate for food allergies)!

In fact when I tried this recipe out the other night, my entire family was huge fans! I ended up making them twice that night and another batch the next day to have enough for photos! Some turned into healthy peanut butter cookies stuffed with chocolate morsels that were begging to be used from the pantry.

After I made them I had to skip dinner because I ate so much of the raw cookie dough on the second round that my belly was happily full. Then I had a few more for breakfast the next morning. I think I have a slight peanut butter craving going on. Aside from a peanut butter fetish, I will admit I literally live off healthy cookies and homemade bread each morning these days. But whose counting. It's an easy breakfast for me as I'm getting lunches together for the day and baked goods go so delicious with fresh coffee!

Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies: Ingredients

Here's the scoop, all you need is:

• organic peanut butter
• maple syrup
• vanilla extract
• cinnamon apple sauce
• gluten free flour (or cassava flour for a grain-free cookie)

I used homemade cinnamon apple sauce (or use regular) and boy did this make these cookies AMAZING!

Tips for making Vegan and Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

The dough will be very sticky and the peanut butter used matters. I use Costco organic peanut butter and drain the oil off. Mix the ingredients together and if needed, set it in the refrigerator for 15 minutes or until you are able to handle it. Scoop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking pan then use a fork to lightly press down the top (it may stick to the fork so just do it lightly, scrapping it away to flatten a bit). This helps the cookie cook evenly. Don't worry if the peanut butter cookie doesn't look pretty. After it bakes, press it down again criss-crossing fork marks to resemble a tic-tac toe game.

Believe me, these are going to be your new favorite best Christmas cookies! They are made with all natural healthy vegan ingredients and raw cookie dough is the best! I like to keep these slightly under-cooked because a soft chew cookie is my favorite but if you prefer crunchier just bake these for about 5 minutes longer or until the edges start to brown.

More favorite healthy dessert and snack recipes:

• Gluten-Free Apple Crisp
• No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Marshmallow Treats
• Chewy 5-Ingredient Peanut Butter Bars
• No-Bake Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cups
• Chocolate Rocky Road Cookies
• Edible Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

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Healthy Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies (Vegan)

Chewy healthy peanut butter cookies that are secretly vegan and gluten free with a flourless option! So healthy without butter and skimping on flavor!

4.35 from 26 votes

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 14 minutes

Total Time: 19 minutes

Servings: 12

Calories: 170kcal

Author: Danielle Fahrenkrug

Ingredients

• 1 cup peanut butter preferably organic1 cup peanut butter preferably organic
• 1/2 cup maple syrup1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 Tablespoons cinnamon apple sauce2 Tablespoons cinnamon apple sauce
• 2 Tablespoons gluten free flour or cassava flour for flourless2 Tablespoons gluten free flour or cassava flour for flourless

Instructions

• Preheat the oven 325 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.
• In a medium mixing bowl add the peanut butter, maple syrup, vanilla and apple sauce. Mix to combine (it will thicken as you mix) then add the flour and mix completely. Round into 12 round balls and place the cookie dough rounds on the baking pan 2 inches apart. The dough will be very sticky. If needed, set it in the refrigerator for 15 minutes or until you are able to handle it.
• Scoop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking pan then use a fork to lightly press down the top (it may stick to the fork so just do it lightly, scrapping it away to flatten a bit). This helps the cookie cook evenly. Don't worry if the peanut butter cookie doesn't look pretty. After it bakes, press it down again criss-crossing fork marks to resemble a tic-tac toe game and to flatten the cookie. 
• Bake for 14 minutes and let cool for about 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes

* Servings range 12-16. For a larger cookie make 12, for lower calories and natural fats per serving make 16.
* Making in warm temperatures could make the dough sticky. If that happens, put the dough in the fridge to harden for about 15 minutes before rolling into balls.

*If the dough is still too sticky (depending on the peanut butter used) add about 1 more tablespoon of flour if needed. 

Nutrition

Serving: 12g | Calories: 170kcal | Protein: 5g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 95mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g

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