Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Easy flourless peanut butter cookies studded with dark chocolate chips and sweetened with maple syrup. They're packed with peanut butter flavor and have an irresistibly soft texture that sets them apart from other classic peanut butter cookie recipes. Grab a mixing bowl & wooden spoon and prep a batch in 10 minutes using six simple ingredients you likely have in your pantry right now. {Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free}

Truly Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

This has been my go-to peanut butter cookie recipe for almost seven years now. It's soft, slightly sweet, and intensely peanut buttery. I can eat 2 cookies back to back (who eats just one?!?) without experiencing a sugar crash. Just like with my easy peanut butter balls (better than buckeyes, in my opinion) and double chocolate flourless peanut butter cookies (you should try them next). 

And they're truly flourless, i.e. without flour. I'm not using a grain-free specialty flour and trying to pass them off as "flourless".

Does that make them healthy? I'll let you decide. Let's just say, I've definitely eaten these as an afternoon snack instead of my typical peanut butter LARA bar.

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Why I Use Maple Syrup Instead of Brown Sugar 

What sets these cookies apart from the gazillion flourless peanut butter cookie recipes on the interwebz? They're sweetened with maple syrup (you know, the real stuff you put on pancakes). This liquid sweetener helps to keep the cookies soft & gently sweetens them at the same time. 

I originally tested this recipe with dark brown sugar and then with maple syrup. I brought samples from both batches to a few gal friends, and they unanimously preferred the version with maple syrup. 

Why? They said the granulated sweetener overpowered the peanut butter flavor and the texture was way better with the maple syrup. I was surprised to hear the classic version didn't win but very happy with their feedback. (I'm obsessed with maple syrup & it's my favorite sweetener for just about everything.)

Ingredients For These Easy Flourless Cookies

• Peanut Butter: You want it salted & unsweetened, if possible. Creamy or crunchy both work. And you can use regular (everything's mixed in) or natural (oil floating on top). If your natural brand is super runny you may need to chill it before baking (see my notes in the recipe card below). I used this brand of natural creamy peanut butter most recently and it turned out great. If you want to save money and own a food processor, you can also make homemade peanut butter. 
• Egg: This is the binding agent that helps keep everything together while also adding fat + moisture. I used both medium and large-sized eggs for this recipe and they both turned out great. Oh, and they don't need to be room temperature.
• Maple Syrup: You want to use real maple syrup (not pancake syrup, which is just corn syrup with artificial maple flavor added). Get the good stuff from Vermont or Canada. It's worth it!
• Vanilla Extract: If you're feeling crafty or thrifty, you can learn how to make vanilla extract with two simple ingredients. It's SO easy & makes excellent gifts.
• Baking Soda: This gives the cookies a bit of lift so they don't go kersplat all over the baking sheet. Why use baking soda instead of baking powder? Check out this post to learn a bit more.
• Chocolate Chips: I prefer these bittersweet dark chocolate chips, but milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, and white chocolate all work. Butterscotch, too! 

How to Make These No Flour Cookies

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. This usually takes about 10 minutes, which is enough time to prep everything.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease it using butter or cooking spray. 
3. Add the first four ingredients (peanut butter, egg, maple syrup, vanilla extract) into a mixing bowl and stir until combined. (No electric mixer needed!)
4. Stir in the baking soda. (We want to do it right before baking so it doesn't lose its effectiveness. If you decide to chill the dough for later, add it right before you're ready to go.)
5. Fold in the chocolate chips. 
6. Drop rounded tablespoons onto the baking sheet about 2 inches apart until all the dough is used up or you run out of space. Press down on them gently with a fork or spoon.
7. Bake the cookies until slightly golden on top, about 10-12 minutes.
8. Let them sit for a few minutes on the sheet then transfer to a wire rack (they firm up a bit as they sit) to cool completely.

Super easy, right? You can have a batch of these cookies done in less than 30 minutes - start to finish! That gives you time to make a tasty beverage to pair with said cookies. I suggest a Gingerbread White Russian,  Maple Gingerbread Latte, or Homemade Hot Chocolate. :)

Watch The Recipe Video

Are you a visual learner? Watch my short recipe video showing you how easy it is to make these flourless peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. (Note: the version in the video used really runny natural peanut butter so I included the chilling stuff, but most folks won't need to do this.) 

Soft Cookies VS Chewy Cookies

Most people fall into one of three camps for cookie preferences: crispy, chewy, or soft. Then there are the weirdos cool people who love undercooked cookies and raw cookie dough. 

If you're one of those folks, please know that I acknowledge your quirkiness but kinda judge you for it. ;)

This cookie falls smack dab into the SOFT category.  So...

• If you just hopped over here from Google or Pinterest looking for the chewiest of cookies because you're having an intense hormonal craving - this isn't for you. However, these banana oatmeal breakfast cookies are definitely up your alley!
• If you like soft cookies this is for you. 
• If you are bored with the classic 3-ingredient peanut butter cookies and want to try something different (that's just as easy) - this is for you.
• If you want to make some cookies for a holiday cookie tray or dessert tray that will stand out from classic peanut butter cookies, this is for you.  
• If you need a recipe for homemade cookies that stay soft in the freezer for making ice cream cookie sandwiches, this recipe is 100% for you. Yes, you can take a bite straight out of the freezer and they still stay soft - no cream squishing out the sides. :D

More Easy Dessert Recipes You'll Love:

• Double Chocolate Banana Muffins
• Easy Candied Pecans (Oven Recipe)
• Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies
• Strawberry Banana Muffins
• Stovetop Maple Candied Pecans
• Leftover Pumpkin Pie Milkshake
• Homemade Hot Chocolate (with bar chocolate)

easy, flour free, without flour, recipe, the best, gluten free, grain free

dessert

American

Yield: 8-10 cookies

Author: Elaina Newton - The Rising Spoon

Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

prep time: 10 Mcook time: 12 Mtotal time: 22 M

Easy flourless peanut butter cookies studded with dark chocolate chips and sweetened with maple syrup. They're packed with peanut butter flavor and have an irresistibly soft texture that sets them apart from other classic peanut butter cookie recipes. Grab a mixing bowl & wooden spoon and prep a batch in 10 minutes using six simple ingredients you likely have in your pantry right now. {Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free}

ingredients:

• 1 cup of peanut butter, salted & unsweetened (natural peanut butter or regular)*
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup of real maple syrup (like this)
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract (or homemade vanilla extract)
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/4-1/2 cup of chocolate chips (I like these bittersweet chocolate chips)

instructions:

How to cook Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or grease it with butter or cooking spray.
2. Add the peanut butter, egg, maple syrup, and vanilla extract to a mixing bowl. Stir to combine. (If you're using a super runny brand of natural peanut butter, see notes below!)
3. Right before you're ready to bake, stir the baking soda into the dough, then fold in the dark chocolate chips.
4. Drop rounded tablespoons of the cookie dough onto the baking sheet about 2 inches apart, then gently press down on each with a fork (they'll spread out a bit in the oven).
5. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until the tops turn a pale golden color. I typically do 12 minutes, but if you want them even softer, you can do 10. They will firm up as they cool, so don't overcook them.
6. Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then use a spatula to transfer them to a wire rack (or somewhere they can get some circulation under them) to cool completely.
7. Store leftovers in an airtight container and eat within a few days. These peanut butter cookies also freeze well (they stay soft & cake-like straight out of the freezer), which makes them perfect for ice cream sandwiches.

NOTES:

*NATURAL PEANUT BUTTER: This cookie dough is already on the softer side since we're using a liquid sweetener (maple syrup) instead of granular (cane sugar). However, if you're using a brand of natural peanut butter that's super runny - see the recipe video for a visual representation - you may need to chill the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes before moving on to the baking soda & chocolate chip step. This will help the cookies keep their shape better and spread less as they bake. Also, if your peanut butter has oil floating on top (I've had good luck with this brand that does), make sure to stir that back into the peanut butter until it's uniform and creamy, then measure it out for the cookies. COOLING: It might be tempting to eat one straight off the cookie sheet, but trust me, they have a WAY better texture if you let the peanut butter cookies cool 20-30 minutes before noshing on them. Patience is a virtue! SUBSTITUTIONS: This recipe also works with almond butter, cashew butter & sunflower seed butter. However, keep in mind that sunflower seed butter will have a chemical reaction with the baking soda and can turn the cookies green. Other liquid sweeteners like honey and agave can be used, but keep an eye on the cookies near the end as they may darken quicker.

https://www.therisingspoon.com/2016/12/flourless-peanut-butter-cookies-gluten-free.html

© The Rising Spoon. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not reprint this recipe without my written permission. If you'd like to feature this recipe on your site, please take your own pictures, rewrite the directions in your own words, and link to this post as the original source. Thank you!

Created using The Recipes Generator

Recipe Adapted From And Here We Are's Tahini Molasses Cookies (Grain-Free)
This recipe was originally published back in December 2016. The recipe card & text have been fully re-written for clarity and to add lots more helpful tips.

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